schools

Headington Headlines #361

TonyOX3

Your weekly round-up of local news for 12 – 18 March.

A burglar stole an Audi from outside a house in Wharton Road by hooking the keys through the letterbox. It happened in the early hours of Saturday morning last week.

If you haven’t had a chance to see it yet, here are a couple of photos of the sculpture ‘Assembly’ by Saad Qureshi in the quad of Oxford Brookes’ new Clerici Building.

"Assembly" by Saad Qureshi
“Assembly” by Saad Qureshi
"Assembly" by Saad Qureshi
“Assembly” by Saad Qureshi

A new printed publication appearing soon in Headington, the Headington Occasional, has published its prospectus.

Sandhills Primary School was given an ‘inadequate’ rating in a recent Ofsted inspection, although they did note some improvements since the current Head was appointed last year.

Back in January I reported that the Local Government Boundary Commission is carrying out a review of the Ward boundaries in Oxford. A cross-party proposal for ward boundary changes is going to the City’s Executive Board on Tuesday this week (20 March). Here are some of the main changes in the Headington area:

  • staff accommodation in the grounds of the JR to transfer from Headington to Headington Hill and Northway
  • the area between Bury Knowle Park and Barton Road to transfer from Barton and Sandhills into Headington
  • the new development of Barton Park to be included in Barton. Barton and Sandhills renamed Barton
  • streets between Barton Road and the bypass moved from Barton and Sandhills to Quarry and Risinghurst

There’s more details in the papers going to the Executive Board: a map of the proposed boundaries, and a commentary on all the proposed changes across the city.

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

  • Abandoned Bikes in Headington

Headington Headlines #339

TonyOX3

Your weekly round-up of local news for 9 – 15 October.

A consultation on the proposal by the City and County for a city-centre zero emission zone starts today (16 October). Details here.

Oxford building firm Kingerlee has won a contract for an expansion of Sobell House Hospice (on the Churchill Hospital site).

Here are the parking controls introduced at The Manor Surgery (see HH338). Fifteen minutes free or register at Reception for the duration of your appointment. Control and enforcement is by automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras and £100 fines.

Manor Surgery parking notice
Manor Surgery parking notice
Number plate camera
Number plate camera

There’s a chance to find out more about the Swan School, the free school that is going to be built in Marston. It will be run by The River Learning Trust on the Harlow Centre site in Raymund Road. There are three ‘community consultation events’ – the first is today (16 October) at New Marston Primary School from 6 – 8pm. The other dates are 1 November and 7 November, same time and place. The Oxford Mail has the story, and a search of Headington Headlines for “Swan School” will find you my earlier reports about the school.

With the County Council being over-ruled by the Government, buses will return to Queen Street from Sunday 22 October – two days before the new Westgate opens. Referring to this map, we can see that @Stagecoach_Ox buses 8 & 9 bound for Headington, Barton and Risinghurst will start from stop E2 in Norfolk Street behind the new development. They will get to the High Street via Queen Street, stop at stop T2 where the pavement has just been widened, and again at Queen’s Lane.  Inbound they will stop at Queen’s Lane and (I assume) Carfax before Speedwell Street as now, terminating in Norfolk Street stop E2. I guess @OxfordBusCo buses will do the same. I haven’t yet seen what if any changes there may be to the U1, 400 and 280/X8 services.

Local boutique distillery @TheSpiritofToad plans to launch a crowdfunding to raise investment funds. Their own website is silent on the details so we can’t tell yet what benefits subscribers might enjoy.

There have been no posts on the Headington & Marston e-democracy forum this week.

Headington Headlines #334

TonyOX3

Your weekly round-up of local news for 4 – 10 September.

The old Post Office, which has been a shop selling stationery since the PO closed, is to become a gallery for local artists.

BBC Countryfile reported on the @TheSpiritofToad distillery in South Park. It’s here on iPlayer until the end of the month – scroll through to 53’30”. (NB You have to register now to view BBC iPlayer).

The proposal for a 20mph speed limit for the whole of Windmill Road, which has always been part of the Access to Headington scheme, was approved by the County on Thursday. Thames Valley Police had objected on the grounds that people already drive faster and they doubt if they could enforce it. As they don’t enforce most other traffic restrictions this argument isn’t very convincing.

The new Swan School to be built in Marston moved a step closer as the River Learning Trust which will run the school announced contractors Galliford Try have been appointed to lead the design and build process.

A group of travellers moved onto the Margaret Road recreation ground on Thursday, but had gone by Friday evening.

The Tour of Britain passed briefly through OX3 on Saturday on the B4027 from Stanton St John to Islip. Here’s part of the peloton going through Islip.

The Tour of Britain passes through Islip
The Tour of Britain passes through Islip

Dr Anandagopal Srinivasan of Sandfield Road has been charged with two counts of sexual assault, one of which is alleged to have happened at the JR Hospital and the other at Addenbrooke’s in Cambridge.

The Mosaics (Barton Park) marketing office was opened over the weekend. There’s a thread about it on the e-democracy forum.

My favourite Headington-related tweet:

And finally, a tenuous link to Headington and only of interest to fans of professional cycling, EF Education First is  replacing Cannondale as sponsor of the current Cannondale-Drapac cycling team. Following what seems to be a trend for cycling teams to have ever more clunky names, the new team name will be Team EF Education-Drapac.

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

  • Travellers on Margaret Road play area
  • Travellers on Margaret Road
  • Barton Park Opening
  • Builder?