Neighbourhood Plan

Headington Headlines #182

TonyOX3

Here’s my weekly round-up of local news for 22 – 28 September.

The first AGM of the @HeadingtonPlan and Forum is on Wednesday 1 October at 7.30pm in the Baptist Church, Old High Street.

A burst 24″ water main (that’s a big one) overnight on Monday in Normandy Crescent (south of Horspath Road) caused significant flooding and a loss of service to some people in OX3 on Tuesday morning.

The man arrested on suspicion of raping a woman in her flat on Roosevelt Drive last Saturday appeared in court on Tuesday charged with the rape and several other offences in the area. He was remanded in custody to appear in Oxford Crown Court in October.

As if ‘troubled retail giant’ Tesco didn’t have enough to worry about, they’ve upset independent Marston Councillor Mick Haines (again) by blocking a pathway (again) with a hoarding at the site of the old Friar pub on Marston Road. The hoarding has now been moved back from the path – again.

As of today there is no longer a City 23 bus service. It used to run up the London Road then to the JR via Headley Way.

A motocyclist was seriously injured and taken to the JR after a collision with a car in Marsh Lane on Saturday morning.

As of Saturday the @CultivateOxford veg van will be outside Barclays bank every Saturday from 1030 to 1400, a slight reduction in hours.

It was the Barton Young Achievers’ Dinner on Saturday, organised by @ThriveBarton. The Thrive team also have a good news story about falling levels of anti-social behaviour in Barton.

It’s been another week without any active posts on the Headington & Marston e-democracy forum.

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 #180

TonyOX3

Here’s my weekly round-up of local news for 8 – 14 September.

Never mind Scotland, if you live in Quarry & Risinghurst don’t forget to vote in the City by-election on Thursday (18th). The five candidates are listed here.

If you normally catch the 8 or 9 bus in Castle Street you need to know that the stop has been temporarily moved to St Aldates, near Pembroke College. It’s to do with the closure of Queen Street for emergency sewer works.

Oxford City Council designated – i.e. approved – the Headington Neighbourhood Forum and in effect gave the go-ahead for them to draw up a Neighbourhood Plan. A consultation will start soon.

@OxfordBusCo is starting a new service, the City 600, on Monday 29 September. It will run from Peartree P&R via the Woodstock Road, Moreton Road, Banbury Road, Parks Road, South Parks Road, Longwall Street, The Plain, Headington Hill and Headley Way to the JR Hospital. It will run every half hour but only during the main part of the working day (roughly 9 – 5) on Mondays to Fridays.

In other bus news the BrookesBus U4 service starts today linking the JR and Blackbird Leys via Gipsy Lane and Hollow Way. But unless I’m reading the timetable wrong there are only two buses one way in the early morning and three back again in the evening.

@Headingtonnews reports that the ex-Londis is to become a Café Nero.

@OllieMars30 reported that the Little Waitrose at the Shell petrol station was closed by Trading Standards late on Saturday afternoon.

The lift giving disabled access to Headington Library was finally commissioned on Friday.

At the time of writing there had been no active posts on the Headington & Marston e-democracy forum this week.

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.