Marston

Headington Headlines #52

TonyOX3

Here’s my weekly round-up of local news for 27 February – 4 March —

In a now-you-see-them now-you-don’t story that became known as #yellowlinegate road markings came in for criticism, particularly the double yellow lines across the road at the junctions of Latimer Road/London Road and Bickerton Road/Old Road. The story made the national news in the Mail Online, and was covered on BBC local TV and radio and the @BBCOxford website, as well as being debated on the e-democracy forum (see the "New Lime Walk and All Saints junction ‘improvements’" thread). You can watch the BBC video clip broadcast on Tuesday here. And then on Wednesday, the County Council started to remove them, or rather paint them black.

@LazyGamerUK finally opened to the public on Friday. Their shiny new website is also up and running. The launch is reported to have gone well. Discussion of the operation continues on the e-democracy forum under the “Costa Coffee” thread.

@OxfordCity have started another consultation on the flooding problems in Marston and Northway. Details on the Council’s website; Oxford Mail story. A public exhibition and consultation event is being held on Monday, March 19 from 12pm to 9.30pm in the Northway Community Centre.

EF International Academy, part of the larger EF operation on Pullens Lane (Headington Hill), held a public event on Friday and Saturday to explain their plans for the Cotuit Hall site they bought from Oxford Brookes last year. I wrote a note about it.

Marston local police published their March newsletter.

The City Council has written off business rates owed by The Six Bells and The Butcher’s Arms because “the debtors cannot be traced”.

My favourite Headington-related tweet this week:

I think the number of active topics on the Headington & Marston e-democracy forum this week is a record since I started reporting it:

  • New Lime Walk and All Saints junction “improvements”
  • The Friar Pub Marston and Tesco
  • Headington Ward Focus meeting leads to Headington Cycling Working Group
  • Bus Users UK Oxford Group AGM, Tue 28 Feb 2012
  • BUUK Meeting on 22 Mar
  • Costa Coffee
  • Cycles on the footpath
  • EF Academy plans for Cotuit Hall
  • Nasty looking Shark
  • Dorset House

I try to 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.

Future Development in OX3

TonyOX3

One of the big issues in Headington in 2011 was the City Council’s proposals to build over the car park in Headington. This was just one of scores of proposals for the future of sites all over Oxford driven by the need to identify places where much-needed housing can be built. The proposals formed the Sites and Housing – Preferred Options document which went through an extensive public consultation during the year. One welcome result was the abandonment of the Headington car park proposal.

The Sites and Housing Development Plan Document (DPD) was considered by Oxford City Council on 19 December 2011 after the results of the consultation exercise had been analysed. The amended DPD will be open for a six week public consultation early in 2012 before being submitted to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government. An enquiry under a Planning Inspector may follow.

A revised version incorporating any changes made at the Council meeting has not yet been published, so this post is based on the paper which was debated on 19 December. The document is not easy to navigate in digital form. The details about each site are in Section B2 of Appendix 3 of the paper: the SP number against each site is that site’s Site Allocation Policy number. These SPs set out the type of development it is proposed should be allowed on the site and any conditions that apply. The Barton West development is NOT included in this document.

Sites in Headington

I have extracted all the sites which lie within the OX3 postcode area and shown these on a Google map. I’ve given the benefit of the doubt to the BT site on Hollow Way which I think is partly in OX3. Clicking a marker on the map shows the Site Allocation Policy for the site. I have also given the paragraph numbers in the full document (eg B2.22-24) where each site is discussed, and the page number in the pdf document from the Council’s agenda papers (eg PDF pp 26/27). These page numbers are not the same as the numbers in the DPD itself. At the bottom of each box which appears when you click the marker is a link to a short pdf file which I have extracted from the full document and which contains the whole section dealing with the site. [NB: Some of these extracts cover more than one site, so scroll down if you don’t immediately see the one you’re looking for.]

I hope you find this form of presentation easy to follow, and I’d be happy to have your comments.

As well as development policies for specific sites the DPD also contains general policies on housing matters which could affect planning decisions and development in the City for many years – worth reading if you’re interested in these things.

Headington Headlines #43

TonyOX3

Here is my round-up of local news for two weeks over the Christmas/New Year break, 19 December 2011 – 1 January 2012 —

A new £2.1m community arena opened at the Oxford City ground, Court Place Farm, Marston. It includes a full-size artificial grass pitch, pavilion and six floodlit netball courts.

Frustration over the 8 and 9 bus services surfaced in the press. The bus companies’ response (at least as reported) seemed to be mostly denial of any real problem. Meanwhile it was announced that another spate of road closures around Old Road/Lime Walk/Highfield will take place in the New Year.

LibDem Councillors David Rundle, @RuthWilk and Altaf Khan held another Headington Ward Focus meeting in the Baptist Church, Old High Street on Tuesday 20 December. Main items discussed were the Barton West development, Ruskin Fields, Headington car park and the Housing Sites and Policy book, all of which had been agreed by the City Council the day before.

A home in High Cross Way, Barton, was one of three places hit by thieves on Christmas Day.

Boxing Day saw a large crowd at @TheMasonsArmsHQ for the traditional Morris dancing. The pub sold more than 600 pints of ale in 5 hours!

The Headington Shark was named one of the Daily Telegraph’s “best British follies“. It’s the ninth one on the page.

Rev James Cocke, Vicar of All Saints’ Church, became the longest-serving vicar in the Church of England on the retirement of the previous record-holder.

There was a house fire in Bulan Road on Wednesday 28th December. Fortunately no-one was seriously hurt.

A robbery took place at the BetFred betting shop in Cinnaminta Road on Saturday 31 December. A female employee was forced to hand over several hundred pounds.

Active topics on the Headington & Marston e-democracy forum over Christmas and New Year:

  • Bus stop, London Road Headington
  • West Barton plan likely to go ahead?
  • Decisions made on Headington Car-park and Ruskin Fields
  • North East Area Forum – 11 January 2012
  • Disused Cricket Ground Barton Road
  • Boxing Day 2011 events in Headington
  • Northway Pharmacy
  • Cherwell drive Dentist
  • Destination display inside 400 Park and Ride
  • Londis corner shop in receivership

I try to 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.