Headington Protest gets national TV coverage

Walk of protest 2

photo courtesy of Headington News

Around 80 Headington residents joined Headington Lib Dem councillors on a Walk of Protest in London Road last Saturday morning. It was clear for all to see that parts of the London Road surface had degraded to such an extent that the only solution is to re-build the road itself.

The demonstration was covered by the Oxford Mail, Jack FM, Brookes TV and Geo TV, the breaking news channel on world issues in Urdu.

Links are here:

Geo TV

Oxford Mail

It is clear that this issue above all others is of great concern to all who live and work in Headington, and we shall be campaigning hard for a re-build. The situation has become so bad that a resurface would only be a temporary, not a permanent solution. We need a re-build NOW!

Mark Mann wins PPC election to stand against Andrew Smith

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Mark Mann, Parliamentary Candidate for Oxford East

Mark Mann brings youth, energy, enthusiasm and tenacity to Headington following his election as Parliamentary Candidate for Oxford East. He gained a PhD from Cambridge in Nanotechnology and Electrical Engineering.  After a spell of tutoring, research and project management there, and work as a lecturer in Seoul, Mark now works for the BBC as a research engineer developing new media technology. He and his wife Karen are moving to the Oxford area shortly to be close to family, along with daughter Tilly and two week old Henry. Mark says:

I want to get the success stories of our time in Government such as the raising of the income tax threshold and the pupil premium out to the people of Oxford. I will campaign for the construction of more affordable homes in the wider Oxford area.

Mark enthusiastically supported the Headington Lib Dem Councillor-led Walk of Protest on Saturday to campaign for the London Road to be rebuilt, and was interviewed by Brookes TV before heading off with Ruth and Altaf to carry out door to door surveys in Osler Road and Old High Street all afternoon.

 

Parking enforcement to be hot topic at March Headington Ward Focus Meeting

Our next Headington Ward Focus meeting will be held on Monday 24th March at the Manor Hospital, Beech Road from 6.00 – 8.00pm.  This meeting is informal in that you are welcome to drop in or out at any point in the evening.

Residents asked us last night to provide speakers on the following issues for next time:

traffic enforcement in Headington

what can we learn from the new transport document from the County on transport in Headington?

Admission is free. There will be an open session for you to raise any issue. All welcome! Councillors will set aside time at the start of the meeting to hold informal 1:1 meetings with residents or book times to visit.

If you would like to contact your city councillors for advice on any issue please contact David on 07980 894147 david.rundle@oxfordlibdems.org.uk or Ruth on 07789 368300 ruth.wilkinson@oxfordlibdems.org.uk. For county matters please ring Roz Smith on 07584 257156 or email her at roz.smith@oxfordlibdems.org.uk

 

Join us in the Headington Public Walk of Protest

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What’s happened?

 The surface of the London Road has been allowed to deteriorate by Oxfordshire County Council over a number of years. Since the protest was called, the County Council has suddenly promised to resurface the road in September but it’s now become so bad that a resurface will not be enough – it needs a full re-build and residents think it’s dangerous NOW.
Who is organising the Walk of Protest?
City Cllr Ruth Wilkinson, Headington Ward
County Cllr Roz Smith, Headington and Quarry Division
City Cllr Altaf-Khan, Headington Hill and Northway Ward
City Cllr David Rundle, Headington Ward
 
Where will the walk take place?
Meeting point is Green Road Roundabout on the pavement of the London Road (South side). Pedestrians with banners and placards will walk down London Road south side to Bury Knowle Park
When will this happen?
Date: Sat 1 March
Time: 11.00-12.00
Why is this happening?
Buses are swerving out of bus lanes into vehicle lanes to avoid ruts, and tourists and commuters from London are shocked at their ‘third world’ introduction to what is meant to be a world class city. Drivers are sending in complaints about damage to their vehicles. The shocking condition of London Road is the single biggest concern expressed by residents across our wards.
What can the Walk of Protest achieve?
  • The County Council says it has been putting off resurfacing the road till other projects are in place, but residents say it’s unsafe NOW
  • Residents want a re-build: they fear a quick-fix resurface will not last
  • We need to heighten awareness of county councillors about the importance of London Road to the economic well-being of the City
  • A re-build now would be value for money – the County Council will save money by not shelling out to residents for damage done to cars by the poor road surface, and won’t have to pay out again in the medium-term to repair the new surface  (look at past history)

Click Walk of protest flier for more details

Jacob’s Chop House applies for premises licence

14/00393/PREM

Application for a New Premises Licence: The application is for: “A restaurant with recorded music 08.00 hours to 22.00 hours Sunday to Saturday (New Year’s Eve until 01.00 hours), sale of alcohol (on sales only) Sunday to Saturday 11.00 hours to 23.00 hours (New Year’s Eve until 01.00 hours).”

Jacobs Chop House, 3 Osler Road

Representations to be made in writing to:

The Licensing Authority, Oxford City Council, St Aldates Chambers, 109 St Aldates, Oxford, OX1 DS
or online quoting the reference number.

Deadline for responses: 5/3/14

No more “Hanging on the telephone” to the City Council?

telephone-cartoonThe City Council’s Contact Centre has recently upgraded its telephone system to introduce new services for customers.

One of the new functions of the system is the option for customers to leave a message at busier times and request call back.  The new service will be available to customers from 2nd January 2014.  The message service will be offered on all lines between 8am and 5pm except Revenues and Benefits (as the resilience contract is in place on these lines) when there are two calls waiting for over 1 minute.

The message service is optional and customers can chose to hold instead.  Oxford City Council will advise customers it will return the call within one hour and monitor this to ensure it is happening.  Two attempts will be made to call customers back, leaving them a voicemail message to let them know OCC has called if they do not answer.

Let’s hope this helps people get the answers they need more quickly – please let David and Ruth know if you find this service helpful.