Clarion Weekly, 30 August 2024

This week's top stories

The old tennis pavilion at Bury Knowle Park, Headington, has been reworked into a café and community hub. The £600,000 project also included works to create a multi-use games area, mini-golf and shuffleboard.

The works are a collaboration between Oxford City Council and local community interest company Courtside, who aim “to transform outdoor public spaces into places where communities can come together to exercise and socialise”: they already run Cutteslowe Park’s café and have plans for a similar operation at The Leys, Witney.

Cllr Chewe Munkonge called the works “brilliant”, while Courtside’s Jeff Hunter said they would “encourage physical and social well-being, while protecting Bury Knowle Park as a place of rest and recreation for future generations”.

Thames Water’s failure to upgrade Oxford Sewage Treatment Works is now “preventing the delivery of much-needed new homes and job opportunities”, according to Oxford City Council’s leader Cllr Susan Brown. The alert comes as a result of objections from the Environment Agency.

In March, the EA said it had “significant concerns about the performance of Oxford STW… we suspect it does not have any more capacity for new connections”, and that it understood Thames Water’s proposed improvements had been “significantly delayed” beyond 2025.

Cllr Brown said: “We have been raising these issues locally for many years but have seen no action. The lack of investment has now led to the EA objecting to both the City Council’s proposed Local Plan 2040, and to housing and commercial planning applications coming forward.”

Oxford City Council, Thames Water and Environment Agency are now in discussions “to help address the planning issue”. The council warns that without action, it will be unable to contribute to the Government’s target of 1.5m new homes in five years.

Proposals to allow two-way cycling on Sheep Street, Bicester, have a consultation deadline of tomorrow (Saturday). The town centre road, up to 25m wide, is part of the National Cycle Network but does not allow cycling. We take a look at it in a full report.

That's the spirit! The former distillery team behind TOAD (The Oxford Artisan Distillery) are staging a comeback bid for the closed site in South Park. In a Clarion long(ish) read, we take a look at the story behind the move.

Around the county

• Work is starting on adding an extra lane to the slip-road of the M40/A43 junction near Ardley. The widening is connected to new housing nearby, with Bicester and Heyford Park seeing rapid expansion. Road closures will be in force on weekday nights.
• The leaders of South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse councils expressed their support for Ukraine and Ukrainian residents in the county ahead of Ukrainian Independence Day on 24 August. Cllr David Rouane, leader of South Oxfordshire, said: "Since 2022 we’ve welcomed 803 Ukrainians, and 540 residents have opened their homes. My heartfelt thanks go to all who have welcomed families from Ukraine. We will continue to do all we can to make people feel welcome & supported.” Meanwhile Cllr Bethia Thomas, leader of Vale of White Horse , said: “Our support for Ukrainians remains steadfast & heartfelt as we continue to provide sanctuary for Ukrainian households. I’m so proud of the huge efforts from residents, businesses and local communities who provide ongoing support.”

Oxfordshire politics

Parliament is in recess, so MPs have been busy round their constituency, or alternatively are taking a break before parliament restarts next week. We wish the best of luck to all Oxfordshire's MPs, new and returning.

• Winter fuel payments: Oxfordshire’s five Liberal Democrat MPs (Layla Moran, Olly Glover, Freddie van Mierlo, Calum Miller and Charlie Maynard) announced they were backing a motion to protect over 115,000 pensioners across the county from a government motion to cut Winter Fuel Payments. They are urging the Government to “rethink” the cut so that local vulnerable pensioners continue to get the support they need, in the form of a £300 payment to help with heating bills in cold weather, which are set to rise by an average of £149 this year. Age UK research has estimated that two million pensioners will struggle to pay their energy bills due to this cut, see here. In a joint statement, the MP's said

We’ve heard from countless pensioners across Oxfordshire worried about losing this vital support and how they will afford their energy bills this winter. Stripping support from many of the poorest pensioners in Oxfordshire just when energy bills are set to rise again is simply wrong. It could force vulnerable elderly people in our community to choose between eating and heating this winter. That is why Liberal Democrat MPs will do everything we can to block these plans as soon as Parliament returns. We recognise that the new government faces difficult choices after the appalling mess left by the Conservatives. But a rethink is urgently needed so that poorer and vulnerable pensioners in our community continue to get the support they so desperately need.

Elsewhere MPs have been busy through the recess. We’ve been missing our election diaries, so here are a few of the things we've spotted this week.

• Anneliese Dodds in Oxford East has been at the Cowley swap shop, the Cowley Classic Car Display at Templars Square and the Littlemore Rugby Club fun day. (She has, of course, also been very active in her role as minister for overseas development, but we will only cover this elements that are directly relevant to her constituency.)
• Sean Woodcock in Banbury has been visiting the soon to be opened site for green tech company Fortescue's, and talking about the government's new homes accelerator policy.
• Olly Glover in Didcot & Wantage has had a busy week: he’s been in the clean room at Astroscale, talked to constituents about pensions, written to the Secretary of State about reducing the stigma of autism in the workplace, and more. He's recruiting for a role in his team, so if you fancy working for an MP, more here.
• Charlie Maynard in Witney has been talking about Thames Water and sewage and learning about consumer fraud.
• Freddie van Mierlo in Henley & Thame has been at the farmers’ market at Sonning Common with district councillors. He too has been talking about sewage.

University and research

• Professor Simon Kay OBE FRCS, a pioneering surgeon and leader of the world’s most successful hand transplant program, has announced his candidacy for Chancellor of the University of Oxford. He said: "As Chancellor, I will listen attentively to the concerns of students, alumni & staff, while upholding traditions that make this university great. I am committed to working closely with the university to ensure Oxford remains thriving in our rapidly changing world."
• Five Oxford scientists have been honoured in this year’s Royal Society Awards. Physicist Tony Bell, rheumatologist Marc Feldmann, chemist Véronique Gouverneur, mathematician Philip Maini, and engineer Molly Stevens each received a medal or prize. Enjoy reading about their respective discoveries and advances – we did!

Walking and cycling

• Electric cargo bike deliveries using the Covered Market fleet of e-bikes will continue for another six months. Velocity Cycle Couriers, supported by Oxford City Council, have made 1100 deliveries in the trial period, covering over 3000 miles in the last six months. A grant obtained by the City Council has funded Velocity to offer free next-day or same-day deliveries on the Covered Market bikes and their own fleet. The aim is to “support businesses as they explore how they can move towards zero-emission deliveries”. For the next six months, the council subsidy will reduce to 50% of the delivery fee. Velocity’s Jake Swinhoe said “Working with so many amazing local businesses, coupled with the enthusiasm and support of the City Council, feels like a very positive movement.”

Trains and buses

• Oxford residents are calling on the county council and Oxford Bus Company to mitigate the redirection of bus services caused by the closure of Donnington Bridge to heavy vehicles. They are asking for signatures on a petition here. They say “Public transport is a lifeline for those living along this route, particularly those without cars” and call on Oxford Bus Company and Oxfordshire County Council to immediately implement alternative arrangements, such as a minibus service with through ticketing.We reported on the Donnington Bridge closure to heavy vehicles previously.
• Network Rail have issued a statement about the Botley Road rail bridge closure. They are currently carrying out a “comprehensive review” into the best way forward after “timings have slipped and costs have risen”. They stress that the bridge closure is “absolutely crucial” for future rail services to run.

This weekend

Cowley Road Carnival finally returns after a three-year hiatus: 11-5pm on Sunday.

Notes from Clarion HQ

We are always intrigued by the evolving shape of local journalism, and noted two reports in Press Gazette this week. The Oxford Mail’s print circulation has dropped below 4,000 for the first time, but its online audience rose year-on-year by an impressive 119%, to 1.4m per month. Of course news consumption is moving online – that’s nothing new – but a 119% rise is higher than all but two other newspaper websites. Is Oxfordshire particularly fascinating? Has the OM run compelling hard-hitting journalism? Or is it something else? We have our own thoughts but would be interested to hear yours.

Meanwhile, here at the Clarion we have a stack of fascinating articles waiting in the wings for the end of the holiday season. If you've not signed up yet, the Clarion roundup can be delivered to your inbox on a Friday lunchtime each week: all the news, all the long reads, and some bonus extras. So you won't miss out on anything.