West Barton

Headington Headlines #115

TonyOX3

Here’s my weekly round-up of local news for 3 – 9 June.

It was Risinghurst and Sandhills’ turn to have community fun yesterday (Sunday) – the Community Fete and Picnic, opened by Lord Mayor @dee_sinclair.

A burst water main in Borrowmead Road, Northway, left 37 properties without water for a time on Tuesday.

EF language school @EFOxford has withdrawn its planning application to redevelop Cotuit Hall in Pullen’s Lane as an International Academy. They say this is after local residents objected, and they intend to engage with the community before submitting revised plans later this year. I’ve added this news to my Cotuit Hall timeline on Storify.

Morrison’s have applied for an alcohol licence for the old Blockbuster shop.

The outline planning application (ref 13/01383/OUT) for the West Barton development has been submitted and is on the City Council’s website.

The East Area Planning Committee meeting on Wednesday approved the two Haboakus developments in Northway, but drainage and sewerage issues have to be sorted out before development starts. The Committee rejected the third application (in Barns Road, Cowley) because of inadequate of parking provision.

Londis now has a 24-hour alcohol licence.

Martin Young’s latest planning application looks like being turned down at the next Planning Committee meeting, according to The Oxford Mail.

Some Xbox games and cash were stolen in a break-in in Blackthorn Close on Thursday.

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

  • How does the Jack Straw’s Lane “bicycle street” work?
  • Headington Festival and Sports Day 2013
  • Plans for the new Barton estate now available
  • Noise in Quarry
  • Crown and Thistle
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 #104

TonyOX3

Here’s my weekly round-up of local news for 18 – 24 March.

Several crime stories this week.

A £500 reward has been offered for information leading to the return of a stolen laptop. The burglary happened on Wednesday the week before last (13 March) in Trinity Road, Quarry.

Later in the week police issued a general warning about a spate of burglaries and thefts from cars in and around Headington.

They also released a CCTV picture of a man they want to talk to about the early-morning robbery at Greggs on 7 March.

Another robbery, this one at BetFred bookmakers in The Slade on Sunday 17 March. One of the culprits had what may have been a handgun. Police are asking for any information.

In other news, the County Council approved plans to expand Windmill Primary School (@WindmillOxford) to three-form entry.

Blockbusters finally closed its doors. Roll on Morrisons!

The Department of Health has put plans to sell Warneford Meadow on hold while Oxford Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust decides whether or not to buy the land itself. The Trust has pledged that if the purchase goes ahead it would honour a deal that allows the Friends of Warneford Meadow to maintain the 18-acre meadow.

West Barton developers @BartonOxford took to twitter to clarify that the planned Community Hub in the new development will not have a doctors’ surgery so shouldn’t mean the closure of the existing surgery at Underhill Circus. Provision of services for West Barton is not yet decided.

The Headington Neighbourhood Forum met formally for the first time on Tuesday. See my note and the draft notes of the meeting.

The local news media were lured into reporting a marketing puff by commercial vehicle tracking company @RAMtracking who claimed that The Slade and the London Road in Headington were among the top 20 (not top 10 as some reported) “most congested non-motorway roads in the UK”. The calculations behind this claim can’t be found on their website, but seem to be based on a comparison of either average or lowest speeds of an unkown number of commercial vehicles using their equipment between 8 and 9 am, compared in some unexplained way to speeds between 11 and 12 am. A good example of nonsense dressed up as statistical analysis. @Cyclox got in on the act with a filmed interview on @BBCOxford.

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

  • Bedroom Tax Demonstration – Saturday 16th 1pm – Bonn Square Oxford
  • Thornhill Park and Ride Expansion Plans.
  • Should Windmill School grow to over 600 pupils?
  • Headington has 2 of the country’s most congested roads
  • Is pollution in Headington increasing?
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 #91

TonyOX3

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

The Manor Hospital, run by private company Nuffield Health, has installed a new MRI scanner replacing the original equipment dating from when the hospital opened in 2004.

The Friends of Warneford Meadow have set up a limited company as a charity to raise funds to buy the meadow from the Department of Health. The meadow is expected to go on the market early in the New Year.

The overall plans for the Barton West development of some 900 new homes was signed off by the City Council on Monday. Looks like it’s going to happen folks! The next step is for the developers to put forward specific planning applications for consultation and approval.

A man was arrested in Headington’s Trade Exchange shop on Tuesday morning.

The West Wing Atrium of the JR Hospital was the venue for carol singing twice this week: Wednesday evening with The Salvation Army and Songsters, and on Friday afternoon with the Abingdon Brass Band.

The two men charged with raping a woman in Bury Knowle Park in September (see original report) pleaded not guilty at Oxford Crown Court on Thursday and will stand trial in February.

Two new shops are opening soon in Marston: Oxybox take-away and a butcher’s shop called ‘Marston Meat’. Both are in the parade on Marston Road next to the petrol station on Cherwell Drive.

Oxfordshire County Council has confirmed that work to rebuild the collapsed drains which cause the road at Headington cross-roads to flood in even moderate rain is scheduled for next month (Jan 2013). They have also announced that work on the planned expansion of Thornhill Park & Ride will start in January. This will provide 500 new parking spaces and cost an estimated £3.6m part of which will be met from the Government’s Local Sustainable Transport grant.

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

  • London Road Improvements Stage 3
  • Empty shops in Headington
  • Long-stay charging to begin at Park and Ride
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.