Clarion Weekend, 31 July 2026

Our news this week spans Barton to Moreton and Hook Norton to Hinksey, with tales of food poisoning at Truck, one of the UK's largest sheep sales, a surprising amount of Trading Standards and (checks notes) one million new homes. All this plus events, low cost summer holiday activities, and a comedic licensing application in Oxfordshire's most eclectic news source. Read on...

This week’s top stories

Jericho Wharf, by the Oxford Canal, has been sold to Worcester College. The site has been derelict for 20 years since being sold by (the then) state-owned canal authority British Waterways for a housing redevelopment which never took place. It has since become a cause célèbre among local residents and canal-dwellers who aspire to a community space, boatyard facilities, and even a new footbridge across the canal. In a statement, the college writes:

“This acquisition marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter for an important historic site that has remained largely unused for almost two decades. The College is committed to bringing the site back into productive use through a carefully considered redevelopment that respects its heritage and contributes positively to the local area.
     “We recognise the strong interest that local residents and other stakeholders have shown in the future of the site. Over the coming months, we will be engaging with the community and other interested parties as we develop proposals that seek to meet both the College’s longstanding needs and the aspirations of the wider neighbourhood.”

Many of Oxford’s colleges have been buying up accommodation for graduate students, particularly those on one-year Masters courses. Worcester College’s grounds are just metres away from Jericho Wharf at their closest point.

Campaign group, the Jericho Wharf Trust, kicked off renewed interest in the site in 2024 by declaring “enough is enough” and calling on the City Council to consider compulsory purchase. Trustee David Edwards say the Trust is “delighted” by the news: “For the first time since 2013, there is real hope it will be developed in the joint interests of its owner and of the people of Jericho.”

The Trust says it will be working with Worcester College to bring forward redevelopment proposals, beginning with a public meeting later this year. We looked at the troubled history of the site in a 2024 deep dive.

Oxford band Stornoway are back with a new album – and they’re bringing the city with them. For the launch of Beyonder on 27 September, they will be inviting everyone, no matter how musically experienced, to join a scratch choir to learn the songs for an evening performance. Stornoway multi-instrumentalist Oli Steadman writes:

“Singers in this scratch choir will learn Stornoway songs in full four part harmony, note for note, under the expert instruction of choir leader Ben See, and join us in the performance later that evening. Alongside our usual hymns to ecology, biodiversity, adventure and nature-fuelled wellbeing, we’ve prepared something extra special. Core to the workshop will be our new song ‘River of Voices’ which, in celebration of World Rivers Day on 27 September, is 2026’s anthem to societal dysfunction and Stornoway’s proposal for how Beyonder will stitch civilisation back together.”

Stornoway are working with Oxford’s Fusion Arts on the event, “the biggest, most joyful highlight of our whole career”. The band has recently collaborated with Ladysmith Black Mambazo (South Africa) and Côr Meibion Gwalia (London’s Welsh male choir) and promises to include their influences in the scratch choir.

Together with Radiohead, Ride, Supergrass and many more, Stornoway are featured in the current exhibition at the Museum of Oxford, ‘Sounds of the City’. The three-piece, founded in 2006, draw influences from nature and the elements and have been described as “indie folk”, “a burst of colour and life” and (by the Guardian) “our new favourite band”.

You can sign up online to join the scratch choir. Preorders for Beyonder are now open.

The dispute stopping trains running to Milton Keynes could be resolved as Chiltern Railways is recruiting additional members of staff – though stopping short of calling them “guards”.

As first reported in the Clarion in September 2025 and subsequently picked up by national media, a dispute over staffing the trains has led to the line sitting almost unused for two years. The Government initially instructed Chiltern to adopt driver-only operation, but unions demanded that a guard be present.

Chiltern is now advertising for Customer Service Inspectors to work from its Bletchley depot, the base for East West Rail services. The inspectors will perform guard-like duties such as “provide a high level of customer care on trains”, “take part in revenue protection activities on trains”, “perform on-train announcing”, and “take action to rectify or report faults”.

The train doors will still be operated by drivers, not guards, so services could run without a second staff member in exceptional circumstances – as is common south of London. An internal Government document says that issues at Winslow station will not obstruct entry to service, and that the trains have been upgraded to support ‘Superpower mode’, which improves acceleration, to meet the tight timetable. With Chiltern due to be nationalised on 20 September, a December start date for the Oxford–Milton Keynes service is now widely expected.

Botley Road railway bridge will reopen on Sunday 20 September, after an extra three-week delay caused by unexpected gas leaks. Network Rail has apologised for the setback. Tim Walden from Network Rail said:

“We know the continued closure of Botley Road has had a significant impact on residents, businesses and everyone who relies on this route, and I'd like to apologise again for the additional disruption. We now have a clear target for reopening the road.”

Oxfordshire County Council, which is planning to introduce the city’s traffic filter scheme, says it is holding off until it is absolutely certain of a reopening date: “We will confirm the start date of the traffic filter trial once we are certain about the reopening.”

Around the city

• EE mobile network customers will finally be able to get a signal in central Oxford as a new mast goes up on St Aldate's Chambers, opposite the Town Hall. With the mast now in situ, the next step is a power company connection and then “integrating the mast onto the network”. EE say they will confirm an on-air date once this is complete. We first reported degraded reception back in March 2024, after their previous mast was removed as part of the redevelopment of the Clarendon Centre.
• Thames Valley Police are appealing for an Oxford cyclist to get in touch after three boys attempted to steal his bike in Frideswide Square late on Monday evening. The cyclist rode off after the incident; police were called by a passer-by. Two teenagers have been arrested on suspicion of attempted robbery, and TVP have asked the cyclist to call 101 with reference 43260386854.
• Four arrests were made after a dawn raid in Barton, Headington and Littlemore on Thursday in connection with “conspiracy to convey articles into prison” and money laundering. Thames Valley Police maintained an increased police presence in the area through the day as investigations continue. TVP write: “At 6am, officers carried out three warrants at properties in Warren Crescent, Mather Road and Walter Street, Oxford, under Section 8 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act. Three men, aged 43, 21 and 19, and a woman, aged 43, all from Oxford, were arrested and taken into custody.”

• Happy birthday, Florence Park! The Museum of Oxford reports that East Oxford’s much-loved park was officially opened 90 years ago, on 27 July 1936. The park was donated to Oxford City Council by Frederick Moss, developer of the eponymous housing estate, and named after his late sister Florence. The endlessly fascinating oxfordhistory.org.uk writes:

“The Florence Park estate was built by Frederick Ernest Moss, a speculative builder who moved to Oxford from Wales in 1929 to build housing for men coming to work at the Morris Cowley car factory. He bought 73 acres of farmland, market garden, and marsh from Christ Church where between 1933 and 1937 he built the Florence Park estate, which he named after his sister Mrs Florence Inson, who had died at the age of 36 in May 1933. The estate became known as ‘Little Rhondda’ because so many Welshmen moved in there.
     “Moss donated 21 acres of the building site to the city council for a park in his sister's memory. He imposed a condition that there should be an emphasis on flowers rather than games, and that at least three acres should be set aside for a children's corner. The park was opened on 27 July 1936 by the Mayor of Oxford Mary Townsend.”

• The Week of Welcome at the Story Museum in August provides dedicated language support to enable those new to the UK/families with refugee and asylum seeker experience to engage with the museum's offering. Sessions are 19 August for Farsi and Dari speakers, 20 August for Arabic speakers.
• It’s been a busy week for Trading Standards inspectors. Oxford City Council has revoked Baweja Superstore's alcohol licence, citing "very poor" firework storage and illegal tobacco. Cllr Kate Gregory, cabinet member for public health at the County Council, said: "We will continue to support robust enforcement action against those who undermine public health, community safety and honest traders." The decision is perhaps not a surprise: as we reported last month, Trading Standards had asked for the Abingdon Road shop's licence to be revoked.
       They have also asked anyone with information about the sale of illicit or non-compliant tobacco and nicotine products to report it anonymously. An Oxford man running a shisha business in Thirst on Park End Street has been fined more than £2,000 after pleading guilty to several tobacco offences. (We reported on this earlier this year, with raised eyebrows.) Davina Walkin at Oxfordshire County Council Trading Standards said: “Businesses that choose to ignore these requirements gain unfair advantage over those who comply with the law. We were particularly concerned that detailed advice had already been provided, yet non-compliant products continued to be promoted.”
       Illegal tobacco? Check. Dangerous fireworks? Check. Lethal squishy stress relievers… wait, what? In the week’s third Trading Standards story, they are warning of counterfeit toys in circulation, after spotting squishy stress relievers missing vital labelling information, and counterfeit NeeDoh Nice Cubes. Cllr Kate Gregory again: “It can be really easy as a parent to be drawn into buying a bargain toy for our children, especially as we try to keep up with the latest trends. But sometimes these can be too good to be true.”

Around the county

• “Not all agglomeration needs to be located within Oxford City,” according to South Oxfordshire District Council leader Maggie Filipova-Rivers. In a letter to the Oxford Growth Commission, she argues “a greater focus on smaller-scale provision could support more sustainable patterns of development”. If developments were “more distributed”, she says, it would be less likely to be held up by infrastructure constraints such as sewage capacity.
       The Commission, headed by Neale Coleman, has already drawn up a list of “accelerated sites” and is expected to publish its recommendations later this year. Cllr Filipova-Rivers adds: “Oxfordshire is good at creating new ideas and businesses, but much of the return doesn’t stay in the area. Instead, foreign companies buy local startups and profit from them elsewhere. Tackling this is key to driving economic growth for Oxfordshire and the UK.”
• Nesta, a public foundation for research and innovation, says that if the UK is truly committed to economic growth, it should build 1 million homes in the Oxford Cambridge arc. Pointing to the population of Seoul, which grew by more than 3m people in both the 1960s and 1980s, it recommends use of Compulsory Purchase Orders to produce high density walkable neighbourhoods, with schools, hospitals and transport links to make local shops and services viable. Nesta describe their role as “designing, testing and scaling solutions to the biggest challenges of our time”.
• The Diocese of Oxford says it has strengthened its safeguarding practices and remains “committed to learning from this review and continuing the work of making the Church a safer place for everyone”, after publication of a report into allegations of abuse at the hands of two clergy youth officers/advisers, which included rape, sexual, and spiritual abuse, in the Diocese of Southwark – including one who subsequently transferred to the Diocese of Oxford. The Church of England’s full report into the investigation includes detailed recommendations on how to manage historic allegations against clergy who are elderly or frail; embedding a safe culture; and survivor support. It commends the Diocese of Oxford for “carefully considering their moral obligations to the survivor and giving a clear apology for harm done, stepping outside the process to do so”.
• One of the largest sheep sales in the UK takes place at Thame Showground next week – the Shearwell Thame Summer Sheep Fair. Over 16,000 sheep (around £3m worth) are expected to be sold over the two days, making this fair one of the most important early indicators of sheep prices in the UK. Organised annually by Thame Farmers Mart, this year is expected to be especially significant as buyers from Wales will return, following the lifting of bluetongue movement restrictions which impacted the Fair last year.
• Banbury’s coffee factory, a major employer and an olfactory contributor to the town since 1964, closed yesterday. Built by General Foods and latterly known for Kenco coffee, the plant was taken over by JDE (Jacobs Douwe Egberts) in 2015, and had been downgraded to a packing operation since 2023.
• A new commuter option could open up for Oxford workers with plans to double the size of Moreton-in-Marsh, half an hour by train from Oxford. Cotswold District Council’s new local plan envisages 2,217 new homes will be built in the town, just under four miles from the Oxfordshire border. Moreton has half-hourly peak trains to Oxford and, crucially for Oxford emigrés, a very good cheese shop. Cotswold District Council is set to be amalgamated into a single Gloucestershire council at the same time as Oxfordshire will be split into three. (Full marks to the Bluesky commenter who pointed out a two-council unitary would have qualified as Double Gloucester. 🧀)
• A canal bridge in Banbury has been earmarked for demolition. Neithorpe Bridge, just off Southam Road, is no longer used by vehicles but provides a pedestrian link from Hanwell Fields to the towpath. The Canal & River Trust says it is heavily corroded and “no longer fit for purpose”. The Trust believes that it has permitted development rights to demolish the bridge, pointing out that “the building is not used and was not last used as a drinking establishment, concert hall, venue for live music performances, or a theatre” due to being a bridge.
• Truck Festival attendees are blaming an outbreak of food poisoning on a Yorkshire pudding vendor. A long thread on the unofficial festival Facebook group includes “I ended up in A&E at the JR”, “lots of imodium needed to get us through Sunday 💩😞”, and “I had to s&*t like a bear in the woods”. Truck organisers stated: “On Sunday morning we were made aware of reports via our medics. Our health & safety team was able to quickly identify the suspected source, which was removed from operation shortly afterwards. We are assisting the local Environment Health Officer in further investigations.”

• A group campaigning against asylum seeker accommodation at MOD Bicester has links to the violent far right, according to Oxfordshire Stand Up To Racism. A video shared by the social media admin of Bicester Against MOD Asylum Centre features pseudonymous agitators ‘Tommy Robinson’ and ‘Danny Tommo’, who was jailed for two years following a botched kidnap at knifepoint. A rally also featured a far-right activist who called migrants “invading orcs”. SUTR chair Ian Mckendrick said: “This is dangerous fear-mongering designed to provoke a violent response. It is no wonder we are receiving reports of on-street racism directed against Bicester residents.”
• Hook Norton Brewery has launched its first alcohol-free and gluten-free beer, a version of local favourite Old Hooky. The new Old Hooky Zero is brewed with Fuggles, Golding and Challenger hops and available from the brewery’s own pub estate and online.
• Chipping Norton’s former hospital, which closed in 2011, has been put up for sale. The town centre site has lain derelict ever since. The plot previously received planning permission to erect 14 houses.
• Three more companies have joined the growing roster of companies at Milton Park near Didcot in what is billed as “the UK's largest single ownership innovation community”. Ecological consultancy BSG Ecology relocates from Cassington while Luxembourg-based Next Step Fusion, a fusion energy tech company, opens its UK office. Open Reality, a networking tech company, is also moving in. Clare Fleet at Milton Park said: “Companies choose Milton Park for the amenities and community needed to scale with confidence as part of Oxfordshire's thriving innovation ecosystem."
• The River Thames Society has called out Thames Water for a sponsored podcast, Thames Unfiltered. The six-episode series was produced by the London Standard newspaper but sponsored by the water company: the RTS says “this shows in how the tougher questions get answered”. It claims that the podcast doesn’t give a fair hearing to the nationalisation debate, and that “though politicians and Thames Water executives all feature, river users are absent”. You can listen to the podcast and read the RTS’s take. (For more on the once mighty Standard, see this decline-and-fall story by indie press tycoon Joshi Herrmann.)

Walking and cycling

• Almost 100 people have submitted evidence to Oxfordshire County Council arguing that the Bulstake Path, which runs besides a Thames side-channel from North Hinksey to the railway bridge at Oxpens, should become a public right of way. 17 of the statements date back to 1980 or earlier: proving longstanding use is crucial in attempts to assert a right of way. The path is expected to become particularly important as a link from North Hinksey, Harcourt Hill and Botley to the forthcoming Oxpens development via the new pedestrian/cyclist bridge over the Thames.
• The notorious junction between Church Cowley Road and Rose Hill/Henley Avenue is in the spotlight following a petition raised by local residents. The petition catalogues a list of incidents in the last few months, including “traffic light knocked down flat by car and pedestrian crossing island completely obliterated” (8 March), “cyclist hit in cycle lane by car turning left from Rose Hill into south east end of service road” (10 March), and “bus in road rage incident, beeping and gesticulating at pedestrians trying to cross the road in between light changes” (14 March).
       Oxfordshire County Council’s LibDem cabinet member for transport Gareth Epps, local Labour councillors Ed Turner and Brad Baines, and residents met on-site to discuss improving pedestrian safety in what Cllr Turner called “a very nasty game of ‘chicken’ with cars”. Cyclox and Oxfordshire Liveable Streets recently commissioned improved junction designs from well-regarded transport consultants City Infinity, which envisage light-controlled pedestrian crossings on all three arms, plus cycle track improvements.

This weekend

• Oxford's Big Queer Day Party (£), Sat, Manzil Way Gardens. Samba, drag, and pole dancing, with stalls from local queer artists.
• Dream Palaces (£), Sat, Ultimate Picture Palace. Another chance to hear this history of cinema in Oxford. UPP fundraiser supported by Oxford Civic Society.
• Van Gogh & Me (£), Sat/Sun, Iffley Village Hall. One man plays two artists in a toxic relationship: Van Gogh & Gauguin in a yellow house. Edinburgh Fringe preview.
• Wilderness Festival (£££), until Sun, Cornbury Park, Charlbury. Tickets are still available for the boutique megafestival, officially called “Wilderness presented by Audi”. (It’s like punk never happened.)
• Trinity College Gardens (£), Sun, Broad Street. Explore these green spaces in the city centre, including two private walled gardens. Raising funds for health charities through the National Garden Scheme.

This week

• Meet the Scientists (free), Mon, University Museum. Oxford University psychologists want to experiment on your child.
• Eat the Food You Buy (£), Tue, Caper. 'Food waste disruptor' Martyn Odell demonstrates how to cook using only what's in your fridge and your cupboard.
• Ladies' Day (£), Thu-Sat, Garsington Manor Gardens. The Garsington Players 'encourage you to come dressed for the races'.

Dates for your diary

• In the Realm of the Last Man (£), Fri 4 Sep, Examination Schools. Francis Fukuyama recounts his career and recants the end of history. Part of Blackwell's series 'Making the Modern Mind'.

Summer holiday activities

• If you too are slightly daunted by what to do with your young ’uns over the summer, Cherwell District Council is running a range of free/low-cost activities for children aged 5–16. There are also one-day community events happening in July and August, and an Active Leader course for young people aged 14-18.
• Oxford City Council also has a slate of free summer activities for children in Littlemore, Northway and Blackbird Leys.
• South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse’s free and low cost family activities range from cricket to crafting, and badminton to Boccia.
• Remember that kids can enjoy free bus travel throughout August – that is, starting tomorrow. (Oxford Bus Company ask for children aged 10 or under to be accompanied by an adult aged 16 or over.)
• And if you've not already seen it, here is Little Oxplorers' guide to the summer and their hot weather guide.

Oxfordshire’s independent media

• The Oxford Sausage bids a fond farewell to the Goldfish Bowl on Magdalen Road by revisiting its 2024 piece.
• The Oxford Student considers that “Oxford works precisely because it doesn’t work… it cannot stop being aristocratic, hence it has learned to perform repentance”.
• Ox in a Box lists Oxfordshire’s best pub gardens and alfresco cafes.
• The Oxford Scientist takes an immunological perspective to the question of “can we cure ageing?”.
• Oxford alumni magazine Quad has its monthly roundup of books with an Oxford connection.
• Abingdon Blog’s ‘100 years ago’ pieces are always enjoyable. This month it’s Broncho Bill’s World Famous Elephants and the Waifs & Strays Fête.
• Not quite indie media, but a worthwhile long read nonetheless: Danny Dorling writes about Oxford's housing affordability crisis, and argues for more attractive homes for pensioners as an incentive to move and free up the large homes they no longer fill.
       In a similar vein, John Muelbauer argues that the UK housing crisis goes beyond prices to social justice and political division, arguing that the public has been led to see houses as cash generators rather than vital dwellings.

Notes from Clarion HQ

Our curiosity was piqued this week by a licensing application for a two day August event, including alcohol and live music, at 69 Woodstock Road, which is a block of flats with a small front garden. We wondered, briefly, if it was a hidden application for a huge event closing the Woodstock Road for some sort of giant party.

It turns out the truth is much funnier. We are told that the license is for an event at Keble College Sports Ground, also along the Woodstock Road, but a mile away. 69 Woodstock Road was the site of the former Horse and Jockey pub, once frequented by Bill Clinton in his student years. Because the sports ground didn’t have a formal street number, years ago some Keble students registered the Horse and Jockey as the ground’s formal address. But japes live forever in the Internet age, and AI tools are now unironically picking this up as fact. Whoever put the licensing application in didn’t check their details and fell for the old joke address. This may not help their chances of success…

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