Clarion Weekend, 9 January 2026

Welcome to 2026!

We were struck this week by a video from Oxford East MP Anneliese Dodds promising this would be “the year when our city turns the corner”. (Extra points for recording it on a moving bus.) Here’s just a few of the things we’re expecting in 2026.

• Botley Road reopening: It’s almost hard to remember a time when Botley Road was open to traffic, but come August, the new bridge will be up and running. (Or so we’re assured!) That’s not just good news for bus users, particularly Seacourt Park & Ride users, but also cyclists, Botley Road businesses, and in the medium term, train passengers. It also means:
• Traffic filters: When Botley Road reopens, Oxford’s congestion charge will be upgraded to the full ‘traffic filters’ scheme, with the £5 fee replaced by a £70 fine. (Or will OCC decide the congestion charge is working just fine…?)
• Council reorganisation: Government will make its decision on merging Oxfordshire’s councils: a single county-wide authority, two councils (one north+city, one south), or three (north, city, south). Plus there’s the Thames Valley mayoralty thing to complicate matters. We genuinely have no idea which way the decision will go.
• Elections: Half of Oxford City Council’s seats are up for election, and a third of West Oxfordshire and Cherwell’s. They could be postponed pending reorganisation, but we don’t see much enthusiasm for this. (Ever thought about standing for election? This could be your year!)
• Big decisions: Planning inspectors will decide whether Botley West Solar Farm can go ahead. An initial application for Abingdon Reservoir will be lodged, too, though we’re not expecting a final decision until 2028.
• Where we’re going…: New slip roads will open on the A34 at Lodge Hill (Abingdon) and the A40 at Shores Green (Witney). Work will get underway on the massive new Didcot–Clifton Hampden road (aka HIF1) and new bus lanes for the A40 from Eynsham, and perhaps on the southern bypass bridge over the railway and the Watlington Relief Road. (Despite this, Facebook commenters will continue to insist that the poor beleaguered motorist is being ignored in favour of “cycle lanes what nobody uses”.)
• Cranes vs dreaming spires: Oxford’s skyline is going to look very different this year. We’re expecting construction to get underway on OUFC’s new stadium, the Oxpens quarter, the Oxpens River Bridge, the University development at Wellington Square (Little Clarendon Street), and new lab space at Oxford North, Arc Oxford and along the Botley Road. The first new houses at Blackbird Leys centre will go on sale.
• In the city centre: Work will start on improvements to the Covered Market. Oxfordshire County Council will move out of County Hall (which is becoming a hotel). We might even see progress on the boarded-up Clarendon Centre and the former Debenhams site.
• A West End town, a dead-end world: We’re hearing increasing noises about regenerating Oxford West End, the forgotten part of Oxford between the castle and the station – currently home to a derelict Office Outlet, a backpackers’ hostel and a tatty car park on the old canal basin. Expect ideas to emerge for what’s called the “Island Site” this year.
• East West Rail to Milton Keynes: One can dream.

This week’s top stories

A new 2,500-home “garden community” is being proposed to fill the gap between Carterton and the A40. Foxbury Garden Community, on land owned by Christ Church north of the B4477 Monahan Way road, would include a primary school, new green space and employment land. A new road would link directly to the A40 Witney bypass, where a roundabout could be constructed. There would also be a “mobility hub”/Park & Ride site on the north side of the development. The site is currently agricultural, though Foxbury Farm is also home to the Crocodiles of the World zoo. A public event will be held in Brize Norton on 22 and 23 January, when the consultation website will also go live.

Separately, 350 homes on another site across the road from Foxbury Farm, adjoining Carterton’s Kilkenny Lane country park, are to be considered by West Oxfordshire’s planning committee next week. Officers have recommended approval, though concede that “the site is rather car-reliant in its nature”.

Forensic scientists are studying the waste illegally dumped near Kidlington to trace its origins – and Government minister Mary Creagh says “There is a lot we can divine from some of these materials as to where they originated from.” The results are expected by the end of the month.

Clearance of the site will then start in February, and is expected to take six to nine months. The Environment Agency has only cleared two such sites in the last five years, but the Minister said the perceived fire risk at Kidlington “sets this case aside from other illegal waste dumps in England”.

The announcement was made in a House of Commons debate secured by local MP Calum Miller. He said that the EA had prioritised investigation over protecting the site, leading to nothing being done on-site between 2 July and mid-November. He argued that improving enforcement would pay for itself: “A relatively modest investment in detection and investigation – in the waste crime unit budget, or the National Crime Agency doing more – could yield a higher proportion of that missing [landfill] tax.”

Oxford’s two annual farming conferences are underway this week. The Oxford Farming Conference, at the Examination Schools, is supported by agribusinesses, Tesco, McDonalds, McCain and the NFU, and welcomed a visit from Environment Secretary Emma Reynolds. In its 90th year, it promised a “dynamic, solutions-driven panel” and included a debate at the Oxford Union: “This house believes that in the next 90 years farming will become a 1 day-a-week job.”

The alternative Real Farming Conference, at Jesus College, is for “people in the UK and around the globe who want to transform our food and farming system”. Speakers included Kate Raworth, author of Doughnut Economics, and campaigning eco-lawyer Paul Powlesland.

Two protests were timed to coincide with the conferences. The farmers’ tractor protest, a regular sight and sound on Oxford’s streets with its off-key rendition of Darude’s ‘Sandstorm’, returned to the High. Taking a very different tack were Extinction Rebellion Oxford, who were calling for action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture, increase emphasis on soil health, conserve water conservation and use of more drought-resistant species. XR Oxford’s Steve Dawe said:

“Food accounts for about 26% of global greenhouse gas emissions. But roughly 13% of food is lost before it gets into the shops and about 19% in places such as homes, supermarkets and restaurants. Greater efficiency could make food cheaper for people to buy. A shrinking number of farms and farmers is a route to even more food imports and we need radical changes in food and farming policies to prevent this.”

850 new homes in West Oxfordshire cannot be occupied until Thames Water provides adequate sewage infrastructure, according to a list published by the district council. WODC has imposed ‘Grampian conditions’ that prevent occupation until sewage works are upgraded to take the resulting outfall.

Almost half the affected homes (415) will be in Woodstock, at the Hill Rise and Banbury Road developments. Another 150 are at nearby Long Hanborough. The houses all have planning permission but are generally not yet built. Cllr Hugo Ashton said:

“These conditions are not about blocking housing, they’re about making sure new homes are liveable, sustainable, and properly connected. The delays we’re seeing are not caused by the Council, but by decades of underinvestment in wastewater infrastructure.”

WODC says that anyone considering purchasing such a house should contact Thames Water and “request that they deliver the upgrades needed“. Last year developers declared that Oxford was “uninvestable” as a result of sewage issues. (We wrote about Oxfordshire's sewage crisis. It has jokes; don't read it over lunch.)

Around the city

• A special City Council meeting has been called to consider whether to delay the May elections, in the face of the impending local government reorganisation which could mean some councillors only serving a two-year term. The leaders of the LibDem, Green and IOA groups on the council have written to council leader Susan Brown asking for the elections to proceed, on the grounds that the timetable for local government reorganisation was unclear and representation needed to be in place. The meeting will take place next Wednesday.
• Demolition of Blackbird Leys’ old swimming pool is complete, clearing the way for construction to begin on the new community centre. The centre will include three large halls, meeting rooms, and office space, plus a new public square with play areas and artworks. The development, which includes 294 new homes, is being led by Oxford City Council and developers Peabody. Cllr Linda Smith said: “The new centre will be a vibrant, inclusive space for people to connect and it will be surrounded by new affordable homes, modern shops, and attractive outdoor areas.”
• OxClean have announced this year's dates for the annual Oxford Spring Clean. Between 6 March and 15 March, community groups from all over the city can sign up to arrange litter picks of their local area, or an area that needs work. Registration for groups opens on 12 January here. OxClean supplies litter pickers, hi-vis vests and plastic bags, and arranges collection of bags of litter. They invite the whole community to participate, ideally in pairs or groups or can link you to a suitable group. Previous years have involved up to 2,000 volunteers.
• Control over licensing Oxford’s taxis could move from the City Council to the County Council under new Government proposals, which they say will reduce ‘out-of-area’ working for taxis (where drivers gain a licence in one area and work elsewhere). The proposals form part of the Government's response to Baroness Casey’s National Audit on Group-Based Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse. But should a Thames Valley mayoralty be set up, this in turn would become the highway authority and take over taxi regulation.

Around the county

• With snow falling in the high areas of the county, Oxfordshire schools are being asked to use a secret codeword when deciding weather-related closures, to prevent prankster children emailing the County Council claiming that their school is closed. When informing the council of a closure, headteachers are now required to fill in a form with the current codeword, which has been emailed to each school. The council says that “Any false codewords will result in OCC contacting the school about the inaccurate school closure form.” Rural schools can close in winter due to boiler failures, burst pipes, teachers unable to get in, and safety of nearby roads and paths.
• Milton Keynes and Stevenage are beginning to rival Oxford and Cambridge for “knowledge-intensive” growth, according to an organisation that groups tech firms and universities. The Oxford–Cambridge Supercluster says the corridor’s knowledge industries now account for £45bn in annual turnover. They have called for the next stage of East West Rail to be fast-tracked “as the critical enabler of the Growth Corridor”, with construction starting within this parliament (by 2029). They also say Government planning must include towns like Bedford, MK and Luton, not just Oxford and Cambridge. Shaun Grady, chair of AstraZeneca, said: “East West Rail is vital infrastructure that will knit together labs, campuses, and urban centres into a single labour market, building the future skills the country needs, driving economic growth, and ensuring the UK benefits faster from scientific advances.”
• The new Local Plan for South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse could live to fight another day after national planning inspectors, who originally rejected the plan, have agreed to a meeting with the two councils. The Local Plan is the document that sets out housing development sites in the area. Their Joint Local Plan had originally been turned down for failing the Duty to Co-operate with neighbouring councils; the Government has recently announced that obligation will be removed. The meeting will consider “practical arrangements of resuming the examination given the anticipated change”. For Vale of White Horse, Cllr Andy Foulsham said: “I’m pleased the Inspectors’ reply suggests that the tireless work over the past four years to reach this stage will not be wasted. This is a good Local Plan – it’s robust, innovative, forward-thinking and based on strong community engagement.”
• South Central Ambulance Service is asking residents who can make their own way to hospital to do so, after a 20% increase in 999 calls in the latest cold snap. Kirsten Willis-Drewett, SCAS: “We aim to respond to less urgent issues in 2-3 hours. For some, in the last week, that has been longer. I would urge people who can make their own way to hospital or an urgent treatment centre to do so. Arriving by ambulance doesn't mean you get seen quicker than other patients, and a lift from a friend or a taxi may get you there sooner.” SCAS recommended using 111 for urgent but not emergency help, saying 999 calls were for a life-threatening or serious emergency, such as someone not breathing or unresponsive, severe blood loss, serious chest pains, symptoms of stroke, major injury or serious burns.
• West Oxfordshire District Council says it will not be applying to postpone 2026’s local elections, despite the prospect of council reorganisation. The Government has asked councils with elections this year, which also include Oxford City and Cherwell, whether they want to postpone. WODC leader Cllr Andy Graham said: “Local government reorganisation will require an enormous amount of work, however, that is well in hand with our partnership authorities who are working closely with us. As such, there is no practical reason to postpone.”
• Meanwhile, the Government has scolded several councils for publicly campaigning for their preferred reorganisation outcome, reminding them that their communications should be “factual, balanced and not used to unfairly influence opinion”. No Oxfordshire councils were among the recipients, but the letter is a shot across the bows in advance of the public consultation this year.
• Online booking for household waste and recycling centres (tips) will be required from Wednesday 14 January, bringing Oxfordshire in line with neighbouring councils. Proof of address will be required and booking is via an online system.
• The Diocese of Oxford has opened a consultation on what people want from their new Bishop. The incumbent, Bishop Steven Croft, is retiring in July. An online survey is open until 4 February. (You can’t imagine the Catholic church running a consultation on the next Pope, can you?)
• Plans have been submitted for a 40MW solar farm at Hanwell, just inside the Oxfordshire county border north of Banbury. Elgin Energy say it would generate enough electricity to power 15,000 homes. Changes have been made to the design to reduce its visibility from nearby footpaths. Elgin point out that both Oxfordshire County Council and Cherwell District Council have declared a climate emergency, and say: “The site presents an excellent opportunity for solar energy, [with] a viable grid connection available.” Their plans are with Cherwell for consultation.

Walking and cycling (and boating)

• Campaigners seeking to safeguard public access to the Electric Road footpath in West Oxford, by making it a formal right of way, are looking for people aged 55+ who used the Bulstake Path or the Electric Road before 2000 – even if they no longer live in Oxford. This is to establish evidence of regular use of the paths for at least 20 years before 2000. The campaign group has a resources page with templates to fill in.
• Oxfordshire's Coalition for Healthy Streets & Active Travel has welcomed the Government's new Road Safety Strategy, saying that in Oxfordshire 270 people are killed or seriously injured on the roads every year. But it called on the government to go further, highlighting the contrast between current poor walking and cycling facilities and the growing number and size of vehicles, which continually raises the danger levels. Siobhann Mansel-Pleydell of Oxfordshire Liveable Streets said: “This strategy gets the diagnosis right: deaths and serious injury aren’t inevitable. But the test now is delivery – safer speeds and people-first street design, especially around schools.”
• Volunteers restoring the historic Wilts & Berks Canal, which (despite the name) ran across what is now Oxfordshire from Abingdon towards Swindon, say that Thames Water have reneged on plans to cater for a restored canal when building their Abingdon Reservoir. They say: “Once the access road and reservoir and associated structures have been built, we judge that it will be impossible to create an A34 underpass without vast additional costs to the Canal Trust, making it virtually impossible to reconnect to the River Thames.” They have asked supporters to comment by the 13 January deadline.
• The Great Brook Run in Chadlington, near Charlbury, took place on 27 December – a “fun” run through a cold, muddy ditch to raise money for Homeless Oxfordshire, Sobell House and local supported living home the Old Bakehouse. This Facebook video captures the lunacy.

This weekend

• Getting Through It (£), Fri 9 Jan, Oxford Playhouse. Two monologues from Michael Rosen, on losing his teenage son to meningitis and nearly dying himself from Covid.
• National Brick Event (£), Sat 10 Jan, King's Centre. LEGO™ show in Osney Mead featuring a brick submarine and ride-on lion.
• Meryl Streek (£), Sun 11 Jan, The Bullingdon. Love Music Hate Racism presents Irish political punk ('Death to the Landlord') with local electronica star Octavia Freud in support. Age 14+.

This week

• 30 Unmistakeable Tracks and Signs (£), Tue 13 Jan, University Museum of Natural History. Identify our local mammals from their traces.
• Love Machines (£), Tue 13 Jan, Blackwell's. Oxford Internet Institute researcher James Muldoon on human-computer relationships.
• Black is the Color of My Voice (£), Tue 13/Wed 14 Jan, Oxford Playhouse. Inspired by the life of Nina Simone.
• Dream Palaces (£), Wed 14 Jan, Museum of Oxford. Lunchtime talk on the Oxford Picture Palace and its interwar successors.
• Mapping the North, Thu 15 Jan, Weston Library. The idea of North, from medieval myths to Arctic explorers. Free, booking required.

Dates for your diary

A selection of upcoming events for which you might want to book in advance.

• Oxford Renters Union launch party (£), Sat 17 Jan, Cowley Workers Social Club. Nightlife collective in solidarity with tenants: “if I can't dance, I don't want to be part of your revolution”.
• Thames Valley Police volunteer event, 18 Jan, Kidlington, if you fancy becoming a special constable or a police puppy dog socialiser.
• Burns Night (£), Sat 24 Jan, Story Museum. Ceilidh, café, poetry, performance. Age 16+.
• Mozart's World (£), Fri 30 Jan, Sheldonian Theatre. 'Waffy' Spencer plays her rare basset clarinet 'Grace' with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment.
• Anda Union (£), Sat 7 Feb, St Michael at the North Gate. Traditional Mongolian music: throat singing, 'long song', and horsehead fiddles.
• Science Bazaar, Sat 21 Feb, Oxford Brookes (Headington campus). Hands-on science with Brookes University researchers. Especially suitable for ages 5 to 12, with autism-friendly early opening.

And here’s a kids’ calendar for 2026 from Keira at Little Oxplorers:

Oxfordshire’s independent media

• Councillor Nathan Ley writes about what drives him to be a councillor. City and district elections are coming up in May: perhaps it will tempt you?
• Berks, Bucks & Oxon Wildlife Trust are recommending you hug a tree in this rather lovely video (part of their midwinter nature challenge). While you're on their website, take a look at the top 10 reserves to visit this month.
• The Oxford Sausage writes a beautiful tribute to photographer Simon Murison-Bowie.
• Morris Oxford rounds up their year of stories with their trademark incredible photography.
• The Oxford Student’s departing editor Eleanor Grant tells Press Gazette that student politicians “with parents bankrolling them” are increasingly threatening legal action against university newspapers.
• Hook Norton Brewery talks about the Church of England facing the same issues as the pub. They recently hosted a meeting of the local Deanery Synod where (we are reliably informed) the attendees stayed entirely sober, proving beyond doubt that our much loved CofE can’t, in fact, organise a piss-up in a brewery.

Notes from Clarion HQ

As one door closes, another door opens. In February 2022, the Oxford Clarion began with a tweet about Waterstones buying Blackwells. In time we added a website and a Bluesky account, but in 2022 and for some while afterwards, Twitter was where the news happened.

In 2026, duly rebranded as X, it isn’t. It’s a ghost town with a fraction of the engagement and influence it once had. More than that, it continually pushes objectionable content – whether non-consensual, ‘deepfake’ images (just the latest in a long line from its AI agent, Grok), its owner Elon Musk agitating against British democracy, or amplifying the Tommy Robinsons of this world while downplaying reasonable voices. It isn’t what we signed up for in 2022, and it’s not something we can tacitly condone by continuing to post.

So we’re leaving ‘X’ today. Our live coverage continues on Bluesky, which is more or less what Twitter used to be. Our email newsletter (you’re reading it!) is now twice a week, and has much more content than you’ll find in our live feed. And as an alternative for the many people who aren’t on Bluesky, today we’re starting an Oxford Clarion Facebook page. We won’t be posting live there, but will link to newsletters, long reads and the occasional breaking news story. (We won’t be turning comments on, because, well, Facebook comments.)

Occasionally at our editorial meetings, someone will drop into the conversation “maybe we should do a print version?”. An annual special-edition Clarion broadside? Now there’s an idea. See you next week.