Headington Headlines #168

Here’s my weekly round-up of local news for 16 – 22 June.

Headington’s bike hire scheme was relaunched under the management of a new company. They are still using the name Oxonbike and all the details are on their website (confusingly using the domain name in the plural – Oxonbikes). The deal seems to be the same as before and the locations are also the same, though the actual bike racks have a different design and technology. Their twitter account is @oxonbike.

It seems the London Road road works have been put back to late Summer and will run through into 2015 with a break over Christmas.

The Stansfeld outdoor centre off Quarry Road has been registered as an Asset of Community Value.

Headington Quarry School celebrated its 150th anniversary this weekend.

Two aspiring politicians who stood in OX3 wards in the city elections in May are trying their luck again in the Cowley Ward by-election on 17 July. @KatHarborne (Con) stood for Quarry & Risinghurst and @DavidHenwood2 stood for Headington Ward.

And talking of elections, there’s an election to choose the 12 people who make up Old Marston Parish Council next Thursday, 26 June. @theabingdontaxi, who lives in the village, has written a guest blog about the role and powers of the Parish Council and asking for information about the candidates. Apparently it’s the first time in 16 years an election has been needed because there are more candidates than places to fill.

@Oxford_Brookes‘ John Henry Brookes Building by architects @DEArchitects, which I reported in May had won a RIBA regional award is one of six buildings in the “Campus” category to win a RIBA National award. The national award winners go forward for consideration in the Stirling Prize.

The first artist’s impressions of Oxford University’s Big Data Institute, which will be the next addition to the Old Road Campus, have been released. It’s being described as having a “ship’s prow”.

There was a break-in at The Six Bells on Beaumont Road, Quarry in the early hours of Sunday morning last week (15 June). The intruder forced a window, broke into a fruit machine and stole cash and spirits. Police are appealing for information.

My favourite Headington-related tweet of the week:

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

  • Headington bike hire scheme
  • Shell garage closure?
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 #164

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

The City Council elections were on Thursday. Labour won a seat from the LibDems. I’ve collected the results for the six wards in OX3, and written a round-up of who gained and who lost.

The Oxford University Hospitals Biomedical Research open day took place on Monday in the JR West Wing atrium.

The CLIC Sargent shop was closed on Tuesday following a burglary.

Work started on re-laying the entrance to Headington car park.

Cheney School was in the news with a story about their expanded watersports facilities.

Plans were announced to build 24 apartments and accommodation for people with learning disabilities on the former Marywood Hostel site in Leiden Road which has been empty for 15 years. The site is owned by Oxfordshire County Council.

The Britannia pub is looking for a chef. Training will be given.

The Oxford Food Centre on the London Road (out towards the Headington roundabout) scored null points in the latest Scores on the Doors hygeine ratings.

My favourite Headington-related tweet of the week:

Only one active topic on the Headington & Marston e-democracy forum this week:

  • Housing Policy in Headington
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 #155

Here’s my weekly round-up of local news for 17 – 23 March.

Birmingham City Council voted to close the Stansfeld Centre. Friends of Quarry are said to be thinking about trying to register it as an Asset of Community Value. A new twitter account @SaveStansfeld has been set up to support the campaign to find a solution and keep the Centre open, but has yet to get going.

Three buildings in OX3 have been shortlisted in the South Region of the RIBA architectural awards 2014. I blogged about them.

A fallen tree blocked the path from Quarry Road to Holy Trinity church.

The Britannia re-opened after its refurbishment.

Christopher Gray of The Oxford Mail visited @JacobsChopHouse on a busy evening. There were problems with availability, it seems, but overall he liked it.

Headington Neighbourhood Forum @HeadingtonPlan has published 2011 Census profiles of Headington on its website. There’s a wealth of detail for anyone interested in exploring the data.

Two men have been arrested in connection with the robbery at Stan James Bookmakers at The Roundway last week.

@HeadingtonNews explains on the e-democracy forum why the old Trade Exchange shop is very unlikely to become a Southern Fried Chicken.

My favourite Headington-related tweet of the week:

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

  • Meaden Hill
  • Cherwell drive slip road
  • Old Road/Park Hospital campus: Consultation on two proposed new buildings
  • Trade Exchange
  • Consultation on Tesco applications end on Tuesday
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.