transport

Headington Headlines #124

TonyOX3

Here’s my weekly round-up of local news for 5 – 11 August.

Labour Councillor @Laurencepbaxter (Quarry & Risinghurst) wrote to @DNimmoSmit1 (Con, Henley-on-Thames), County cabinet member for transport, urging the installation of traffic lights and a pedestrian crossing at the Collinwood Road junction on the A40.

As Oxford City consult on air quality, or rather the lack of it, Headington came in for special mention. At the same time Oxfordshire County Council are working on a strategy for accommodating even more traffic.

However, the Headington Transport Strategy has come in for criticism for its lack of community involvement. The full story is on my blog here.

@kalicer reviewed the Royal India, at the Chequers in Headington Quarry.

Morrisons got planning permission for a new shop front on the old Blockbuster store and the shopfitters have already started preparing the shop.

A police traffic enforcement operation in Northway, Marston on Thursday resulted in fines for motorists found shaving while driving, writing notes of a phone conversation, and reading directions from a book on the steering wheel. 14 drivers were fined for using hand-held mobile phones.

A police car responding to an emergency call was involved in a minor collision on the London Road on Friday. Never say my reporting isn’t balanced!

Headington businesses and local community groups have raised £2000 for floral displays.

@Oxford_Brookes is putting on an exhibition of the public art which they are required to provide to enhance their new buildings. It runs until Thursday this week.

Two men were arrested in Headington on Tuesday with ‘a large quantity of drugs’.

Friends of the Earth published a map showing areas of the country ‘being considered’ for the issue of fracking licences. Not just Headington but the whole of Oxford is covered.

In a first for Headington Headlines, at the time I put this report to bed there were no posts on the Headington & Marston e-democracy forum this week.

I try to 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 #122

TonyOX3

Here’s my weekly round-up of local news for 22 – 28 July.

New High Street was closed for several days for resurfacing.

Next street along, several residents in Kennett Road have objected to an application to create a disabled parking space. There’s a suggestion the applicant may already have somewhere to park off the street.

@TVP_Oxford raided a number of properties in Barton and Headington on Wednesday morning on suspicion of drug offences. The targets were in Cranley Road and Waynflete Road in Barton and John Snow Place on the London Road. At least one man has been charged.

News broke that @OxfordshireCC are conducting a strategic transport review of Headington’s traffic problems. Headington transport and cycling groups, Neighbourhood Plan team and other interested groups were unaware until about two weeks ago and there seem to be no plans to involve them. Describing the review as ‘major’ is rather exaggerated as the Council has apparently budgeted less than £25,000 for the consultants they have commissioned.

The cricket wicket in Margaret Road park was refurbished. Councillors @delia_sinclair @MarkLygo and @LaurencepBaxter celebrated.

Having acknowledged a while ago that their ban on smoking anywhere on site was unenforceable in practice, the JR Hospital has submitted a planning application to erect five smoking shelters.

There was a snatch robbery on the London Road on Wednesday the week before last. Police appeal for information.

Morrisons was granted an alcohol licence for 6am to midnight at the old Blockbuster shop.

Barton is getting £14,575 from @OxfordCity‘s Social Inclusion Fund for youth work, advice work and the Barton Bash.

The Film under the Stars screening in Bury Knowle Park on Saturday had to be cancelled because of the rain. @FilmOxford say it will be rescheduled for later in the school holidays.

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

  • Plans for the new Barton estate now available
  • New High Street Re-surfacing
  • Supermarkets in Headington
I try to 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 #101

TonyOX3

Here’s my weekly round-up of local news for 25 February – 3 March.

From this morning (4 March) Beaumont Road will be closed from Quarry Hollow to Green Road while the County Council instals a new surface water rising main. The closure is scheduled to run until 16 April.

Headington Action (@HeadingtonA) organised a well attended and enthusiastic meeting when it was agreed to go ahead with producing a Neighbourhood Plan for Headington. Cllrs @RuthWilk and @DavidRundle have published a report of the meeting. This is the start of a long process on which I and others will try to keep you up to date.

Two days later a group aiming to help develop an integrated transport strategy for Headington met for the first time. The inaugural meeting was also organised by @HeadingtonA.

The Post Office letterbox in All Saints Road was the object of a possible arson attack last Sunday (24 Feb) although the cause of the small fire is unclear.

Also last Sunday there was a robbery at Threshers off-licence in Cherwell Drive, Marston.

Headington’s Blockbuster store is going to close and will become a Morrison’s supermarket. There are reports too that the owner of the closed Crown and Thistle pub in Old Road may be looking at alternative uses for the building.

Our very own Dee Sinclair, City Councillor for Quarry & Risinghust and candidate for the new Headington and Quarry Division in the County Council elections in May, is to be the next Lord Mayor of Oxford from May this year. Come on Dee! With such a high profile you’ll just have to get that @delia_sinclair twitter account going!

@ThriveBarton‘s work in Barton is the subject of an article in the Newsletter of the Volunteering & International Psychiatry Special Interest Group of the Royal College of Psychiatrists. It’s on page 5.

A man from Aldbarton Drive, Barton was sentenced to four months jail for dangerous dogs offences. Three people had been attacked and needed hospital treatment.

The two men who were in court on charges of rape in Bury Knowle Park (see original press report) were acquitted.

The City Council’s Sites and Housing Plan was formally adopted on 18 February – the end of a long process. The definitive version is here.

So far only Oxford Civic Society @oxcivicsox has commented on the latest planning applcation for 29 Old High Street. They are broadly supportive. Application ref: 13/00311/FUL.

Lime Walk was closed between London Road and All Saints’ Road for a short time on Friday for emergency water main repairs.

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

  • A Neighbourhood Plan for Headington?
  • A Lord Mayor on this forum again from May 2013!
  • New Lime Walk and All Saints junction “improvements”
  • Crown and Thistle
  • Spate of burglaries in Headington
  • Blockbusters in Headington is closing after all
  • Zhen Shan Ren (Truth Compassion Tolerance) Art Exhibition
  • Redevelopment of Northway
I try to 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.