Dates for digital TV switchover

REMAINING SWITCHOVER DATES ANNOUNCED

The remaining dates for digital TV switchover in the Central region have been announced by Digital UK. Analogue signals will be switched off at nine transmitter groups in 2011, allowing digital signals to be boosted to reach virtually all homes. A full list of dates for regions has been published:

Transmitter group: Oxford

Area covered: Oxfordshire, parts of Berkshire and Buckinghamshire

Stage one (BBC Two analogue off):  14 September 2011

Stage two (All analogue channels off) :  28 September 2011

ROADSHOW DATES GO LIVE!
Digital UK will be running 240 roadshows across the Central TV region next year, both before switchover and at both stages. The roadshow will visit shopping centres and market squares in major cities and towns offering free advice and support about any aspects of the switchover process. The full list is now available on the Digital UK website and you can check locations and dates here.

The future for day centre provision – have your say!

Oxfordshire County Council has launched a consultation for the Day Opportunities which ends on 12th November.  The Day Opportunities paper places much greater emphasis and investment on promoting and maintaining well being and consequently deferring and preventing the need for more expensive, acute and intensive interventions.
OCC is seeking feedback on these proposals, and would encourage people to use the link and the “Respond to the Consultation” button to give their views.

For those people who do not have access to the internet, and would like printed copies, please contact
Sue Taylor
Email sue.taylor@oxfordshire.gov.uk
Phone  01865 323625
Postal Address

Taking Part Team
4th Floor, County Hall
New Road, Oxford, OX1 1ND

Headington Christmas lights

As many of you will know, there is always an issue about Christmas lights in Headington at this time of year, and this is often debated at Area Committee

Following a meeting held yesterday, Headington Action will act as the umbrella group for dealing with the finances for this and supporting/developing the way forward.

The group agreed that for this year there would be a small scale Christmas event focussing on the Christmas tree and lights and possibly carol singing/band. It was felt that putting lights up on the street lamps would not be possible this year as funding needed to be sought etc. 

The issue of people gathering if there was a switch on of the lights and the need for any road closure was discussed and it was agreed that this would not be possible this year. If there was a switch on of the tree lights, this would need to coincide with a late night shopping night (Thurs) and any carol singers, bands would need to be at various locations outside shops (Co-op, Waitrose etc) to avoid any crowd build up in one place.
We are grateful to Jill Cummings and all those involved in resolving these issues including Patrick and Richard from Headington Action, and Neil and Elaine and Paul for Headington businesses.

Prospective development sites in Headington

The City Council’s Planning Department is drafting a ‘sites document’ which will supersede part of the Local Plan. In this, they’ll look at a range of sites suggested for development and some of them are in Headington. They are going to have ‘pre-consultation’ before they draw up their draft and this is going to be a good opportunity for residents’ input. Sites in our area include Ruskin’s fields (as Ruskin suggested them) and the Old High Street car park (the suggestion being building over the car park — this was proposed by the Council’s Estates Department).

Planning is not pushing these developments — the sites document will be about those which might happen before 2026 and some of those mentioned in the city may be knocked on the head even before the draft is produced. In the case of Ruskin’s fields, the Conservation Area Appraisal will take precedence.

There will be a ‘workshop’ in the Headington Baptist Church on the evening of 30th November from 4.30-7.00 pm. It is open to all, and Ruth will be there too

London Road redevelopment

 We have held site meetings over the past couple of weeks with county officers, representatives of the contractor, residents and representatives of voluntary groups to sort out some concerns and perceptions about various aspects of the London Road project. These are some of the issues we raised

1          La Croissanterie/Monaco, Old High Street

 

  • Extra bollard to be put in by access road to stop Waitrose delivery lorries mounting the kerb near Monaco (safer for pedestrians)
  • Bike racks to be re-positioned to increase pavement space for buggies and wheelchairs outside the cafe


2          Stephen Road/Nat West corner

 

Road surface will be brought up to pavement height with gentle slope to rest of Stephen Road surface. It will be OK for buggies once this has been done


3          Osler Road – dangerous crossing point/sight lines

 

  • Look both ways sign still being debated: pedestrians assume the raised box is a crossing point pedestrian stop place, but it’s a box to govern the lights for the bus gate. County officers consider this an unsafe crossing place for pedestrians  so they have raised the platform and covered it in pyramidal shapes that are harder to stand on
  • Confusion over white line dividing cycle track/pedestrian footway and the white kerb edging for partially sighted people – we are informed that this will improve as soon as the kerb edges get worn and dirty

 

4          Junction with Kennett Road

 

  • Litter bin obtrusive on corner and spoils sight lines for motorists emerging from junction, officers will consider moving this to a location next to the bus shelter on the South side

 

5          Noticeboard on the south side of London Rd and bus shelter

 

  • Bus shelter to be installed adjacent to noticeboard so the latter will then not stick out so obviously and will get read.
  • Bus shelter only has a back to it so the shelter will give some shelter from the west
  • Bus stop to be placed as before except that the coach stop is moving further up London Road

6    Lamp post by pedestrian crossing (outside Iceland) in front of pedestrian crossing

 

  • This is still a concern. A lamp post has been positioned directly in front of the pedestrian crossing and a partially sighted resident has objected to this
  • Lighting is needed thereabouts for safety at the crossing and from the construction point of view needs to be at a building line (this happens to be exactly where the crossing is located). Lamps also have to be alternate sides of London Road so this one has to be in that area
  • We asked if we could combine the lamp post and the pole with the pedestrian crossing button on it in one pole: this would require a lamp column with a wider base, in part to accommodate the extra electrical fittings needed. This appears to be something that can’t be changed at this stage, but we have asked our county councillors to assist in lobbying for this

  • If the lamp post can’t be relocated, then we decided that lines should be painted on it so that partially sighted people can see it more clearly, possibly black lines (for contrast against the grey) at eye height (standing) and another at eye height (wheelchair)

 

7          London Road (Andrews estate agents)

  • The landlord for this property did not wish to take part in the repaving scheme. The management of the uneven surfaces and area around the tree outside is the responsibility of the landlord, not the County Council. The Area Steward’s team has advised them that they are responsible for any accident occurring on that private land and that they are likely to be sued by members of the general public should they trip or fall in that area

New bus shelter outside the NOC

Work should be taking place today on the installation of a bus shelter outside the NOC. We’re really pleased that our campaign to assist Nuffield Orthopaedic patients in this way has brought results!


Fines for Fly-Tippers

In recent months the Park Rangers have identified and fined two persistent fly-tippers who dumped domestic rubbish in Dunstan Park. It’s good to learn that the City Council’s officers take this sort of offence so seriously.If you are aware of any other instances of fly-tipping please let us know