parking

Headington Headlines #380

TonyOX3

The City Council’s Executive Board will consider a proposal to introduce parking charges at Court Place Farm, Marston. This is the site of parking for OXSRAD, Oxford City FC and for the Council itself. It’s said to be used currently by commuters, probably working at the JR. The report to the Exec Board is here. If approved, the proposal will have to go to the County Council as Highways Authority, when it will be opened to public consultation.

Bury Knowle Park was again awarded a Green Flag, one of six Oxford parks to receive this recognition.

Cyclists beware! @quarry_cycles spotted this cut-through cycle stand in Headington. The cut, covered with tape, lets a padlock cable be forced through so the bike plus padlock can be lifted and carried away.

The Headington Shark was in the news this week, being cleaned and repainted to mark its 32nd birthday.

And from @HeadingtonNews again, my favourite Headington-related tweet:

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

  • Beech House

Headington Headlines #379

TonyOX3

Your weekly round-up of local news for 30 July – 5 August.

A woman was attacked and robbed in Ferry Road, Marston by a man wearing a Halloween mask or face paint. The attack took place shortly after midnight on Sunday 29 July. Police are appealing for witnesses.

Residents in Wood Farm will be consulted from mid-August to mid-September on a proposed CPZ (Controlled Parking Zone). If approved, the CPZ could come into effect as soon as next January.

A 200-year-old oak tree in Risinghurst has been deliberately poisoned and will have to be felled. The tree is in the playing fields at the top of Grovelands Road.

Independent shop Pen to Paper joined twitter. Welcome, @ToHeadington!

Brookes was given planning permisson for a new building on the site of the Helena Kennedy Building on the Headington Hill campus. As well as the usual conditions the architects must produce a ‘detailed Lighting Strategy’ to include ‘lighting contour plans’. This is to ensure that night-time visual intrusion is minimised.

I reported last week that OU Hospitals had made a planning application to enlarge the A&E Department at the JR. Mysteriously, the application disappeared from  the City’s planning website sometime on Monday and as I write still hasn’t reappeared. At the Headington Ward Focus meeting on Tuesday the Trust’s spokesperson from OUH Estates didn’t know about it and couldn’t offer any explanation. Local Councillors @RosalindRogers and @SGarden13 asked planning officers about it at the East Area Planning Committee the next day; they couldn’t explain it either.

Screenshot 1649 05/08/2018
Screenshot 1649 05/08/2018

There were no new posts on the Headington & Marston e-democracy forum this week.

Headington Headlines #358

TonyOX3

Your weekly round-up of local news for 19 – 25 February.

The doctor whose fitness to practice was found to be impaired following the death of Connor Sparrowhawk at Southern Health’s Slade House has been suspended for a year.

Increased car park charges for Headington were approved by the City Council on Monday. They come into force in a few weeks’ time. Here again are the new charges for the car park behind Waitrose.

Table of Proposed charges for 2018
Proposed charges for 2018

It doesn’t say much for local democracy that these new charges are directly opposed to a Community Policy in the Headington Neighbouhood Plan, which says

“BRC1: CHANGES TO CAR PARKING CHARGES At off-peak times only, the car parks on St Leonard’s Road and Old High Street should provide free parking for 30 minutes followed by stepped parking charges”.

These Commmunity Policies are not statutory, but express how we want to see Headington change for the better over the coming years. The City has chosen to ignore it.

Oxford City Council is asking itself to give itself planning permission to build four retirement homes on a playground in Wood Farm.

Headington’s latest public artwork is a new piece by Saad Qureshi. His sculpture “Assembly” is in the courtyard of Oxford Brookes’ new Clerici Building, accessed from Gipsy Lane. Qureshi is an alumnus of the university.

"Assembly" by Saad Qureshi
“Assembly” by Saad Qureshi
Photo: Oxford Brookes University

For a full list of all Headington’s public art see headington.org.uk

My favourite Headington-related tweet:

There were no new posts on the Headington & Marston e-democracy forum this week: