roadworks

Headington Headlines #369

TonyOX3

Your weekly round-up of local news for 7 – 13 May .

The expected planning application by Frontier Estates, locally notorious for their Beech House development, to build a 55 bed care home at 1 Pullen’s Lane has been published on the City Council website, ref: 18/00870/FUL. I’ve updated my timeline of this proposal, and a there is a location map here – the boundaries of the site are not accurate but are the best I could do on Google maps.

Old High Street made the national news – well, The Sun newspaper at least – when the road was blocked by an altercation between a cyclist and a motorist. It all took place in “the village of Heddington”, apparently.

Here’s an enthusiastic description of the 1960s houses on Dunstan Road. Designed by architects Ahrends, Burton and Koralek, they are described as “[walking] a fine line between modernism and brutalism”. One is being sold by @ScottFraserUK at a guide price of £900k.

2000 homes in Quarry and eastern Headington were affected by a Virgin Media loss of service on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The shopkeeper of the Premier store in Salford Road, Marston was threatened with a broken bottle on Tuesday evening. Despite another customer calling the police at the time it was 20 hours before the police responded. Story c/o @TheOxfordMail.

London Road was closed to traffic in both directions from 8pm (actually 7.30pm on Thursday) to 6am overnight on Thursday and Friday nights.

Hmmm. Jacob’s Brasserie is “closed for refurbishment” with no indication of a re-opening date. It looks like Dragon Express has closed too.

A red Honda moped was stolen from the garden of a house in Masons Road, Wood Farm late on Thursday or early Friday. Police are asking for any information.

And finally, the Headley Way Access to Headington roadworks start today (Monday). Happy days!

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

  • Beech House
  • Courier Fraud Scam in Oxford
  • Old High Street traffic problem: reported in Sun newspaper

Headington Headlines #325

TonyOX3

Your weekly round-up of local news for 3 – 9 July.

Thames Water starts sewer replacement works in St Clements today, lasting for several weeks. There will be long delays. You have been warned.

Councillors and The Oxford Mail are reporting that because of the work in St Clements, the Headley Way stage of Access to Headington, recently rescheduled to start on 24 July, has now been put back to the new year. This has yet to be confirmed on the County’s website, but it seems highly probable. This potentially pushes the work into conflict with building work on the JR site. Update, 1500 10/07/17 The County has now confirmed the postponement.

Police are appealing for witnesses and information about a suspected arson in Weyland Road last Sunday (2 July).

As predicted by the Huffington Post and reported in HH323, Oxford East MP Anneliese ‘One of Nine to Shine’ Dodds has been made a front-bench Treasury spokeswoman for Labour.

With the closure of the Marston Medical Centre patients have been re-allocated to other practices. Some will go to a unit based at the Marston Pharmacy, others have been allocated to a new unit being set up in the grounds of the JR at Arthur Sanctuary House (ASH, the building opposite the Women’s Centre). Patients have been told there will be no extra parking at ASH so anyone arriving by car will need to join the queues of drivers trying to get into the JR pay-for-parking car parks. Coming from Marston, the JR is served by the 13, X13, 14, and 700 bus services, which would be a sensible alternative for those who can use them.

The planning application by @TheSpiritofToad for a café at their new South Park distillery was called in by councillors after a close vote at the West Area Planning Committee. It will be decided at the Planning review Committee meeting this Wednesday (12 July).

@HeadingtonNews has sifted through all the site allocations in the City Council’s Preferred Options local plan document and produced a list of all the sites in the Headington area. Do try and find time to look at the consultation and make your views known.

Street names for the @BartonPark_ development have been released. The main spine road is to be Barton Fields Road (why not Barton Park Road?). Other names commemorate well-known Barton people, including Barry Holden, former Vice President of the Barton Community Association, and Elizabeth Maud Smith, a resident of Barton for 57 years.

Oxford Health NHS Trust @OxfordHealthNHS, who run the Warneford Hospital, showed their masterplan for how they want to develop the site into a world-leading treatment and research centre. Oxford University is collaborating to help them raise funds, but nothing’s likely to happen for a while yet. Exhibitions of the masterplan will be arranged over the summer months.

Model of the Warneford Masterplan site layout
Model of the Warneford Masterplan site layout (Warneford Lane at the top)

Travellers are back on the Marston Ferry Road cycle path. They were able to access the path due to a bollard failure.

It’s been a long time, but 29 Old High Street (the derelict place on the right near the car park) is back! Planning application ref 17/01686/FUL is for “Partial demolition of existing house and demolition of existing garages and outbuildings. Erection of two storey side and rear extension. Provision of new access, car parking and turning area. Rebuilding of stone boundary wall fronting Old High Street.” The application is open for comments until 3 August.

Ruskin College has been criticised for abandoning its roots and its foundation by closing its international labour and trade union studies department.

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

  • Ramsey Road Allotments
  • Local Plan 2036
  • Ramsey Road Allotments
  • Charity event to celebrate Adult Volunteers in Oxfordshire
  • Frontier Estates Multiple Site London Road / Barton Road

Headington Headlines #307

TonyOX3

Your weekly round-up of local news for 27 February – 5 March.

After @TomBedford12 pointed out the problem with the new short cycle path on Old Road and on which I reported,  Cllr @RuthWilk sprang into action. Contractors Skanska were on the job on Monday making a dropped kerb.

What they have put in place is far from ideal, but we’re told it’s only temporary as the cycleway will be continued up Old Road in a later phase of Access to Headington.

Meanwhile the County announced that this phase of Access to Headington is ‘largely complete’. The next phase will start in The Slade, they say by ‘late March’. No details yet though. Whether this is before or after the bus lane work in Roosevelt Drive up to Churchill Drive isn’t clear.

On Wednesday this week the east Area Planning Committee will consider planning applications on:

  • The Jack Russell Pub – demolish and build flats – recommendation to agree;
  • The Ampleforth Arms – part demolition, part conversion to community pub – recommendation to agree;

The full agenda is here. Once again the application to develop on land next to the C S Lewis Nature Reserve is not on the agenda.

Southern Gas is working in Staunton Road replacing old metal gas pipes with modern PVC. Excavation is going on along one side of the street and connections to individual properties are to be disconnected for a while. Then they’ll need access to each property to test all gas appliances. Residents have raised concerns about possible damage to the Council-owned green space which is being used as a site storage depot. The number for enquiries is 0800 912 1700.

The Headington Neighbourhood Plan is up for final approval by the City Executive Board on Thursday 9 March. Assuming it gets the green light as expected, the way is clear for a local referendum on 4 May.

@HeadingtonNews reported that Temple Bookbinders is moving out of their Stephen Road premises to Yarnton.

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

  • Loss of trees in Headington Quarry
  • Reply re Headington quarry