Oxonbike

Headington Headlines #137

TonyOX3

Here’s my weekly round-up of local news for 11 – 17 November.

The Oxford Mail finally picked up on a story that broke on twitter a couple of weeks ago (see HH #135), that a kebab shop is planning to open in the Café Noir site. Predictably they found people to say they weren’t happy about it.

Despite no-one liking it apart from the developers @BartonPark_ and (it is claimed) some unnamed people in Barton, the public announcement that Barton West is to be known as Barton Park went ahead. The Oxford Times made much of the name being chosen by children. Local twitter opinion was unimpressed.

À propos of the above, @BartonPark_ is the twitter account previously known as @BartonOxford. The underscore’s needed because it seems Barton Park is the name of a racehorse and @BartonPark is the account of a racing tipster. On the other hand @Barton_Park is an über-posh nursing home in Southport for people who own Bentleys.

The first of two drop-in sessions about the new school for Bayswick Barton West Park took place on Tuesday. The newspaper report doesn’t have much to say other than it happened. The other drop-in is on 2 December – details, and why I think it’s an important issue, here.

The company running the @oxonbike bike hire scheme in Headington and Thornhill (GrandScheme) has gone into liquidation.

Greenpeace staged a demonstration outside the Shell petrol station on London Road on Saturday evening, ptotesting about oil exploration in the Arctic. Peggy Seeger joined them.

Councillor Roz Smith @RosalindRogers planted a memorial tree for Paul Phipps, Risinghurst & Sandhills parish councillor.

Londis owner @sundersandher started a twitter discussion about who sells the cheapest milk in Headington. It seems Iceland have it by 0.5p a litre.

Oxford Brookes celebrated its 50th anniversary this week. For a while it seemed they had mislaid their foundation stone but @RuthWilk asked the Archivist who said it’s “kept along with patterned tiles from the Darcy Building in Estates” and it seems not publicly accessible.

BBC Radio 4 broadcast live from Holy Trinity Church, Quarry, yesterday (Sunday 17 Nov) to mark the C S Lewis jubilee. Listen here.

Back in April 2012 Oxford City Council said they intended to refurbish their five tower blocks. Consultations on what they plan to do have been announced. Those that affect OX3 are the Plowman Tower, Northway in the Tower Play Base on Tuesday 19 November from 12.30pm to 2.30pm and 5.30pm to 8pm and the Foresters Tower, Wood Farm in the Children’s Centre on Wednesday 20 November from 2pm to 8pm.

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

  • Who would like to be a friend of Headington Hill Park?
  • New school for Barton West
  • Hazardous glass in Holley Crescent
  • railings in Barton Lane
  • Kebab shop in Headington – article in the Oxford Mail today
  • New Headington bus routes
  • Survey: Germany & Germans
  • The Local Plan: What is it? Why do we have it? How can it change?
  • Headington event tomorrow 1-3pm – Silver Star Society Christmas Party, John Radcliffe Hospital
  • Headington bike hire scheme
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.

Headington Headlines #134

TonyOX3

Here’s my weekly round-up of local news for 21 – 27 October.

The new Community Classics Centre opened at Cheney School on Thursday. @WMaryBeard gave a talk and @HeadingtonNews reported that the event was very well supported, as Mary Beard’s own column in The Times Online confirmed.

It was Warneford Meadow Apple Day on Sunday.

The badly potholed Leiden Road in Wood Farm has been resurfaced.

Both the NE Quiet (cycle) Route – that’s the one from Thornhill via Old Headington to Marston – and the @Oxonbike cycle hire scheme are doing well, according to @OxfordshireCC.

Work has started on a £5.2m revamp of Bayard’s Hill primary school in Barton, including new classrooms and refurbishing of others.

@SunderSandher, owner of Headington Londis, won an Independents’ Day award from the National Skills Academy for his shop in Leamington Spa.

Rosemary Restaurant’s new sign triggered some debate. The final consensus is that you should read it as “the RoseM’ree”. Has anyone asked the owners?

Friday evening was enlivened by a report from @HarrietRycroft that some piglets were loose on the verge of the A40 near the Marston turn.

Last week I linked to two responses to the County’s request for input to the Headington Transport Strategy. You can now read three responses here. I’ll post more if I can find any – or if you commented and would be happy to share get in touch.

@OxFurniture launched a shiny new website.

The story of the Fairview pub in Glebelands continues – a buyer has been found and the current owners say they believe the as yet un-named new owner intends to continue running it as a pub. While the final outcome must still be in doubt until the sale has gone through and the new owner(s) say something in public, it is a hopeful step for local supporters of keeping the pub going.

The County Council has said it will not install traffic lights on the Bayswater Road junction with Headington Roundabout, preferring to delay local residents rather than longer distance commuters or drivers heading for the Thornhill P&R.

My favourite Headington-related tweet of the week:

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

  • Punctuality Problems on No 4 Bus
  • Accident on Headington Hill last night
  • Some Concerns about Headington
  • Beware my pc has been hacked – Regards Nicholas Newman
  • Please help: Missing Dog
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.

Headington Headlines #121

TonyOX3

Here’s my weekly round-up of local news for 15 – 21 July.

Despite earlier statements to the contrary two drop-in sessions were announced for people to see and ask questions about the Barton West development proposals. The dates are today (Monday 22) and tomorrow. Details here.

Oxfordshire County Council has asked for statements of interest in the Marywood House site in Leiden Road.

A teenage girl who had last been seen in Maltfield Road, Northway was reported missing on Tuesday but was found safe and well later that evening.

A cyclist was assaulted and robbed on the Marston cycle path on Tuesday. Police are appealing for information.

William Hill’s appeal over refusal of permission to change the old Cartridge World into a betting shop was dismissed. Meanwhile, a hearing has started on one of Martin Young’s many skirmishes with the Council – this time an appeal over the refusal to agree that building 2 x 2-bed flats and 3 new buildings to form 2 x 2-bed and 1 x 1-bed dwellings was a lawful use of the existing 29 Old High Street.

Cheney School wants to make a burger van move away from the school gates. The van’s trading licence is due for review this week.

The @oxonbike rack outside St Andrew’s School (aka Headington Shops) was moved to the outside of the pavement after concerns about schoolchildren’s safety.

Headington’s @NikkiLoyMusic was a finalist in Strictly Oxford at the New Theatre on Sunday. The charity fund-raising event was organised by Headington’s StepByStep Dance School.

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

  • School transport in and around Headington
  • Plans for the new Barton estate now available
  • New Headington bus routes
  • Thornhill Park and Ride Expansion Plans.
  • Empty shops in Headington
  • Fall outside Waitrose Wed 17th July
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.