Clarion Weekend, 24 April 2026

Shakespeare Day. (Photo by Roger Close.)

For Shakespeare, Oxford and St George! In today’s newsletter: an all-new college, car-free developments, and a bumper crop of events. Your weekend starts here…

This week’s long reads

The incredible festival of free art that is Oxfordshire Artweeks begins on 2 May. In this very special collaboration with Artweeks, we take a look at what it is and why it's been so successful, together with a sneak peek of some of the incredible work on show. Enjoy.

Does social media have to be toxic? Three Oxford startups are trying to build kinder platforms – ones that change the world for the better. We find out more about Tribela, Neya and Redirect… and ask if they have a chance of success.

This week’s top stories

Photos by Roger Close. (More images on our Bluesky photo thread!)

Happy Birthday Shakespeare! Oxford celebrated Shakespeare's birthday yesterday with its annual parade through the streets. The parade began at the historic Oxford Castle & Prison, with improv from the Oxford Imps who appear weekly at the Jericho Tavern.

Town Crier* Chris Morgan led the way, accompanied by the Oxford Waits. The group take their name from a real-life band of city musicians, known as ‘waits’, who flourished in Oxford during the 17th century: they even have a country dance tune (an English gavotte) named after them.

The parade continued to the Painted Room, where Lord Mayor Louise Upton raised a birthday toast – reflecting on her own memories of studying Macbeth at school – and more improv from the Imps. The Painted Room, hidden above a betting shop on Cornmarket, is a late medieval timber-framed space preserved by the Oxford Preservation Trust. Once a wine tavern run by John Davenant, a friend of Shakespeare, it is believed that Shakespeare stopped here on his journeys to Stratford-upon-Avon. The room houses an Elizabethan wall painting, a rare survival, dating from the 1560s or 1570s. Forgotten for over 300 years, the scheme was rediscovered in 1927.

The annual event was organised by the Oxford Preservation Trust, the charity dedicated to the conservation and sustainable enhancement of Oxford and to the public appreciation and enjoyment of its history.

* …of Leighton Buzzard. Oxford doesn’t currently have a town crier; the last appointee departed in ignominious circumstances.

A new research campus at the Warneford Hospital, near South Park, has been given the go-ahead. Warneford Park is envisaged as a major mental health and medical research campus, including a new University of Oxford college. It is being brought forward by Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust with the support of Oxford University and “a local benefactor”. Construction could start in 2028. The Trust says:

“Bringing together science and clinical care on one site will see the benefits from mental health research translated directly into clinical practice, with the state-of-the-art facilities attracting top class specialists, graduate students and post-doctoral researchers who will enrich research and innovation. Together they will focus on preventing, diagnosing, and treating mental illness early.”

The Gipsy Lane/Warneford Lane junction will become Oxford’s first Cyclops-style interchange, where cyclists can make any turn across the junction in one go while being entirely separated from car traffic. A local campaign, however, had strongly opposed the increase in parking proposed at the site. Headington Liveable Streets says: “The main purpose of the additional car parking is to lure potential private sector tenants to lease space in the new research centre.” On which note…

More car-free developments are on the way in Oxfordshire – despite opposition from housing developers. Oxfordshire County Council this week signed off new guidelines which “significantly strengthen the criteria under which car-free development can be supported”. In Oxford and market towns, any development which meets all these criteria will now be required to be car-free:

Within 600m of a bus stop
Within 800m of a supermarket or grocery store
Within 1000m of a railway station
Within 1600m of a primary school and GP/pharmacy
Within 3200m of a secondary school and employment area

The council also envisages ‘car-light’ developments, which combine reduced parking provision with better walking and cycling routes and car club support. These would typically be in outer suburban areas which are not near a railway station.

OCC says the previous criteria were too restrictive, leading to few car-free developments being brought forward. But a consortium of land-owning colleges made an unsuccessful last-minute bid to stop the new rules. They say the car-free guidelines “will have a significant impact” on their developments on the edge of Oxford, particularly in Cherwell (the Kidlington area) and South Oxfordshire (around the southern ring road). The colleges claim the new standards “have not been consulted on in their current form”, and warn of a “negative impact […] on site viability and delivery timescales”.

Lego at the Westgate; the fallen silver birch on Broad Street (photo by Eduardo Suarez); St George's flag on Carfax Tower.

Around the city

Oxford’s hotel boom continues with plans to open a 130-bed hotel above Waterstones and Halifax on Queen Street – just a stone’s throw from the forthcoming hotel at County Hall, the existing Premier Inn, and the upcoming apart-hotel in the former Odeon. The plans include extending the building upwards by two floors, with a roof terrace on the new fourth floor. The architects say “the site’s visibility would increase marginally within local street views, and to a very limited extent from the view cones of Rayleigh Park and South Park”. The building houses vacant office space – in the case of the first floor, empty since 2012. A 2023 application to refurbish the offices was granted permission but has not been taken up. Waterstones and Halifax would be unaffected by the plans, which are with Oxford City Council for consideration.
The Lego Store on the Westgate’s ground floor is due to open on 7 May. The Westgate Centre announced the date on social media with a series of super cute images. It joins a long line of big brands making their home in the Westgate including Sephora and the recently expanded Oliver Bonas. (Just remember to vote before you go!)
A silver birch tree outside Trinity College’s gate on Broad Street fell on Tuesday. The pavement has since been cleared. Oxford’s Protestant martyrs, Cranmer, Latimer and Ridley, were burnt at the stake here in 1555/6 after refusing to recant Protestantism. The always fascinating Oxford History writes: “The Bailiffs of the city petitioned the Archbishop of Canterbury for the expenses incurred in dealing with the martyrs. Oxford had looked after Cranmer well: his expenses included wine, figs, oysters, veal, and almonds, but the last items on this list were the wood faggots that formed his pyre.” (The annual commemoration of the martyrdom of Thomas Cranmer took place in Oxford one month ago, organised by the Prayer Book Society.)

St. George in Headington, apparently. (Photo by Headington News.)

On Thursday, England celebrated third-century Turkish megalomartyr and thaumaturge, St George. Oxford City Council flew the St George’s Cross from the Town Hall and from Carfax in his honour. Our Bluesky commenters were quick to point out additionally that St George was a probable Roman soldier who never visited England; possibly a Turk-Palestinian super-combo; had dark skin; and had never watched a game of football. Meanwhile, on Facebook, someone suggested he might be the patron saint of roundabouts. We’re not so sure about that one. (We love our readers. You’re the best.)
A decision on spending Oxford’s congestion charge income has been postponed for a month. Oxfordshire County Council’s cabinet, which met on Tuesday, has asked for proposals to be worked up in more detail. The free Park & Ride buses could be replaced by a combined £3 bus/parking ticket for up to five people, in practice a slight increase on the current £2.50 parking charge. Also under consideration are making bus travel and the Park & Ride free for NHS and school staff, express buses from Park & Rides to the hospitals, and improved active travel infrastructure.
The University of Oxford says it does not use an Oxford-based security company to monitor individuals’ social media accounts, contrary to national reporting. Al-Jazeera reported this week that Oxford was one of 12 universities that had engaged Horus Security Consultancy Ltd. Al-Jazeera says that Horus uses AI to “harvest a vast range of sources on the internet”. Through Freedom of Information Act requests, it unearthed dossiers compiled by Horus from the social media feeds of students and visiting speakers at LSE, Manchester, Bristol and MMU (Manchester Met).
A University spokesperson said: “Allegations of surveillance are inaccurate. External security consultants are used solely to carry out safety risk assessments for public events and known protests – not to monitor individuals or political activity.”
Oxford has seen significant student protest in recent years. In 2023, Just Stop Oil protestors threw orange paint at the Radcliffe Camera. The following year, Oxford Action for Palestine set up encampments outside the University Museum and the Radcliffe Camera.
Anonymised medical information from UK Biobank volunteers was offered for sale on the Chinese website Alibaba. The organisation says the data was swiftly removed, with no sales made. The project is led by Professor Sir Rory Collins, former head of Oxford University's Department of Population Health, which continues to support it. It collects data from 500,000 volunteers (including Clarion contributors!) that enables researchers to create new ways to prevent and treat diseases.

Proposed new houses in Banbury; Swindon’s (rather fun) STEAM Museum.

Around the county

One of the UK’s best-known stretches of river is in dire shape, says a group of signatories in a letter to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. With funding from Henley Town Council, a citizen science group called ‘HoT Water’ has been testing the water in Henley for E. coli, following the Environment Agency’s Citizen Science Technical Advisory Framework. Elevated levels of E. coli have been recorded almost every week. They believe the source is Thames Water’s Wargrave Sewage Treatment Works, upstream of the town. There is no legal requirement for Thames Water to treat sewage to human health standards except where it impacts a designated Bathing Water – but due to the onerous designation criteria, Henley hasn't yet achieved this status.
Swindon looks likely to join the Thames Valley devolution party, according to papers filed for this week’s County Council cabinet meeting. The Thames Valley authority would include Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Swindon, but not Buckinghamshire – and not, at first, a Mayor. A new steer from the Government says that ‘Foundation Strategic Authorities’, which don’t have an elected mayor, are now expected to precede ‘Mayoral Strategic Authorities’: it calls the FSAs “a stepping stone towards mayoral devolution in the future”. The Thames Valley councils, however, say that a mayor would bring “transformational uplift not possible through an FSA”. (What was that we were saying about 246 varieties of ~~cheese~~ local council?)
Cherwell District Council have celebrated a strong start to their kerbside glass recycling programme with 392 tonnes more recycling collected in the first quarter of 2026 than in the same period in 2025. The programme began in January.
Plans have been lodged for 200 new houses on the north-western edge of Banbury, two miles from the town centre. The Warwick Road site is on land owned by Trinity College and adjoins another new development. 30% of the homes would be ‘affordable’. Eight acres of open space would be provided including play areas. A new cycleway would be built alongside Warwick Road, though there is no existing continuous provision into the town centre; there would be a single vehicle entrance into the site. An application is with Cherwell District Council.
Southern Oxfordshire’s wildlife sites are to receive extra funding from the two district councils, Vale of White Horse and South Oxfordshire. Among the designated Local Wildlife Sites are Waterstock Mill on the River Thame near Wheatley, which provides breeding habitats for otters, curlews, kingfishers and goosanders; and the Letcombe Cressbeds near Wantage, the chalk-springs source of the Letcombe Brook which hosts brown trout, otters and rare plants such as water crowfoot. Waterstock Mill is featured in episode one of a new BBC series, The Secret Garden.
Abingdon retail, part 3: After we reported on Abingdon’s new Marks & Spencer, a reader got in touch to tell us about the newly branded Morrisons on the Peachcroft Estate – completing the set of Tesco, Waitrose, M&S, Co-op, Lidl, Aldi and Morrisons. No Sainsbury’s, though. (In Bicester, famously, you can choose from Tesco, Tesco, Tesco, Tesco or Tesco.)

Walking and cycling

Work will finally start in early May on reclaiming Witney High Street from cars. The £4.4m scheme will reallocate more of the street, which is 11m wide in places, to pedestrians. Through access will be retained for buses, taxis and blue badge holders. Construction will continue until November.
1,000 square metres of road will be converted to footways, with another 2,000 metres of footway resurfaced. New crossings will be installed across the road, seats provided including outdoor dining space, bus shelters improved and cycle parking installed. On completion, number-plate recognition cameras will be installed to reduce the (currently high) numbers of motorists driving past the "no motor vehicles" traffic signs. The junction with Welch Way will be redesigned to make the prohibition more obvious, with a central turning area for bicycles.

A £1.5m scheme to improve National Cycle Network route 5 across Abingdon town centre has won the support of 81% of people responding to a consultation. New cycle and pedestrian crossings, contraflow cycleways, and improved footways will be installed, with construction due to take place this summer. Respondents said the plans would make cycling safer for children and “encourage ease of cycling over car journeys between these two bits of the town”.
A further 70% said they would also support a contraflow cycleway on West St Helen Street, although funding for this has not yet been secured. One commenter wrote: “Enabling a fully joined up national cycleway is a huge step forward. Prioritising pedestrians over cars at a safer Bridge St junction makes huge sense – great to see a plan which promotes active travel and opens up more of the local area to residents in a sustainable way.”
“Oxford’s inaugural time-travel experience” was on offer at a workshop by Oxfordshire Liveable Streets this month – the first of a series of three. Over 60 people, including Year 8 pupils from Chipping Norton School and students from the Royal College of Art, gathered at the Town Hall to imagine the future of the county’s streets and neighbourhoods. Artist and live illustrator Richard Carman worked with the groups to develop their ideas on paper, which were then posted to a gallery space. OLS’s Siobhann Mansel-Pleydell summarised some of the suggestions:

“Nearly 200 ‘What If’ questions filled the room when we got back. What if every street had trees? What if public transport was free? What if all schools had a food growing area integrated into the curriculum? What if bikes were supplied to those who couldn't afford cars? What if streets became exhibition spaces - creative and playful? What if we created a cooperatively owned cycle and taxi service so good it made private cars redundant? What if in every square kilometre there was a community square – somewhere to play, chat and grow things together? What if we had edible streets? What if conveyor belts ferried people across town…?”

North Oxford open gardens; Tallis in Wonderland; the Dreaming Spires.

This weekend

Open House, Sat, Schwarzman Centre. Public opening for the billionaire's bauble, including a Mad Hatter's tea party and the premiere of a film about May Morning.
Tallis in Wonderland, Sat, St Mary Magdalen. The complete choral works of Thomas Tallis… all 93 of them. Here’s the running list – turn up to hear your favourite. (We told a Mini Clarion about this “Tallis marathon” and he replied “What, they’ll be running?”)
An Epic Mammoth Event, Sat, University Museum. Interactive children's storytelling from the author of Mammoth Rider.
Renters' Rights Act Workshop, Sat, Workshop Café (Cowley Road). Free info session & social from Oxford Renters' Union.
Central North Oxford Gardens (£), Sat/Sun. Three town gardens, one on the appropriately named Plantation Road, fundraising for health charities through the National Garden Scheme.
Sapphic Sounds (£), Sat. Queer disco for women, trans and nonbinary people, seeing you through the night into Lesbian Visibility Day.
Roots Festival (cash only), Sun, The Children's Allotment. Child-led celebration (with a little help from radical educators).
Drive It Day, Sun, Plant Oxford. Vintage car show celebrating 25 years of the modern Mini. 'Ample' parking.
Signs and Secrets (£), Sun, St Mary's Church (Iffley). Early music ensemble Dowland's Foundry mark 400 years since the death of their namesake, lutenist John Dowland.
The Dreaming Spires (£), Sun, The Bullingdon. Americana by way of Didcot.
Cosmos Chocolat (£), Sun, Kennington Village Centre. Balfolk Oxford presents a lively French folk dance session – instruction provided!

This week

Perebi Choir, Mon, St Michael at the North Gate. Free lunchtime concert from a local Georgian polyphonic choir.
The State of the Union (£), Tue, Trinity College. Panel discussion ahead of the May elections with psephologist John Curtice (recently awarded an honorary Oxford doctorate).
Party Season (£), Tue-Fri, The North Wall. Abigail's Party with children's entertainers.
Jekyll & Hyde (£), 29 Apr-17 May, OVADA Gallery. Creation Theatre take the gothic tale to a backstreet warehouse.
Welcome the May! (£), Wed, Iffley Church Hall. Fresh from the Shakespeare parade, the Oxford Waits sing in the springtime with historical costume and historical instruments.
A Short Road to Longbrook (£), Wed, Mostly Books. A novel which asks: can you ever truly leave Abingdon?
Breakwater (£), Wed, Ultimate Picture Palace. Oxford boy meets Suffolk fisherman. Introduced by the director.
Lisping in Numbers, Thu, Schwarzman Centre. This term's lecture from Oxford's Professor of Poetry looks at 'poems that count'. Free, booking required.
May Morning, Fri. Start your Bank Holiday weekend early. (Really early.) Oxford City Council has published the practicalities, including a 2am–9am road closure on the High, and the designated viewing areas for wheelchair users and families with young children.

Oxfordshire’s independent media

Nightshift makes ‘band of mothers’ Beaker this month's cover stars, plus the usual listings, reviews, and sarcasm.
The Oxford Sausage has been bewitched by the bluebells of Bagley Wood.
The Ox in a Box food awards have kicked off. Here’s the best veggie/vegan voting; other categories are available.
Bitten Oxford reviews a Sunday roast at the Rickety Press, and then afternoon tea at the Ashmolean. (Now that's a Sunday. )
Cherwell asks where the best vegetarian lunch in Oxford is.
Hybrid’s special issue asks “where do we find human connection?” in an age of AI.

Charity begins at home

The South Central Ambulance Charity has secured a £250,000 grant to provide trauma support to ambulance staff serving Oxfordshire. A NHS review found chronic trauma exposure to be one of the drivers of low morale and burn out. You can donate directly to SCAS Charity.
Carterton's Bowls Club is raising funds to improve its 100 year old clubhouse, used by people aged from 7 to 80 – their junior members have been part of Oxfordshire and England's U18 squad. Donate here.
Oxford’s Broken Spoke Bike Co-op is recruiting board members. The unpaid position involves a two-hour meeting every two months as well as regular collaborative work. They’re also hiring for a paid communications and community lead; full details of both vacancies.
It’s Bike Oxford in June, the commercial mass ride that starts from the city, and Asylum Welcome are putting together a team to raise funds. A summer ride out in a good cause – what’s not to like? Find out about joining the team or just donate.
Abingdon-based charity Oxford Wood Recycling is aiming to raise £6,000 in the next week, as part of the Big Give Earth Raise campaign. OWR seeks to inspire people to value and reuse timber, reclaiming wood that would otherwise be discarded. The reclaimed timber is sold at the Wood Shop in Abingdon; customers range from trade professionals to DIY enthusiasts seeking affordable, sustainable wood for their projects. CEO Adrian Sell explained: “Every online donation during the week of 22nd to 29th April will be doubled, making twice the impact for our community. Throughout the week, we will host activities at the Abingdon Wood Shop, offering everyone a chance to learn about and engage with reclaimed wood like never before.”

Notes from Clarion HQ

“Only in Oxford.” It’s May Morning this time next week, perhaps the ultimate “only in Oxford” event. But so much of what we write about could get that tag. Kinder social media platforms. Car-free developments. The Oxford Waits. A 350-venue arts festival. A community event to rethink the city’s streets. A Tallis marathon. And, hey, even a volunteer-run online newspaper. We’re not sure what we do would work anywhere else. In Oxford? It does, somehow.

Some weeks it feels like we’ve only scratched the surface. This week (looking anxiously at the word count) is one of those. As always, if you know someone who might appreciate a twice-a-week mélange of “only in Oxford” content, do share it with them! See you next week.