Clarion Weekly, 22 August 2025

Is Bicester the future of UK tourism? Is GWR’s new battery train the fastest milk float in the west? What is a canal ‘pisser’? And how do you run a ‘Luxury Aparthotel’ in Oxford? All these unusual questions answered and many more in this week’s newsletter…

This week’s top stories

Oxford’s Park & Ride buses could be free in November and December as part of the congestion charge scheme. Oxfordshire County Council says the proceeds from the congestion charge will fund free P&R bus travel “to enhance the attractiveness of the city centre whilst managing limited car parking”.

After two months, the council will assess whether they can afford to continue free P&R buses, or apply a discount instead. The two-month scheme is expected to cost £1m, while the congestion charge will bring in £3.2m over 10 months.

In other changes, OCC is proposing day passes for ice rink users (who “often have to carry heavy/bulky equipment”) and permits for company pool cars. The proposals are due to be considered by OCC Cabinet at their next meeting on 10 September.

South Oxfordshire District Council's planning committee (SODC) has rejected a planning application for a 100MW Battery Energy Storage System near Garsington, citing inappropriate development on the Oxford Green Belt and an adverse impact on the landscape. The BESS would have stored surplus power generated via renewable sources, and connected to the Cowley substation.

The applicant had sought to have the Green Belt site redesignated as Grey Belt, but also argued it met the ‘very special circumstances’ required for Green Belt development. The development was objected to by Toot Baldon & Garsington Parish Councils, plus the CPRE. 20 letters objecting and 16 letters in support of the proposal were received. SODC declared a Climate Emergency in 2019, and pledged to become a carbon neutral district by 2030.

An Oxford family is driving a pickup truck filled with medical aid to Kharkiv in Ukraine. The truck will be donated to medics serving the front line and used to make evacuations.

The truck has been funded by donations, and is filled with medical aid given by supporters including DCS in Banbury. Jake, a web developer from East Oxford, has been working with Ukrainian software engineers for 18 years. Together with his family Sophia and Siena, they will deliver the aid to Lviv before taking the truck to Kharkiv. They are now fundraising for a second truck.

Asylum seekers in Oxfordshire still face “hostile headlines and political rhetoric, and physical intimidation” according to local charity Asylum Welcome. In a post marking one year since a rally to defend them against far-right groups, they say “We are doing all we can – but we are very stretched.” They continue by saying that “life in asylum ‘hotels’ is nothing like the media claims”:

“These are not ‘luxury hotels’ – they are former hotels taken over and run as hostels, by private companies working for the Home Office. People living in them are part of a legal process – they are doing nothing wrong and must go where they are sent. While they wait, they must cope shared rooms and lack of privacy, no access to cooking facilities, no right to work, long periods of waiting with little to do, isolation, physical and mental health struggles, hostility and racism. Hateful views often come from people who’ve never met an asylum seeker.”

Meanwhile, local Conservative leaders have written to West Oxfordshire District Council demanding it “consider seeking injunctive relief to prevent the ongoing use of [Witney Four Pillars] hotel” as asylum accommodation. They point to a court case brought by Conservative-run Epping Forest District Council.

Around the city

• Blackwell’s bookshop has opened a new ‘Oxford Shop’ at 53 Broad Street. It brings together books about the city and the university as well as by local authors. The music department remains accessible inside, down the stairs to the Norrington Room (and your Clarion music correspondent reports that you can once again eyeball the sheet music without intrusive piped tunes drifting down from upstairs).
• Plans for ‘Warneford Park’, a mental health and research campus to replace the Warneford Hospital in Headington, have been submitted to Oxford City Council for approval. The current hospital is thought to be the oldest inpatient unit still in use. The plans include a new mental health hospital, a postgraduate medical college, and a research facility with space for biotech and pharma companies.
• Oxford cargo bike delivery firm Pedal & Post are now offering opportunities for local businesses to advertise on the sides of their trikes. The net zero carbon business positions this as 'sustainable advertising'.
• A “sustainability walk” around the University Parks is to be showcased by new information boards. The walk will start at the Botanic Gardens and end at the Museum of Natural History, signposting important scientific collections at the Life and Mind Building and the Genetic Garden. Oxford City Council has given permission for 16 new signs to replace existing signage.
• Wildflowers in Aston's Eyot, off Iffley Road, will be protected from grazing deer thanks to new fencing funded by the Trust for Oxfordshire's Environment. Oxford's former rubbish tip will benefit from £6,310 from Grundon Waste Management via the Landfill Communities Fund. Aston's Eyot's history includes being part of Abingdon Abbey and then Christ Church – but between the 1900s and the 1940s it was the city's rubbish dump, thus qualifying for the grant. ‘Friends of Aston's Eyot’ took it over in 2010.
• Police are investigating an incident on Monday night at the Central Oxford Mosque on Manzil Way. The Mosque says: “At approximately 12.35am a single male with a grey hooded tracksuit and balaclava climbed over the fence, stuck pork on the door handles and an Israeli flag on the middle door. This is heartbreaking and emotions will be high. We request calm in our community.” Local MP Anneliese Dodds and Oxford City Council leader Susan Brown called the attack “cowardly and despicable”.
• Health & Beauty retailer Superdrug is to expand its presence in Oxford with an enlarged store in the Westgate. It will also take over the former Poundland unit at Templars Shopping Park, Cowley. Superdrug is known for its trending beauty offer.
• Oxford City Council has taken legal action on a mansion-style short let property in Headington without short let permission. Seven properties are now back on the rental market with a six-month minimum tenancy. The properties were marketed as a ‘Luxury Apart Hotel’. Cabinet member for housing, Cllr Linda Smith, said: “There are nearly 3,500 households on the council home waiting list. We want people to visit and stay in our amazing city. But uncontrolled short lets deprive us of much-needed homes.”

Around the county

• A crowdfunder has been set up to offset the costs of Oxfordshire singer Dolly Mavies after she refused to perform for US Vice President JD Vance. Supporter Nick Smith said “We respect their bravery and adherence to principles.”
• Oxfordshire brewery Hook Norton is raising a glass in celebration after winning two medals at the World Beer Awards. Its Old Hooky Premium Ale claimed a Silver Medal, while Hooky Best Bitter proudly took home a Bronze Medal. Earlier this month it also won awards at the British Bottlers Awards, for its Ironstone lager and Twelve Days Original Porter. We wrote about Hook Norton in our tour of Oxfordshire's food and drink.

• Thursday was GCSE results day, and Oxfordshire’s secondary schools saw impressive numbers as the national papers reported that “the Covid generation has surpassed expectations”. Oxfordshire County Council pointed to their dedicated site for young people, oxme.info, with advice on next steps.
• And finally, Carterton and Oxford’s football rival Swindon have demonstrated some interesting and record-breaking purchase habits, according to an online “toy” retailer. If we write the detail in this newsletter it'll get blocked by your email client, but if you click this link (Twitter) or this one (Bluesky), it may raise a smile… or eyebrow. NSFW, red hot infographics; put your cuppa down before clicking.

Oxfordshire politics

With Parliament in recess, our elected representatives’ activities have been hyperlocal. Everybody marked VJ Day and GCSE results day, so we will take that as read.

Team Oxfordshire Labour have started issuing joint letters and press releases. This week Anneliese Dodds and Sean Woodcock wrote to the Secretary of State asking her to rapidly approve the building of OUFC's new stadium.

Team Oxfordshire LibDem frequently issue joint press releases as regular Clarion readers will know. This week they are calling for a rail fare freeze as fares are set to increase by 5.8%, should the government choose to follow existing policy and increase fares in line with July’s Retail Price Index. This would mean an increase in annual season tickets of £377 to £6,885 from Bicester to London, and Oxford to London up £388 to £7,080. They accompanied the release with each MP standing next to a train including, amusingly, van Mierlo beside a steam train. We know that GWR has a rolling stock shortage but haven’t yet spotted steamers being hauled out of retirement at Swindon Works.

Meanwhile Your Party, the interim name for the Corbyn/Sultana-led left party, is building up a head of steam in Oxfordshire. There’s a Witney branch meeting at the Blanket Hall on 28 August (7.30pm) and an Oxford fundraiser at Ovada Warehouse on 6 September (7pm).

We don’t often report on Reform UK, but their sole Oxfordshire councillor, Hao Du, has been busy discussing improvements to cycle paths and road crossings in Didcot – which we thought was interesting in a week when local Conservatives were campaigning on asylum accommodation.

Turning to our national representatives:

• Banbury MP Sean Woodcock was out on the doors in Calthorpe and Bloxham. He celebrated a casework win, rebanding a constituent's council tax. He also posted this advice on 'What to do if you hit a deer'. If you want to talk to him about deer, or council tax, or anything else, here are his next surgeries.
• Bicester & Woodstock MP Calum Miller spoke at Bicester's Orchard Baptist Ministry's event, and met with community groups including refugee support groups and Graven Hill residents.
• Witney MP Charlie Maynard spent an afternoon shadowing Witney Police. He commented: “I had a fascinating time out on the beat on Friday evening with PCSO Kris Hawkins. I am grateful to the neighbourhood team for talking me through and teaching me so much about the key issues facing Thames Valley Police in the area.”
• Oxford East MP Anneliese Dodds has written to NHS England to try and expedite a pharmacy for Littlemore, although we are raising an eyebrow at its address “To whom it may concern, NHS England”. Yup, that will definitely get to the right person... Dodds is however reporting improvements to local Post Office services following her campaign; she commits to keep up the pressure.
• Oxford West & Abingdon MP Layla Moran celebrated the reopening of Abingdon Weir footbridge. After the closure of Our Lady's Abingdon, she wrote to the Secretary of State for Education about mitigation measures for private schools that close, including mandating working with local authorities in advance of closure, and access to prior work.
• Didcot & Wantage MP Olly Glover spoke out on the need to get the economy moving by creating a bespoke customs union with the EU. He visited Harwell to learn about the work Nuclear Restoration Services do decommissioning hazardous sites, including Western Europe's first nuclear reactor built in 1947.
• Henley & Thame MP Freddie van Mierlo updated the residents of Ewelme on his campaign to bring fast broadband to the village: jam tomorrow, but at least there should be jam.
• Thames Valley Police & Crime Commissioner Matthew Barber was in Oxford talking to the City Council about their plans for a 'Greater Oxford' (he's not previously been a fan), and would like local businesses to fill out his survey on crime.

Pubs pubs pubs

(There has been a lot of pub news this week. Here's what you need to know. On Bluesky people have been suggesting venues for our next editorial meeting – just to support local pubs, you understand. In short, we now need a lot more editorial meetings...)

• The White Horse Inn in Wroxton, which has been closed since 2018, could reopen under plans proposed by a new owner. The pub, a listed building, was built in the 1700s. The proposals add a shop and café to the pub, as well as a holiday let. Former Conservative leader Eddie Reeves made saving the White Horse part of his campaign to win election in the Cropredy division, which includes Wroxton. (The seat was won by the Liberal Democrats.)
• The White Hart in Wytham just outside Oxford, once a popular pub/restaurant, could have reached the end of the road as an application is submitted for change of use to a 4-bed house. After former operators Ace Pubs became insolvent, citing rising electricity (from £2000 to £7000 per month) and gas costs, the pub was put on the market in September 2022. An early offer from Donnington Brewery “was scuppered by [Liz Truss’s] budget of Sep 2022 and the hike in interest rates”. The agents also say that the pub was too small to create 6–8 guest rooms, “a model that has enabled some country pubs to avoid closure”; and that staff shortages had worsened “with so many previous employees leaving post Brexit”.
• Two more rural pubs have been proposed for conversion to residential use. The Dirt House (formerly the Plough) in Little Bourton, just north of Banbury, has been run by a couple since 2019 who say they can no longer afford to run it at a loss. The John Barleycorn in Goring, South Oxfordshire, ceased trading in 2023 and owners Brakspear say they have not been able to find new tenants nor sell it as a pub. (Goring has another pub, the Catherine Wheel, plus another over the river bridge in Streatley.)
• The Old Anchor Inn in Abingdon reopened this week; the Clarion went to visit and approved. We'll leave the local commentary to Abingdon Blog.

University and research

• The 18th-century Radcliffe Observatory will be restored with a £3m gift from American businessman Stephen Schwarzman. The observatory is now part of Green Templeton College on Woodstock Road and faces the humanities centre named after Schwarzman, opening next month. The Radcliffe Observatory and the Tower of the Winds will be open to the public on Sunday 14 September as part of Oxford Open Doors. There will also be a free public lecture on the history of the Observatory on Wednesday 24 September.
• Medical researchers at the University of Oxford have teamed up with pharmaceutical company Upperton Pharma Solutions to develop oral (pill) forms of Adenovirus-vectored vaccines, which have previously been injected. By converting vaccines to pill form, the project aims to improve storage life and resilience, and to enable needle-free treatment. Adenovirus-vectored vaccines use a harmless form of a virus to introduce the vaccine into the body; the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine, for example, used a chimpanzee adenovirus vector.
• Only a tiny minority of people are aware that Oxford University's revenue exceeds that of Greggs and Manchester United combined. A survey by the Higher Education Policy Institute, a think tank based in Oxford, found widespread underestimation of the economic and employment impact of UK universities.
• An Oxford college is providing scholarships for Jewish students, or Israeli students of any faith or none. St Anne's is offering the undergraduate funding in partnership with LUCK (Leg-Up Charity for Kids). Four 'Tikvah' scholarships (the Hebrew word for 'hope') of £5,000 will be available each year. Jesus College announced last month that its Crisis Scholarship will provide fees, accommodation, and living costs for a Masters student from Gaza.

Walking, cycling and sometimes boating

• The Canal & River Trust is planning works to Somerton Deep Lock, on the Oxford Canal in north Oxfordshire, to fix “pissers”. The Trust says a pisser is “the customary canal term for a stream-like water leak, rather than seepage, in a chamber or lock gate”. They will also be replacing the lock paddle gear, but say the traditional Oxford Canal crown wheel and pinion type is dangerous for novice boaters; instead, the current paddle gear will be replaced with the Banjo type found elsewhere on the canal, “to assemble a consistent vernacular across the Oxford Canal”. Plans are with Cherwell District Council for consideration. (It’s a fun life on the Cherwell planning committee: one day you’re debating the OUFC stadium, the next, Oxford Canal pissers…)
• A new 174-mile bikepacking route across South Oxfordshire and neighbouring counties was launched on Monday. The Royal Chilterns Way is the latest route from Cycling UK, the national cycling charity, and comprises existing bridleways, byways and quiet roads: it’s intended to be ridden in three or four days on a gravel or mountain bike. It’s the ninth of Cycling UK’s long-distance routes which also include King Alfred’s Way, passing through Wantage. Robin Tucker of Cycling UK Oxfordshire, who joined the launch, said: “Cycle tourists spend over £500m a year in the UK and this new route will add more.”
• Nuffield Parish Council are campaigning for a pedestrian crossing on the A4130. They say this 40mph area has seen several fatal accidents. The road is crossed regularly by walkers along the Ridgeway plus visitors to The Maker Space, Nuffield Place (National Trust), plus bus users. The petition is here.
• New buoys on the approach to Eynsham Lock on the River Thames are marking out the deepest channel as navigation is made challenging by low water flows. The Oxford Canal is already closed to boats either side of Banbury.

Trains and buses

• A GWR battery-powered test train has broken a world record by travelling 200 miles on battery power alone. The Class 230 train ran from Reading to Paddington, Oxford and back to Reading.
• Stagecoach have released their new timetables from 31 August, which see more limited-stop buses from Oxford to Banbury and Bicester, as well as new local services around Banbury.
• New buses are now rolling out on the Oxford–Reading X40 route, run by Thames Travel (part of Oxford Bus Group). The Volvo buses have USB charging, wifi, and “next stop” announcements. As trailed previously, the route has moved from Iffley Road to Abingdon Road.
• Pioneering steam locomotive 1466 makes a long-awaited comeback at Didcot Railway Centre this weekend, unveiled at 11.30am Saturday and with steam rides through the weekend. Booking is recommended.

Congestion charge

Oxfordshire County Council is proposing to introduce an Oxford congestion charge as a prelude to the full traffic filter scheme, the latter postponed until Botley Road reopens. This week, the council published the results of the consultation held this summer.

We’ve written previously about why a simple tally of for/against responses serves to mislead, and the headline figure of 66% saying “there should be no charge at all” is broadly what we’d expect of a consultation asking “do you want to pay more?”. A similar consultation before London’s 2001 Congestion Charge also saw public opposition outnumbering support, and that in a city with its own tube system.

More interestingly, one response that recurs in both the Oxford and London consultations is improving public transport, with 28% of respondents suggesting this in the “other suggestions to reduce traffic” question – almost twice the number suggesting “remove LTNs”. (As we report above, OCC is now planning to make Park & Ride buses free in the run-up to Christmas.) The data geeks on our team headed straight for the crosstabs in the consultation report to look for any interesting trends – is opposition stronger in particular areas or demographics? – but pickings here (p18 onwards) are slim and we found ourselves wishing for access to the (anonymised) data.

The sheer weight of data and analysis here is colossal (with one single campaigner submitting a 126-page, 45,000-word response!) and we’ll return to it when OCC’s Cabinet makes its decision on 10 September.

(Planning) life is a rollercoaster

Ask anyone where's good in Oxfordshire for a family friendly day out, and we're not sure Bicester would be top of the list of answers (with apologies to Garth Park). That might be about to change.

On your behalf, we have read the local Strategic Economic Plan and the Oxfordshire Visitor Economy Vision and Destination Management Plan 2023-28, because we know how to live. These detail three emerging sites on top of the shopping juggernaut that is Bicester Village, all within ten minutes’ drive of each other:

• Puy du Fou (French mega tourist operators)
• Great Wolf Lodge (American mega tourist operators)
• Bicester Motion (British upstart as tourist destination but undoubted innovator)

Is Bicester suddenly about to become the UK's next hot tourist destination, as Secret London would have us believe this week? Well… perhaps not. The Clarion reached out to Great Wolf Lodge, who appear to have put their development on ice, possibly forever. They commented:

“We have completed significant infrastructure improvements to the site in Chesterton, but have temporarily paused additional development as we explore the potential of additional resort locations within the UK in order to reach more families and provide a stronger entry into the market. We are currently seeking planning approval for potential resorts in both Hampshire and Derbyshire.”

Bicester Motion has planning consent for a 340 bedroom high end hotel but there's no confirmed timeline for it's delivery. A spokesperson confirmed to the Clarion: "Bicester Motion has outline consent to develop a hotel which it intends to deliver in the future as part of its plans to continue supporting transport technology companies and delivering exceptional visitor experiences." Puy du Fou, meanwhile, has completed a series of public consultations and is beginning to wend its way through the planning system, with an outline application expected to be submitted later this year. Based on widely reported local concerns on traffic (the Clarion has been to the site and the local roads are narrow), we should anticipate a feisty planning meeting. So class this one as an emerging story: we’ll keep you updated.

Dates for your diary

• Queer Diary, Thu 11 Sep, Old Fire Station. Open-mic night for reading your teenage diaries out loud. Yes, really.
• Nanina, Sat 13 Sep, The North Wall. Women's ensemble from Georgia (the country) performing traditional polyphonic singing, recognised by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage.
• Oxford Fens talk, Thu 25 Sep, Oxford Castle. Public lecture by local naturalist Dr Judy Webb, chair of Friends of Lye Valley (booking required).
• UKAEA open day, Sat 11 Oct, Culham. Explore cutting-edge fusion technology.

It’s Bank Holiday weekend so Oxford’s event calendar is unusually bare.

Oxfordshire’s independent media

• The Witney Gitzette reports that Eynsham is to trial a 100mph speed limit “to see how it goes”.
• The Oxford Sausage goes on a search for heraldic birds.
• Bitten Oxford brings us the guide we all need this summer: Oxford's best ice cream.
• Ox in a Box previews a new photographic exhibition coming up at Cowley's Community Cafe Waste2Taste.
• Muddy Stilettos rounds up the top 10 days out in the Chilterns, featuring a vineyard, a cheese shed, and Roald Dahl.

And this crossed our feed – we'll just leave it here as a musical interlude...

Notes from Clarion HQ

The summer is drawing to a close, and as we begin the joyous task of ironing nametags onto uniform and remortgaging the house to buy new school shoes, Clarion writers are returning from our holidays with a long list of Things We Ought To Write About. Thanks to everyone who’s kept us posted over the summer; though sometimes we’ve been juggling copy halfway up a mountain/on a ferry/in an Area of Outstandingly Bad Mobile Reception (no, not St Aldate's), we’ve read every comment and will get to it. Eventually. We promise. Have a great week, and bon courage with the nametags.