Oxford Clarion

This week’s top stories Ian Hudspeth, former leader of Oxfordshire County Council, has died. He was awarded an OBE in 2021 for services to local government. First elected in 2005 as Conservative councillor for Woodstock, including his home village of Bladon, he was swiftly elevated to the Cabinet under

Happy Friday to all our readers. Take a break from your week and your festive preparations with the weekend Clarion. We have the latest on the congestion charge and Kidlington dump (of course) but also two excellent long reads, important Lego news, and good news for mouth cancer patients at

Rich donors are nothing new to this venerable city. Oxford's reputation makes for an attractive place for philanthropists from across the globe to leave a legacy. Barely a week goes by without another announcement of a new foundation. A rash of shiny new buildings (Blavatnik, Schwarzman, Ellison, Tata)

This week’s top stories Plans to reorganise Oxfordshire’s fire service, which could see the closure of Eynsham, Woodstock and Henley fire stations, have provoked anger from firefighters. The Fire Brigades Union organised a rally outside County Hall this morning to coincide with the monthly council meeting. John Shuker,

Less than three weeks until Christmas yet the news shows no signs of relenting. This week we have breaking news about Oxford–Bristol trains, the latest on Campsfield House, a new Oxford restaurant, and reusing heat from AI data centres. Read on… Top stories Outline plans have been unveiled for

Is this our Black Friday edition? Accidentally, perhaps so. Oxford has the most incredible independent retailers – so we've rounded up some festive inspiration if you're shopping over the weekend. And keep reading to the bottom of the newsletter for our roundup of Christmas markets this weekend.