Clarion Weekly, 21 February 2025

Step this way for stadium, inauguration, housing and coffee news. And is Oxford getting an Apple Store?

This week’s top stories

Landlords are warning of rent rises of up to 23% as a result of the Oxford-Cambridge Arc. The “investment corridor” is designed to attract employers to the area – but with housing capacity constrained in the city, analysis by lettings firm Zero Deposit forecasts a 21% rent increase in Oxford.

A spokesperson for Acorn, Oxford's renters and community union, said:

“This is really concerning news. The cost of housing is one of the biggest issues affecting our members in Oxford, as we have to spend on average 63% of our income on rent. We should not have to pay for decent transport links through extortionate rents: profiteering landlords should not be using this as an opportunity to line their pockets. Acorn have long been calling for investment in affordable housing and rent controls, and this couldn’t be more urgent."

We looked at Oxfordshire's housing crisis in a series of long reads.

Oxford United says no decision on its new stadium at the Triangle, near Kidlington, is expected before June 5. The club has agreed to an extension so that Cherwell District Council, the planning authority, can consider additional information.

The extra information received by Cherwell relates to highways, ecology and biodiversity. The club anticipates it may need to update its transport and ecology assessment as a result. It also says it will provide more justification for the ‘Very Special Circumstances’ for building in the Green Belt.

For OUFC, Jonathan Clarke said: “Planning extensions are common practice with significant developments which require extensive studies and careful examination. We continue to have positive meetings with stakeholders and appreciate the need to ensure everything is in place for a favourable decision.” The football club is currently in “advanced discussions” to secure a ground for the period between the lease at the Kassam Stadium expiring in 2026 and the new stadium being ready. Landowner Firoz Kassam recently announced new plans for the adjacent Ozone park but not yet for the stadium itself.

Oxford University has formally inaugurated William Hague as Chancellor. Lord Hague was elected by members of the university, including alumni, from a field of 38.

The role of the Chancellor is largely symbolic; Vice Chancellor Irene Tracey has day-to-day leadership of the University. Hague, who studied at Magdalen in the late 1970s, sees his role in part to “celebrate and articulate the world of Oxford, but in the 21st Century, it’s also to help raise money”. Speaking on the prospect of the Oxford–Cambridge growth corridor and the innovation to drive the UK’s future, he maintains that “Artificial Intelligence rests partly on having great universities to begin with”. He is the 160th person to hold the role, and succeeds Lord Patten of Barnes.

An application to continue advertising at the Plain roundabout, which we reported last week, has been “called in” for review by the city’s Liberal Democrat councillors following more than 170 objections. Objectors say it distracts drivers at the location where cyclist Dr Ling Felce died in 2022.

The application for advertising consent is by Oxford City Council, to itself. Between them, the five signs earn the council £5,400 each year. The application is retrospective: the previous five-year permission from 2019 expired in October.

Commenting on the application, independent local councillor Damian Haywood said extensive research demonstrated that roadside advertising distracts drivers. Another public comment said “In light of Dr Ling Felce's death on this roundabout, this is astonishingly poor safety planning.” A local resident has set up a campaign site explaining the background and how to comment.

Housing minister Matthew Pennycook MP has visited Canalside Quarter, the first residential phase of the new Oxford North innovation district. Developed by the Hill Group, Canalside Quarter is the residential component of Oxford North, the 64-acre science-led development by Wolvercote Roundabout.

Matthew Pennycook said: “It was a real pleasure to visit. The government is backing housebuilders like The Hill Group to deliver more well-designed places for people to live. We are accelerating efforts to build 1.5 million new homes & kickstart economic growth.”

Cllr Susan Brown, Oxford City Council leader, said: "We urgently need more high-quality, sustainable, affordable homes. We are pleased to see Oxford North taking shape, including 111 affordable homes. This project demonstrates what can be achieved when councils and developers work together."

Around the city

• Oxford City Council has opened up a call for development sites – for housing, offices or other uses. The appeal to landowners is part of the process of drawing up a new Local Plan after the previous one was turned down by national planning inspectors. Cllr Louise Upton, cabinet member for planning, said: “We are actively encouraging landowners to put forward sites for development, particularly for housing. We want to hear from people about land that could potentially help meet our city's needs.” The deadline for submissions is 17 March; the initial draft plan is expected to be opened for consultation in June or July, with submission to the national Planning Inspectorate by April 2026. If it passes examination, the plan could be adopted in spring 2027, becoming the governing planning document for Oxford.
• Visitors to Oxford's Hinksey Park could soon have a choice of coffee if an application by the Trading Post is successful. Hinksey already has a coffee bike, 'Wide Awake', which operates on a mobile basis between Grandpont and Hinksey Park. The Trading Post, which sells coffee from a Piaggio Ape van at the weekly market on site has applied for a permanent pitch near the splash park. They hope to appeal to a regular trade of early morning swimmers and dog walkers. Its licence would be from 7.30am–6pm, 7 days a week.

• Oxford could be getting an Apple Store. The Clarion understands that Apple is considering taking up the prominent unit at the Westgate Centre currently occupied by clothes store Superdry. The iPhone manufacturer currently has 40 UK stores including Cambridge, Reading and Milton Keynes. Superdry is trimming its retail operations and closed 12 stores last year; it could potentially relocate into another unit, such as the one previously occupied by Victoria’s Secret. Apple products are currently sold at Oxford retailers including John Lewis and Western Computer on Gloucester Green.
• Nine empty council homes have been modernised to provide bigger, adaptable homes for large families and people with changing mobility needs. City Council subsidiary OX Place worked with ODS and Jessop & Cook Architects on the transformations. The programme included changing internal layouts, a loft conversion, building extensions and providing ground floor bedrooms, shower rooms and other adaptable spaces. Two and three-bed homes were extended to create four and five-bed homes, and four new homes built on corner plots and large gardens. Helen Horne, managing director at OX Place said: “It’s been a pleasure to deliver the extensions programme. People’s lives change and that shouldn’t mean they get trapped in an overcrowded, or no longer suitable, home. This project means providing the right homes and meets a crucial need for Oxford City Council.” We wrote about the challenge of finding places to build in Oxford in a long read as part of our Housing Week series.
• Oxford residents held a rally in Radcliffe Square last Friday in support of Ukraine as well as ongoing protests in Georgia, Serbia and Slovakia whose governments are increasingly aligning with authoritarian Russia.
• Football fans at the Kassam may have a new match day snack option if ‘Sweet Formation’ is successful in an application for a street trading licence. They promise ‘Mr Whippy sold in trays with sweets & chocolate on top’, sold from an ice cream van style food truck. (We bring you only the most finely curated news…)
• If you didn't catch our city budget explainer, or last week's summary, Oxford City Council have produced this very short and rather good video explaining what they invested in. Budget chat will stop soon, we promise.

Around the county

• A massive logistics park is proposed for M40 junction 9, just outside Bicester. Tritax Park Oxford would be sited next to the Siemens factory (now under construction) for superconducting magnets, between the M40, A41 and Chesterton village. Access would be via a light-controlled junction on the A41. Architects SGP say “The trend towards very large-scale logistics buildings is perhaps best appreciated from the phenomenal growth in online retailing… efficiency in delivery is only achievable by the location of logistics buildings close to the strategic highway network and close to the customer.” The plans envisage over 200,000 square metres of warehouse space. The architects claim there will be “a sense of community created by building design, landscape and the public realm”. A planning application is currently with Cherwell District Council for consideration.
• West Oxfordshire District Council has warned neighbouring district Cherwell not to designate land on the edge of Woodstock for housing. WODC says that building 450 homes at the site would “create significant challenges for the town and surrounding area”.
• An Oxfordshire village could lose its primary school after 150 years. The Victorian school in Brize Norton is set to be closed and replaced with a new school in East Carterton on the Brize Meadow estate. Oxfordshire County Council’s cabinet meeting next week will consider approving a plan to build a £10m “new one-form-entry primary school” in East Carterton, with the smaller Brize Norton village school “relocated” to the new site. The school celebrates its 150th anniversary this year.
• Oxfordshire’s Ridgeway Brewery, based in South Stoke near Goring-on-Thames, has been sold to Surrey’s Crafty Brewing. The family-owned brewery is known for its Christmas beers and a “modern brown ale” called Hamster of Doom.
• 60 homes – half of them ‘affordable’ – are proposed for the West Oxfordshire village of Freeland by Blenheim-owned developer Pye Homes. The plan also includes a pick-up/drop-off car park for the adjacent primary school. The Freeland/Hanborough area has seen significant development in recent years.
• The administration at Oxfordshire County Council has seen a change in nomenclature – but not in control. The Liberal Democrats and Greens formerly worked together as a single group, the ‘Liberal Democrat/Green Alliance’. They are now two separate groups, but remain in coalition. The change gives a more distinct identity in the run-up to May’s elections, and gives the Greens their own seat at the table in discussions on council mergers.

• And finally, we were rather surprised to see this application for a mixed use retail and apartment building containing 80 homes in Wallingford come up on our feed, as it's a bold look for this very Oxfordshire market town. And then we realised it was Wallingford, Seattle.

University and research

• Christ Church has received a donation of a collection of letters, books & illustrations from one of the largest Lewis Carroll collections in the world. Carroll lectured at the college and met Alice Liddell there, the inspiration for Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. The collection was donated by American businessman & philanthropist Jon A Lindseth. It includes proofs & drawings by Carroll and by his illustrators Tenniel & Furniss, and over 200 letters from the author. An exhibition displaying some of the most exceptional items in the collection has begun.
• The University of Oxford has released a tribute to Professor Sue Iversen, Emeritus Fellow Professor of Experimental Psychology. Among her many roles were director of the Museum of Natural History and inaugural director of the Oxford Martin School. She was appointed CBE in 2005. The tribute concludes: “Professor Iversen’s work and dedication to her field has left an indelible mark on the institutions she served and the many individuals who had the privilege of working with her.”

Trains and buses

• The East-West Rail line from Oxford to Bletchley saw its first passenger train on Saturday, the ‘Verney Venturer’ charter hauled by two early-60s Class 33 locomotives. Regular services are expected to begin this summer but no date has yet been announced.
• The Oxford Bus Company and Thames Travel have announced the return of their Chatty Bus initiative, to help address loneliness. Chatty Bus volunteers will be on-board the X32 service to chat to passengers as they travel between the John Radcliffe Hospital and Didcot, on Monday 24th February. Luke Marion, Oxford Bus Company said: “Loneliness remains a real issue that affects many in our community. We hope the return of this initiative will make a difference. The experience creates the opportunity to connect, share stories, and build relationships within a supportive environment." Passengers will be able to identify Chatty Bus Champions, who will travel on the buses to engage in meaningful conversations and lend an ear to those seeking companionship, via their blue tops. Passengers can pick up a badge saying they are happy to chat or enjoy their journey quietly.
• Oxford Bus Company and Thames Travel have issued a final appeal to enter its Brand the Bus charity competition. 54 good causes have entered so far. The deadline to enter is 1 March and the winter will be announced in June. Luke Marion, MD of the Oxford Bus Company and Thames Travel, said: “We’re thrilled to have received such a big response. The number and quality of the entries is inspiring. There is still time to enter and I’d encourage people to get involved to help raise awareness of good causes in the county.”

• The rail service on the Cotswold Line from Oxford to Worcester should be increased to two trains per hour, says Oxfordshire County Council. The authority is calling for the line to be redoubled between Wolvercot and Hanborough, and from Evesham to Pershore: currently the Oxfordshire stations of Hanborough, Charlbury and Kingham have one train an hour for most of the day. A report by Oxfordshire and Worcestershire councils, with transport body England’s Economic Heartland, says better services would support housing near Hanborough (Salt Cross) and a new town at Worcestershire Parkway. OCC leader Liz Leffman said: “Despite welcoming more passengers than before the pandemic, the North Cotswold Line’s potential is severely constrained by the limited frequency of services. Improving this would enable the line to support sustainable economic and housing growth.” Earlier plans had been criticised for prioritising Worcestershire at the expense of Kingham and Charlbury. The report now envisages an ‘Oxfordshire Metro’ network, which could incorporate up to four trains to Hanborough each hour, plus services to Didcot and on the Cowley Branch Line.

• Now that Thames Water has finalised the location for reconnecting the water main, piling work is fully underway at the Botley Road railway bridge, preparing the foundations for the new bridge. A piling rig drills 40 metres into the ground for each pile, with the resultant spoil transported off-site. Network Rail will be staging a ‘community update session’ this Wednesday at 5pm in the King’s Centre, Osney Mead.

Walking and cycling

• Proposals have been published for six new ‘Greenway’ walking and cycling routes into Oxford, a joint project by Oxfordshire County Council, Oxford City Council and the University of Oxford. The routes, overall plan and designs for signs are open for public consultation until 18 March. The six proposed routes would link Oxford to:
  1.⁠ ⁠Woodstock and Kidlington
  2.⁠ ⁠Otmoor via Beckley
  3.⁠ ⁠Botley to Kennington
  4.⁠ ⁠Wootton
  5.⁠ ⁠Kingston Bagpuize
  6.⁠ ⁠Wytham and Wolvercote
  Also being consulted on are the overall ‘Masterplan’, which includes potential future routes, and a design for signage featuring two shades of ‘Oxford Blue’ from the county and city arms. Funds have not yet been allocated for detailed design or construction, but due to a Labour amendment, the County Council budget has funding over two years to develop a full business case.
• A new cycleway proposed for Bicester will “follow the latest national cycling standards with cyclists separated from motor vehicles”, Oxfordshire County Council has pledged. It is proposing cycle tracks along London Road from the town centre out to the A41, then along the A41 for a mile. The cycleway will be built in three stages subject to funding, starting with the route between Bicester Village station and the A41. This will mostly comprise “a new 3m two-way cycleway, separated from both motor vehicles and pedestrians”. New zebra crossings and side-road humps will be included. The £2.7m project is funded by the Department for Transport and developer funds; construction would start this autumn and be complete by spring 2026.

Oxfordshire politics

A brief summary of what we've spotted our MPs are up to. We generally focus on constituency matters, unless exceptional.

• Anneliese Dodds, MP for Oxford East, visited the Jenner Institute at the University of Oxford to see how a malaria vaccine developed in the constituency is at the forefront of global health. She spoke in Parliament on why menopause action plans are an essential part of the Employment Rights Bill. She attended a breakfast club at Larkrise Primary School; the Labour government is introducing measures for free breakfast clubs as part of a strategy to tackle persistent school absence.
• Banbury’s Sean Woodcock spoke up on the need to build new housing in his constituency, as news broke that the council had spent nearly half a million on homeless accommodation in hotels including the 17th century Whately Hall Hotel, near Banbury Cross. He maintains tackling the housing crisis is critical to tacking the UK's cost of living crisis. In a difficult week for Ukraine, he said he was “happy to back Ukraine” , contrasting his approach with Reform and the Conservatives. He celebrated Labour's announcement of £200m more police funding to deal with antisocial behaviour and crime, and highlighted Labour's approach to dealing with knife crime, in the context of two stabbings in the last week in Banbury. On a lighter note, he visited Banbury United to talk about the future of the club.
• Calum Miller, MP for Bicester and Woodstock, is the LibDem Foreign affairs spokesperson. Speaking this week on the news of further hostage releases, he said: “Hamas terrorists have shown despicable cruelty even in the release of Israeli hostages. It tortures families who have suffered 16 months of hell and serves only to foster hate to advance extremism. My heart goes out to Yarden Bibas at today's news.” In Oxfordshire, he met staff and residents from Seeability Bicester , a supported care organisation that helps adults with learning difficulties. He spoke out against the High Court decision to back Thames Water's restructuring plan/bailout. The previous week he was “in the hotseat” on BBC Radio Oxford: he shared a link to the program here. Listen if you want to hear his views on OUFC's stadium, children's mental health, and his favourite colour. Finally, he shared this summary of his last week.
• Witney MP Charlie Maynard has been in the national headlines for his continued opposition to Thames Water’s “bailout” plan. Though the High Court approved Thames’ restructuring, Maynard says he plans to appeal. He was on Channel 4 talking about it - video here. He picked up a Valentine’s Day card from campaigners for electoral reform, Make Votes Matter, to thank him for his support for proportional representation as part of the APPG on Fair Elections. MVM, a cross-party, non-party campaign group, talked to him about England being the only part of the UK that continues to use First Past the Post for local elections, and advocated for a change in policy.
• Henley & Thame MP Freddie van Mierlo spoke in a Westminster Hall debate on fuel poverty. He met with Thames Valley Chamber of Commerce and claimed the “Liberal Democrats are the only true friends of business in Parliament”. He went canvassing in Henley and asked why Rishi Sunak hadn't voted in Parliament since November 2024. He met with Chiltern Railways to discuss an ongoing problem of overcrowding on services to London.
• Olly Glover, MP for Didcot & Wantage posted this round-up of his recent activities (how many did we spot?) . He continued his long running campaign for access to GP appointments. He met Ben, a farmer in Wantage, to understand more about challenges farmers are facing, and continued the campaign against farm inheritance tax. He celebrated the passing of the County Council budget, particularly increased funding for SEND and gully clearance.

Oxfordshire’s independent media

• Morris Oxford looks at Oxford's best history website and shares treasures that are hidden in plain sight. (Do not click on either link if you have no time to be curious!)
• Edible Reading has pledged to review more Oxford restaurants: this week it visits Branca in Jericho.
• Daily Info also sent its reviewers out to Jericho and the Rickety Press.
• The Oxford Student profiles Elon Musk and his rise to power.
• Ox in a Box reviews Port Mahon, the St Clements pub “producing brilliant food without any fuss at all”. (Memo to self: future Clarion editorial meeting venue.)
• Oxford Alumni interviews new Chancellor William Hague, who talks about politics, identity and his plans for the role.
• The Oxford Sausage hunts the stone heads that once guarded the Sheldonian. We never need any encouragement to link to the Oxford Sausage, but this article is outstanding both in its research and photography. Highly recommended.

This weekend

• Oxford Orpheus are staging Verdi's Requiem on Saturday in the Town Hall. (Tickets here.)
• Rally in support of Ukraine on Sunday at midday in Radcliffe Square. The day after, 24 February, marks the third anniversary of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia. Organisers say all are welcome; bring flags.
• Oh, Community! is an all-day festival at the Library and Bullingdon on Cowley Road, with over a dozen local bands playing on Saturday. Tickets are £18.70.
• One World Family Festival at the Ashmolean bringing together the communities and faiths of Oxfordshire.

Dates for your diary

• Campaigners for the redevelopment of Jericho Wharf are to screen a film documenting the campaign to revive the site, which has been derelict for 18 years. ‘Our Jericho’ will screen at the Phoenix Picturehouse, Wednesday 26 February, 6pm. We looked at the campaign in a long read last year.
• Oxford Civic Society is hosting Bob Colenutt, author of The Property Lobby: The Hidden Reality behind the Housing Crisis. He will be talking on ‘The Housing Crisis: Deconstructing Planning Reform’ on Monday 24 February at 8pm at Rewley House. Free to all (booking not required). Our primer on Oxford's housing crisis is here.
• Early Morning Yoga at the Weston Library. Friday 28 February, 7.30 am. Yoga designed for musicians and performers but open to all. One hour, alignment-based yoga flow. Led by violinist and yoga instructor, Elena.
• Headington Festival, Sunday 1 June, Bury Knowle Park. Stallholders can book a stall here.
• Oxford Literary Festival. 29 March–6 April. Needs no introduction.
• Hedgehog First Aid Course. Saturday 17 May. Summertown, Oxford OX2 7SG. Sign up here Learn how to help injured and malnourished hedgehogs under the guidance of Vale Animal Hospital experts.

(We love the diversity of this section this week; please continue to send them in!)

Notes from Clarion HQ

The house journal of the UK newspaper industry, Press Gazette, looked at “London news start-ups” this week. Here at the Clarion we’re big fans of Jim Waterson’s London Centric, and we found ourselves nodding as he delivered a few home truths to Press Gazette – which usually cheerleads for Reach, Newsquest and National World, the three horsemen of the local media apocalypse.

“I think we’re entering the end game for a lot of the older ad-supported models. And I don’t see how, when AI-generated rubbish is everywhere, that Reach employing people to rewrite 13 different versions of the same story on different websites is going to make economic sense… I think some places are going to have to die before we can rebirth something that looks a bit more like where audiences actually are.”

Clarion writers have almost all been doing the half-term juggle this week, so if you've missed our long reads, that's why. But we have some crackers in the pipeline coming out very soon. We thank our collaborators for their extended patience.

In the meantime, as winter turns very very slowly in to spring, and the garden wakes up, here's one you might have missed: the Clarion's rare foray into gardening. If you have an apple tree in your garden, have a look at our explainer on the pest that's decimating apple trees in Oxford.