Events in Oxford leading up to Christmas

  • Thursday 7 to Sunday 17 December. Oxford Christmas Market, Broad Street, 10 am to 7 or 8 pm. Annual Christmas Market with a variety of traders, offering Christmas gifts and seasonal food and drink, a carousel and choirs singing.
  • Thursday 7 to  Wednesday 20 December, Chanukah Menorah, Broad Street. Lighting of the Menorah at 5 pm every day to celebrate the Jewish holiday of Chanukah – Festival of Lights.
  • Wednesday 13 DecemberCarol Singing by KEEN Oxford, Bonn Square, 5 pm to 6 pm. To support the Oxford charity that offers recreational and sporting activities for people with special needs.
  • Friday 15 DecemberRecycling Promotions Stall, Bonn Square, 11 am to 3 pm. Free promotional material for the public such as recycled items and leaflets, with a focus on Christmas recycling.
  • Saturday 16 DecemberNo One Should Have No One, Bonn Square, 10 am to 4 pm. Age UK are raising awareness of loneliness over the Christmas period.
  • Saturday 16 DecemberMaggie’s Busking, The Covered Market, 2 pm to 4 pm. Singers and musicians coming together to sing Christmas carols and collect donations for the local cancer charity Maggie’s.
  • Monday 18, Friday 22 and Saturday 23 DecemberCarol Singing by Betel UK, Bonn Square, 10 am to 5 pm. Victorian Carol Singing to raise funds for Betel UK.
  • Wednesday 20 DecemberRecycling Promotions Stall, Bury Knowle Park, 11 am to 3 pm. Free promotional material for the public such as recycled items and leaflets, with a focus on Christmas recycling.
  • Wednesday 20 December, NHS Blood Donor Recruitment, Bonn Square, 9.30 am to 4 pm. Opportunity to register as a blood donor.

Time restrictions on parking – a Manor Ground legacy?

A resident has asked why changes are being made to a Traffic regulation order in the Latimer Road area without including timing changes to parking restrictions in the Headington West Controlled Parking Zone – these currently show Saturday afternoon restrictions. The reply from the County Council may be of wider interest to those in the Highfield area so we are posting it up below.

We are aware of the anomalous situation within the Headington West CPZ in that many of the roads south of London Road have restrictions which were timed (both on Saturday afternoons and weekday evenings) to reflect the presence of the old Manor Ground. Indeed when we carried out a review of the Zone in around 2010 this was one of the main issues we sought to address. Unfortunately that review was never implemented, primarily due to the deterioration in Council finances, and  I am currently unaware when it will be revived. Were we to have proposed changes to the restriction timings in Bickerton and Stapleton Roads as part of the current very localised consultation there would no doubt have been criticism from residents in other streets within the CPZ that they were not included, and we do not currently have the resources to carry out a zone-wide consultation/review.

We have asked the officer to let us have an approximate cost for a zone-wide consultation and review so that this can be added to the infrastructure projects listed for potential funding from Community Infrastructure Levy monies.

Recycling and bin collections in the severe weather conditions

We have been alerted by the City Council that bin collections may be delayed this week, please see message below:

 

Freezing snow has made it difficult to operate recycling and waste collections safely today. The safety of crews and the public is paramount.

We’ll try to restart collections from tomorrow. If your collection day is Tuesday, leave the bin out. We’ll empty it by Saturday evening.

Latest Access to Headington update

Here is the latest from County about the Access to Headington scheme.

The Slade

We have now completed the work between the mini roundabout at Hollow Way and Wood Farm Road and we are looking to complete the current phase of work between Wood Farm Road and Slade Close before Christmas.

We will start the last phase after Christmas between Slade Close and Old Road – this will take approximately four weeks to complete.

Traffic management will remain in place over the Christmas period, though we will remove as much as we can. Daily safety checks will be carried out

 

Churchill Drive/Roosevelt Drive 

We are working in the final phase of this set of works and are on schedule to complete the main construction work before Christmas. There may be some minor work to do after Christmas but this will be minor and will cause little disruption.

The majority of the traffic management will be removed over the Christmas period however Churchill Drive will remain as access only and traffic leaving the Churchill site will continue to be diverted via Roosevelt Drive. The permanent traffic lights on Old Road have been switched on this week.

 

Headley Way

The team will start setting up begin on Tuesday 16th January, but this should not be disruptive to traffic. Construction work will start on Tuesday 23rd January. Information on programme of work will follow early January.

We are going to be holding a public exhibition on Thursday 14th December at the Heading Prep School between 2:30pm and 6:30pm. This is an opportunity to speak to members of the project team from the County Council, Skanska and the Designers. All aspects of the project remain the same as per the last public exhibition held in the Summer and all drawings can be found on the Oxfordshire County Council website.

 

Christmas Shut Down

All work will cease on Friday 22nd December for the Christmas period. Work will begin again on Tuesday 2nd January. Traffic management will remain in place during the closure for safety reasons. Regular safety checks will be made.

Parking tickets in Headington streets

We have asked for reports on the number of times civil enforcement officers have visited Staunton Road, Sandfield Road and Windmill Road and how many penalty notices have been issued from January 1st to the 27 November 2017. Here is their reply.

PCN = Penalty Charge Notices

VDA = Vehicle Driven Away before a PCN could be issued

Windmill Road

Visits – 2,159

PCNs issued –  44

VDAs  –  64

Staunton Road

Visits – 1,487

PCNs issued –  26

VDAs –  38

Sandfield Rd

Visits –  1,424

PCNs Issued –  53

VDA – 26

City Council statement following the autumn statement

We have received this statement from Corporate Communications at the City Council.

The Oxfordshire Growth Board has announced that the Oxfordshire councils and the Oxfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership (OxLEP) have reached an agreement with the Government for an additional investment of £215 million over the next five years to build infrastructure, deliver new homes and boost economic productivity across the county.

For the City council the deal offers the potential to increase investment in building homes for affordable and social rent and in infrastructure to support our key development projects. 

The funding will not only frame Oxfordshire’s development, it is set to have a direct effect on the way that planning, finance and other services in each of the county’s six councils will operate.     

The Growth Board, working with the Homes and Communities Agency, the Highways Agency and other partners, will oversee the investment with the aim of cementing a partnership with the Government to deliver properly planned growth and economic development. It will also help Oxfordshire councils achieve the ambition of 100,000 new homes across the county over the period 2011-2031, as identified through the 2014 countywide Strategic Housing Market Assessment and Local Plans.

Oxfordshire’s knowledge-based economy

The Government recognises the importance of Oxfordshire’s knowledge-intensive economy, with its two universities and research institutions. It will work with OxLEP to develop a Local Industrial Strategy (LIS) to back Oxfordshire’s world-class science and innovation assets and grow new sectors. Support will also be provided to high-growth companies, to address skills needs and attract further investment and expansion of the Science Vale and Didcot Enterprise Zones.

The Government will provide Oxfordshire’s councils with £60 million for affordable housing and £150 million for infrastructure. Oxfordshire councils are already committing over £340 million for infrastructure and housing investment over the period. The Government will also provide £5 million in capacity funding to help take the programme forward. This will include a Joint Strategic Spatial Plan to provide a county-wide planning framework to guide growth.

Separate bids to the Government’s Housing Infrastructure Fund (HIF), to support the development of the Didcot Garden Town, and West Oxfordshire and North of Oxford Garden Villages, are still being considered by the Government with decisions expected in the new year.

Last week the National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) published its report on the Oxford-Cambridge arc. It advised on long-term funding for new transport infrastructure to harness the region’s economic potential, to benefit local people and boost UK plc post-Brexit.

Next steps

The Growth Board will now work up a delivery plan with the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) and the Department for Communities and Local Government. Final agreement on the deal will be subject to agreement by all six councils and OxLEP.

The Government has committed to provide greater freedom and flexibility for Oxfordshire councils to help prevent speculative development. The HCA will help to ensure that land needed for development across the county is brought forward and will work with the councils on longer-term solutions to make sure sites are built out.

Growth Board members will continue to seek further Government funding and private investment alongside local authority funds to support infrastructure and housing development.