Southern Health

Headington Headlines #244

TonyOX3

The weekly round-up of local news for 6 – 12 December.

Welcome to my new-look blog! I hope it’s easier to find what you’re looking for. You can comment on the most recent posts – see the About page if you can’t see how to do that.

The first meeting for the general public to hear about the Hospital Energy Project happened on Wednesday. My report is here. There’s more discussion on the e-democracy forum under the thread ‘Disruption‘.

I’ve also posted the latest schedule of road closures. It doesn’t include the work on London Road and Old Road.

Oxford City Council has approved a £2m flood alleviation scheme for Marston and Northway.

The Latimer Road planning application for student accommodation, which was rejected by the East Area Planning Committee last week, is being referred to the Council’s Planning Review Committee. Although I haven’t yet seen official confirmation I understand it will go to the meeting on 27 January 2016, at 6:00pm in the Town Hall.

There was a collision between a car and an ambulance on the Headington roundabout on Wednesday morning.

Private residents in Northway & Wood Farm tower blocks will have to pay £40,000–£60,000 each towards refurbishments.

A devastating report into Southern Health NHS Trust, who ran the centre in Slade Park where Connor Sparrowhawk died while having a bath, says the Trust “failed to investigate the unexpected deaths of more than 1,000 people since 2011”. The ‘Southern Health’ tag on the right links to earlier mentions in the development of this sad story.

Here’s one of the weirdest Headington mentions I’ve ever come across. Look at the web page but PLEASE DON’T CLICK on any link there – I can’t believe it’s safe!

Mick Haines, campaigning independent local councillor for Marston, seen here without his trademark leather jacket, has joined the fight to stop the demolition of the Jack Russell pub and the site being used for new flats.

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

  • Disruption
  • Free water, energy and money-saving offer
  • Housing
  • Tower block refurbishment
  • BARTON LINK ROAD PROTEST

Headington Headlines #236

TonyOX3

Here’s my weekly round-up of local news for 12 – 18 October.

@OxfordCity announced a £2.2m scheme to protect properties in Marston and Northway from flooding. The scheme still has to be appproved at the City’s Executive Board next month.

Urban designers, planners and architects @WestWaddyADP have won an award for ‘Excellence in Masterplanning and Design’ at RTPI South East Planning Awards for their long-term work with @Oxford_Brookes.

Here’s ex-Councillor for Headington @StephenTall honouring an election bet in Whitehall last Tuesday. On the good side, he’s raising money from Médecins Sans Frontières.

The contract managers for @BartonPark_ are holding a “Meet the Buyer” event for materials suppliers for the development. It’s on Wednesday 21 October from 10.00 to 16.00 at the Community Centre on Underhill Circus, and will be opened by Council Leader Bob Price.

In other Barton Park news, reports that Barton residents are unhappy with the intention to call the main street through the development Barton Park Road, and further that they don’t think much of the name Barton Park anyway will come as no surprise to dedicated readers of this blog. You may remember that two years ago I challenged the developers’ original claim to have consulted the community over the name and never got any satisfactory answers to my questions.

The planning application (Ref: 15/02543/FUL) for the erection of 3-storey building to provide 30 ensuite student rooms on the site of the old Friar pub on Marston Road is on the City Council’s website. The front elevation looks like this.

After persistent campaigning by residents, official speed warning signs have appeared in Quarry (via @danlevs).

Oxfordshire County Council has published a “Summary of Feedback” to the Access to Headington proposals earlier this year. I collected a number of responses from people and organisations at the time – see this link.

The jury at the inquest into the death of Connor Sparrowhawk at Slade House in July 2013 found that neglect contributed to his death. Slade House, run by Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust, is now closed. The Trust has “unresevedly apologised” for its failings. As I reported last year, the Trust has been criticised for failings at other units it operates.

Leys News @LeysnewsEditor, a free monthly community newspaper for Blackbird Leys and Greater Leys, is planning a new paper covering Sandhills, Risinghurst and Quarry. They offer free training for volunteers.

Jessica Bruce of Risinghurst is claiming a World Record for running a marathon pushing a baby buggy. She and her 7 month old son Daniel finished the Abingdon marathon on Sunday in 3 hours 17 mins 51 seconds.

My favourite Headington-related tweet of the week (for all the wrong reasons!):

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

  • Headington bike hire scheme
  • Magdalen Wood Tree Felling
  • £12.m transport improvements for Headington: exhibitions and consultation
  • Caravans along Marston Ferry cycle path
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 #178

TonyOX3

Here’s my weekly round-up of local news for 25 – 31 August.

Five candidates are standing in the Quarry & Risinghurst by-election – details here. The election is on 18 September.

On 10 September Oxford City’s Executive Board is due to decide whether to ‘designate’ the Headington Neighbourhood Forum as the body to draw up a Neighbourhood plan. If they agree, consultation on local issues will start shortly after.

Slade House, the care unit owned by Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust where Connor Sparrowhawk died last year is unlikely to re-open. The Trust has been criticised for failings in the care it provided to Connor at Slade House, and for failings at other units it operates.

The ownership of Warneford Meadow has been transferred to Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust (OHFT), the managers of the Warneford Hospital. The move has been welcomed by the Meadow’s Friends.

There may soon be a new pedestrian crossing and some traffic-calming measures outside Windmill Primary School @WindmillOxford in Margaret Road.

The Grass of Parnassus (it’s not a grass) which recolonised Great Britain after the last Ice Age is flowering in the Lye Valley. Although common in more northerly parts of the British Isles it is rare this far south. Its alternative and more descriptive name is the Bog Star. More interesting detail, including the first written record of the plant, in this article.

The Butchers Arms @ButchersArmsOxf re-opened after a refurbishment.

Quarry residents got together to tidy up the garden around Quarry Village Hall.

About 250 runners took part in the Headington 5 on Sunday, raising money for @Oxsrad.

And in other clean-up news, Friday was Skip Day in Barton, when the City Council provided skips for residents to dispose of unwanted items and general rubbish.

Headington Badminton Club is looking for new members. They play on Mondays and Fridays at Headington School.

My favourite Headington-related tweet of the week:

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

  • City council by-election in Quarry & Risinghurst ward
  • 1812 Fireworks
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.