Lye Valley

Headington Headlines #242

TonyOX3

Here’s my weekly round-up of local news for 23 – 29 November.

The Headington Heatpipe story broke in the local mainstream media on Monday, with coverage on BBC Radio Oxford and in The Oxford Mail. The reports mainly focussed on the unexplained refusal of the OUH NHS Hospitals Trust to do anything to allay residents’ anxieties. It was also a hot topic at Tuesday’s Ward Focus meeting. The Trust is holding an invitation-only briefing for the media and local Councillors today (Monday): expect more details soon.

After more than a month, the County Council finally got a court order on Monday requiring the travellers camped on the Marston Ferry Road cycle track to leave. They left on Tuesday.

Confusion still reigns over the shop being prepared next to the Post Office, the old BBB Stores. One rumour says it will be an off-licence, but no licence application has been made. A competing rumour is that it will be a halal butcher. Place your bets!

Residents in Wood Farm and Lye Valley have been canvassed about whether they would support a new Aldi store on the site of Curry’s (adjacent to Homebase) on Horspath Driftway.

Photographer @Howard_S from Old Headington won @BBOWT‘s Photographer of the Month accolade for this fern photo.

An accident involving a car and a pedestrian caused long delays on the city-bound A40 on Wednesday evening. The female pedestrian had head and arm injuries and was taken to the JR. Her condition was said to be ‘not serious’.

The Black Boy in Old Headington @TheBlackBoyFood wants to branch out. They’ve submitted a planning application (ref: 15/03259/FUL) to convert the first floor of the gastropub to provide five guest bedrooms and a flat.

The Crown and Thistle pub on Old Road, which has been closed since 2012, has been put on the market for leasing at £22,500 p.a. The Oxford Mail article speculates that this may be a move designed to demonstrate it is not commercially viable as a pub in the hope it will then be easier to get permission to develop the site for other uses, probably housing.

My favourite Headington-related tweet of the week:

— Headington Plan (@HeadingtonPlan) November 28, 2015

Spare a thought for @HeadingtonNews, the long-suffering moderator of the e-democracy forum which this week has seen an outpouring of claim and counter-claim about the Barton Park – Northway access link. Threads on the forum have become so tangled it’s impossible to follow a coherent line. The problem’s not helped by an East Oxford rumour being sneaked in under cover of Northway.

Active posts on the Headington & Marston e-democracy forum this week:

  • Housing
  • Travellers along the Marston Ferry cycle track
  • Northway Green access road
  • Jack Russell Pub
  • Marston
  • Councillors opinions outweighing what is right……
  • Foxwell Drive
  • Photo of demolition squad in Foxwell Drive
  • saving Foxwell Drive Green space
  • New Aldi store could replace Currys off Horspath Driftway in Oxford
  • Jaya’s Deli – new shop on London Road where Turkish grocery used to be
  • Local concert this evening!
  • Supporting something for the greater good for one side, is not good if at the expense of the other side!
  • EOCC / Foxwell Drive

Headington Headlines #237

TonyOX3

Here’s my weekly round-up of local news for 19 – 25 October.

The Friends of Lye Valley @friendlyevalley are running a campaign and petition to stop a planning application (Ref: 13/01555/CT3) to build houses on Warren Meadow (behind Warren Crescent). They say run-off and pollution from the development would have a serious adverse impact on the rare plants and habitats of the Lye Valley, which is an SSSI.

Oxfordshire CC has served a “Direction to Leave” on the travellers parked on the Marston Ferry cycle path. If they refuse to move the matter will go to court, which could take a further two to three weeks.

In Thursday’s by-election in Northfield Brook ward, OX3 resident Jennifer Pegg (Lab) was elected to the City Council with 78% of the votes cast (turnout 15%).

You may remember back in April a series of police raids in Cowley followed a man being found stabbed in a car in Barton and who later died in hospital (see HH211). The man accused in connection with the killing was found not guilty of manslaughter at Oxford Crown Court on Wednesday.

Active posts on the Headington & Marston e-democracy forum this week:

  • Get Creative Social Club
  • £12.m transport improvements for Headington: exhibitions and consultation
  • Somerset pub on Marston Road
  • Harcourt House
  • How will new Oxford to London train service affect your trips to London?
  • New recycling Promotion
I cover news from the OX3 postcode in Headington and out as far as Barton, Sandhills and Risinghurst (see map). To feed into next week’s summary you can comment on this article, or tweet either with the hashtag #ox3 or @mentioning @TonyOX3.

Headington Headlines #178

TonyOX3

Here’s my weekly round-up of local news for 25 – 31 August.

Five candidates are standing in the Quarry & Risinghurst by-election – details here. The election is on 18 September.

On 10 September Oxford City’s Executive Board is due to decide whether to ‘designate’ the Headington Neighbourhood Forum as the body to draw up a Neighbourhood plan. If they agree, consultation on local issues will start shortly after.

Slade House, the care unit owned by Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust where Connor Sparrowhawk died last year is unlikely to re-open. The Trust has been criticised for failings in the care it provided to Connor at Slade House, and for failings at other units it operates.

The ownership of Warneford Meadow has been transferred to Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust (OHFT), the managers of the Warneford Hospital. The move has been welcomed by the Meadow’s Friends.

There may soon be a new pedestrian crossing and some traffic-calming measures outside Windmill Primary School @WindmillOxford in Margaret Road.

The Grass of Parnassus (it’s not a grass) which recolonised Great Britain after the last Ice Age is flowering in the Lye Valley. Although common in more northerly parts of the British Isles it is rare this far south. Its alternative and more descriptive name is the Bog Star. More interesting detail, including the first written record of the plant, in this article.

The Butchers Arms @ButchersArmsOxf re-opened after a refurbishment.

Quarry residents got together to tidy up the garden around Quarry Village Hall.

About 250 runners took part in the Headington 5 on Sunday, raising money for @Oxsrad.

And in other clean-up news, Friday was Skip Day in Barton, when the City Council provided skips for residents to dispose of unwanted items and general rubbish.

Headington Badminton Club is looking for new members. They play on Mondays and Fridays at Headington School.

My favourite Headington-related tweet of the week:

Active posts on the Headington & Marston e-democracy forum this week:

  • City council by-election in Quarry & Risinghurst ward
  • 1812 Fireworks
I cover news from the OX3 postcode in Headington and out as far as Barton, Sandhills and Risinghurst (see map). To feed into next week’s summary you can comment on this article, or tweet either with the hashtag #ox3 or @mentioning @TonyOX3.