Come and work at the Museum of Oxford…for free!

The Museum of Oxford is seeking volunteers during the summer to learn about the museum and its collections and to engage with visitors. It is offering six to eight week placements where you will be able to steward the galleries, help collect and collate visitor feedback as well as engaging with the visiting public. This opportunity would suit those looking for work in museums and heritage and will give invaluable experience with a vast range of people (but no salary).

Those interested should send a brief statement of interest to museum@oxford.gov.uk and be able to commit to a minimum of 4 hours per week over the summer months.  Applicants also need to be available for an induction on the 14th of July to be able to start during the week commencing the 21st of July. Please contact David on 01865 252417 for an informal discussion if you are interested in these placements.

Latest planning applications

There are 4 of note this week: a readvertisement for an extension in Sandfield Road, extensions in Latimer Road and Windmill Road, and an application to develop Marywood House into 2 buildings supporting 23 flats and 20 car parking spaces. For details please see Planning Applications tab above.

 

Headington World Schools Sports Day a huge success!

Ruth writes:

It was a great honour for me to be invited to open Headington World Schools Sports Day on Tuesday morning at the Community Arena in Marsh Lane. The event attracted funding from a number of sources, and I elected to allocate £254.50 from the Headington Ward budget to help with transport for Headington Schools Partnership children from Windmill School, St Andrew’s School and Cheney School among others.

Headington World School Sports Day

Warming up for Headington World Schools Sports Day

 

Children from each of the schools formed teams representing different countries of the world and pledged that they would take part in the spirit of true sportsmanship and friendship, just like the athletes at the Commonwealth Games in 2 weeks time.

The number of sports on offer included:

  • lacrosse
  • boccia
  • basketball
  • ju-jitsu
  • rugby league
  • tennis
  • football
  • table tennis
  • tri-golf
  • handball
  • dance
  • athletics
  • volleyball
  • dodgeball
  • hockey
  • cricket
  • handball

and a great time was had by all – even the coaches!

Congratulations to Lesley Williams and the Headington Partnership for organising it all.

From grass roots to national policy: carers’ bonus

It’s good to see that the national Lib Dem party has take up an idea from an ordinary party member to develop into national policy in its next manifesto, in this case from Nicky in Truro.

Almost half of all carers are cutting back on essentials like food and heating. Around 6 in 10 of us will become carers at some point in our lives, saving the state around £119 billion but putting significant financial hardship on the carer. Research by YouGov has shown that when people are asked what would worry them the most if they or a loved one needed care in the future, the top answer was ‘money worries’. Lib Dems want to recognise the vital work that carers do.

The Carer’s Bonus will give an annual bonus of £125 to 1170 carers in Oxford City who have been entitled to Carer’s Allowance for at least one year. This bonus will rise every year to £250 by the end of the next Parliament.

If you think this is a good idea or have any other suggestions for improved policy for carers, please contact the Lib Dem Prospective Parliamentary candidate Mark Mann via our Contact Us tab at the top of the screen

bbc

Mark Mann

Consultation on the County’s Transport Plan ends 1 August

Local Transport Plan 4 – Stage 1: Goals and Objectives

The County Council has published a consultation document setting out proposed goals and objectives for the new Local Transport Plan. You have until 1 August to send in your comments.
To see the document please click here
These are the questions that residents are being asked:

Consultation Questions

  1. Do you feel we have correctly identified the most important transport challenges that need to be addressed? If NO, please say what you think are the most important challenges.
  2. What do you think is the best way to reduce the need to travel?
  3. Please tell us your ideas for making the best use of the existing transport network.
  4. How could travel around Oxfordshire be made easier for you?
  5. What do you think are the best ways to meet the travel needs of people who do not have access to a car, for example younger, older and disabled people?
  6. Where in Oxfordshire do you think future development would best be located to help reduce transport problems?
  7. When trying to reduce journey times and improve journey time reliability, what (if any) types of journey should be prioritised?
  8. What do you think would make public transport more attractive to people who don’t normally use it?
  9. The need for of goods and materials to be transported will increase as the population grows – how should our transport strategy address the negative impacts of increased freight transport (lorries and vans) on people’s lives and the environment?
  10. What do you think are the best ways to reduce carbon emissions from transport in Oxfordshire?
  11. What are the best ways to encourage more people to walk?
  12. What are the best ways to encourage more people to cycle?
  13. Overall, do you agree with the draft high level goals and objectives for LTP4? If NO, please say which you disagree with and explain why.
  14. Is there anything which the goals and objectives do not adequately cover? If YES please tell us what you think they should cover.
  15. Finding the money to install mass transit schemes such as trams may not be possible within the current funding mechanisms (government grants and developer funding). How do you think the money could be raised in other ways?

Ping! is back in Bury Knowle Park

table tennis bats

Ping! Oxford is a festival of free table tennis that brings communities together through sport.

After its huge success last year which saw 21,000 participate in just 5 weeks, the festival is back for 2014 and will be running from 12 July to 7 September.

Bury Knowle Park will be helped by local Ping! Maker volunteers to keep the tables stocked with bats and balls and who will also complete simple monitoring and evaluation forms to give the City Council an idea of how many people take part in the festival.

Appeal for witnesses following incident

Thames Valley Police is appealing for witnesses following an assault in Headington, Oxford.

At about 10am on Tuesday 24 June, a man and woman were seen arguing at the junction of London Road and Windmill Road.

During the altercation, the man was seen to head butt the woman. He was white, of large build, and with short blond hair. He was wearing a red t-shirt and dark trousers.

This is believed to have been seen by people waiting at a nearby bus stop and a woman asked the victim if she was ok.
If you were this woman or witnessed the incident, please contact Det Con Vicki Middlecote Police via the 24-hour Police Enquiry Centre on 101.

To flush? Or not to flush?

flush

 

Many residents have complained to us about regular sewage flooding in Old Headington. A foul sewer runs down Osler Road from outside Ivy Lane Flats, turns right along St Andrew’s Road, and backs up from the junction with Laurel Farm Close. This causes the manhole cover to lift in Osler Road causing sewage to flow down the hill. This happened last week and the blockage was due to fat and grease. While we investigate this further, Thames Water is carrying out a leaflet drop to residents in the area to advise folk about what you can and can’t flush down the drains. To see the leaflet, click bin-it-dont-block-it-july-2009

Road name for Bury Knowle Depot development

The Bury Knowle Park Depot development requires a new road name. The following have been put forward for consideration:

  1. Bury Knowle Paddock: suggested by the Heritage Team. Historically this site was used as a paddock for Racehorses and Hunters
  2. Locks Court : suggested by the Heritage Team. Joseph Lock was the founder and builder of Bury Knowle House
  3. Magnolia Grove: Tree Officers advised. (common species in the Park)
  4. Oak Grove : Tree Officers advised. (common species in the Park)

Please let us know your preferred name on or before 6 July.