- Thursday 3 November, Monica Fooks Memorial Lecture, Sommerville College, 5.30pm.Professor Guy Goodwin, Professor of Psychiatry at Oxford University, will be leading a memorial lecture on the topic: ‘Mind the gap: do psychiatry and science belong together or not?’.
- Saturday 5 November, Oxford Round Table Fireworks Display 2016, South Park,4.30 to 10.30 pm. Annual charity fundraising event which includes a firework display and bonfire, Jack FM sound stage, event catering, family area, public bar tent and funfair. www.oxfordfireworks.co.uk
- Saturday 5 November, Oxford Poppy Day, Broad Street, 9.30 am to 4 pm. Oxford Poppy Day in aid of the Royal British Legion poppy appeal, including a street collection and live music by youth bands and information/outreach regarding the RBL. www.britishlegion.org.uk
- Sunday 13 November, Remembrance Day Service and Parade, St Giles, 10 am to 12.15 pm. The annual Remembrance Day ceremony will be at the memorial on St Giles along with a parade. www.oxford.gov.uk
- Sunday 20 November, Thames Valley Orienteering Club – Orienteering Event, Shotover Country Park (Brasenose Woods), 8 am to 4 pm. Competitors will have individual time slots at the start and run by themselves around the course through Brasenose Woods. www.TVOC.org.uk
- Friday 25 to Sunday 27 November, Christmas Light Festival 2016, City Centre inc. Broad Street, Gloucester Green & Oxford Castle, 5 to 10 pm (Fri), 10 am to 10 pm (Sat) & 10am to 4 pm (Sun). Annual city event with the core outdoor event happening on Friday evening and various different cultural activities, most of which are free, taking place throughout the weekend. www.oxfordschristmas.com
- Saturday 26 November, Have Your Say Meeting, Manzil Way Gardens, 10 am to 2 pm. This info stand by OCC’s Community Response Team aims to get resident’s views on issues in the area as well as the issues that matter most to them. www.oxford.gov.uk
- Saturday 26 November, Documentary Screening: A Plastic Ocean, St Anne’s College, 6.30pm. Screening followed by a Q&A session with the Executive Advisor to the film, David Jones. Tickets available at https://fixr-app.com/event/12130
Daytime support consultation -have your say
Find out more about the County Council’s proposals for a new, flexible system of daytime support across the county, and share your views on the options that have been proposed.
Book your place at one of their meetings.
Call 01865 323410 or email daytimesupportreview@oxfordshire.gov.uk. The County Council can organise transport for you or pay travelling costs if required.
Oxford
Tuesday 22 November 2016, 12.30pm – 2:30pm
West Oxford Community Centre, Botley Rd, Oxford OX2 0BT
Banbury
Wednesday 23 November, 12.30pm – 2:30pm Banbury Town Hall, 1 Bridge St, Banbury OX16 5QB
For more information – visit their website or pick up a consultation pack at a daytime support centre or library.
Closing date for comments: 20 December 2016
Oxford’s Remembrance Day service
Oxford’s Remembrance Sunday service will take place at the War Memorial in St Giles, between 10.30am and 12.15pm on 13 November. The service will be preceded by a procession, leaving St John’s College at 10.25am.
The service will be led by the Rt Revd Dr Steven Croft, the Bishop of Oxford, and the City Rector, the Very Revd Robert Wilkes, with the Lord Mayor of Oxford, Councillor Mohammed Altaf-Kan, and multi-faith leaders from across the city in attendance. Representatives from the University of Oxford, Oxford Brookes University, Oxfordshire County Council, the High Sheriff, Thames Valley Police, Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue the Royal British Legion, Help for Heroes and Oxford’s twin cities will also attend. Oxford Spires Scouts will be on hand to give out orders of service and sell poppies. Everyone is welcome. People are advised to arrive early.
After the service, the City Council procession will return to St John’s College, for the Lord-Lieutenant, Tim Stevenson OBE, to take the salute as the military and Royal British Legion march past.
Banbury Road, Beaumont Road, Keble Road, Magdalen Street East and West, and St Giles will be closed from 12.01am to 2pm on Sunday 13 November.
There will also be a short service on Armistice Day, Friday 11 November, from 10.45am in Oxford Town Hall. The service will be led by the Lord Mayor of Oxford and all are welcome to attend. There will be a Minute’s Silence at 11am.
The Lord Mayor of Oxford, Councillor Mohammed Altaf-Khan, says: “Remembrance events give an opportunity for the whole community to remember and honour those who made the ultimate sacrifice to secure and protect our freedom. I would like to invite the people of Oxford to join me on Friday and Sunday and, united, to pay our respects.” His Headington ward colleague Cllr Ruth Wilkinson will attend the service in St Giles.
City Council underspend is questioned by Lib Dem Group
The City Council has reported an underspend of £494K for the year 2015/16. Cllr Jean Fooks who is a member of the Finance Scrutiny Panel, noticed that in fact the city had spent almost £2m less than its budget of £23.3m. About £1m was due to projects not having been completed, or even started in some cases, and this has been carried forward to be spent in 2016/17. Of the rest, £360k was allocated at the last minute to bids not originally proposed, mostly extra spend not publicly agreed.
It looks as if Council Tax did not need to be raised as it was. LibDems asked why there had been no public discussion of how the £361k was to be spent and have queried this use of resources.
Lib Dem councillors will be keeping a very close eye on the Labour City Council accounts for this year and the proposals for 2017/18.
User survey: cycling improvements at The Plain
Do you think they worked? Please let the County Council know.
Online feedback invited here
Temporary traffic lights failure at Roosevelt Drive
A replacement set of lights, that can be manually controlled, are arriving within the hour so by this afternoon’s rush hour, the lights should be back to normal.
It’s not clear why the temporary traffic lights failed last night but there has been some evidence of tampering with them earlier in the week
Headington sewer capacity
Here are some notes from a meeting with Thames Water, following sewage spills in and around London Road and Brookside.
Pipe capacity
- There is a 150 mm pipe down London Rd
- This joins a 300 mm pipe in All Saints Road
- Capacity has been checked in and around the junction of Headley Way, London Road and Brookside and this is OK.
- If capacity were a problem then the sewer would block up daily.
- Sewer pipes need to be fairly full as they are self-cleaning so require steady flow
Monitoring capacity
- Growth forecast is considered every 6 months so incremental change is spotted.
- They have just finished plotting capacity across the City and Headington is OK. (evidence shown for this)
- London Road sewer (incl Brookside) is on the 1 year planned maintenance list because of the frequency of incidents but the latter have all been due to a build-up of fat and grease
How to contact Thames Water
Thames Water enquiry number is 0800 316 9800 to report drainage issues
Responsibility for sewers
Thames Water look after shared sewers. As soon as a sewer leaves your land then Thames Water looks after it
- If a sewer pipe runs past no. 1, 3, 5, 7 then the owner of no. 1 is responsible for sorting out problems with the pipe inside his/her curtilage but when it gets to no. 3 and thereafter it’s the responsibility of TW
- If unsure whose responsibility it is, ring Thames Water enquiry number
Causes of sewer blockage
Fat and grease clings to non-biodegradable wipes – these are everywhere now, not just baby wipes but surface wipes, make-up wipes etc
New technology to detect blockage
Echo system technology is newly available – don’t have to dig up major roads to put cameras down from now on, can send down an echo finder and get a reading from that
Further action agreed
- TW to send posters/leaflets/.pdf link to Cllrs to promote what can and can’t go down sinks/toilets
- TW to establish whether promotion dept is working with Oxford Brookes and Headington School
- Cllrs to contact Thames Water if we think street traders are pouring grease into the sewers
Science Transit Bus route update
Following intervention from Headington Lib Dem councillors, the following communication has been received from the University.
After meeting the County and discussion with UNO Bus Ltd we have agreed to maintain the service on the current routing for the time being and not to implement a diversion.
We will continue to review the situation and if it does transpire that congestion causes problems with reliability we will again re-examine. However, a diversion by Lime Walk is clearly in no-one’s interest whilst the Heat Pipe works are in operation.
I will contact you in advance if this situation changes and would be happy to meet in due course
Ruth says,
This is a welcome move by the University at a time when many residents are beset by roadworks, parking displacement, and temporary road closures.
Up and coming events in Oxford
- Thursday 27 October, Magic, Witches and Potions, Museum of Oxford, 2pm to 4pm. Find out about natural remedies and beliefs in magic and witchcraft in the time of Shakespeare. Have fun making your own fizzing potion! FREE (donations welcome!).
- Saturday 29 October, Oxcavation, Museum of Oxford, 5.30pm to 8pm. Join our archaeology team as we learn more about Oxford’s fascinating history, whilst digging up new discoveries of your own. Suitable for children 5+.
- Thursday 3 November, Monica Fooks Memorial Lecture, Sommerville College, 5.30pm.Professor Guy Goodwin, Professor of Psychiatry at Oxford University, will be leading a memorial lecture on the topic: ‘Mind the gap: do psychiatry and science belong together or not?’.
- Saturday 5 November, Oxford Round Table Fireworks Display 2016, South Park,4.30 to 10.30 pm. Annual charity fundraising event which includes a firework display and bonfire, Jack FM sound stage, event catering, family area, public bar tent and funfair. www.oxfordfireworks.co.uk
- Saturday 5 November, Oxford Poppy Day, Broad Street, 9.30 am to 4 pm. Oxford Poppy Day in aid of the Royal British Legion poppy appeal, including a street collection and live music by youth bands and information/outreach regarding the RBL. www.britishlegion.org.uk
- Sunday 13 November, Remembrance Day Service and Parade, St Giles, 10 am to 12.15 pm. The annual Remembrance Day ceremony will be at the memorial on St Giles along with a parade. www.oxford.gov.uk
- Sunday 20 November, Thames Valley Orienteering Club – Orienteering Event, Shotover Country Park (Brasenose Woods), 8 am to 4 pm. Competitors will have individual time slots at the start and run by themselves around the course through Brasenose Woods. www.TVOC.org.uk
- Friday 25 to Sunday 27 November, Christmas Light Festival 2016, City Centre inc. Broad Street, Gloucester Green & Oxford Castle, 5 to 10 pm (Fri), 10 am to 10 pm (Sat) & 10am to 4 pm (Sun). Annual city event with the core outdoor event happening on Friday evening and various different cultural activities, most of which are free, taking place throughout the weekend. www.oxfordschristmas.com
- Saturday 26 November, Have Your Say Meeting, Manzil Way Gardens, 10 am to 2 pm. This info stand by OCC’s Community Response Team aims to get resident’s views on issues in the area as well as the issues that matter most to them. www.oxford.gov.uk
Sizeable planning applications this week in Headington
Major applications have been submitted for Lime Walk and Stansfeld Outdoor Centre, these will automatically be decided at Committee. There are also applications relating to the NOC and the front wall of the Arts and Crafts house next to Dorset House. You can find details by clicking our Planning Applications tab above.