Clarion Weekly, 4 October 2024

This week’s top stories

Oxford City Council's Local Plan was rejected by the national Planning Inspectorate – a spanner in the works for plans to tackle Oxford’s housing crisis. Council leader Susan Brown said “We are alarmed and extremely disappointed.”

The council’s draft Local Plan envisaged building 1322 homes per year, with 481 inside Oxford and 841 in surrounding districts. But the Planning Inspectorate says only 281 per year need to be built outside Oxford, totalling 762 in all. The debate hinges around Oxford’s adoption of a unique “Oxfordshire Method” for calculating housing need, subsequently rejected by three of the four rural districts into whose boundaries the overspill would fall.

The planning inspectors decided this amounted to a failure of the “duty to co-operate”. Cllr Brown, however, said: “The planning inspectors have failed to grasp the seriousness of Oxford’s housing crisis and the number of new homes we need to tackle this crisis. The outcome of the inspectors’ conclusions will be a delay to proactively planning for the homes we need.”

We went into more depth about this in a long read this week, looking at possible ways forward – especially in the light of the Labour government’s plan to revise planning guidance.

Oxford recorded the wettest month for rainfall in 250 years. September saw an extraordinary 193 mm of rainfall, making it the city’s wettest month since 1774, and the second wettest of any month since rainfall records began in 1767.

Though floods have receded in much of the county, there continues to be disruption to bus services and danger from spot floods. Cllr Pete Sudbury, deputy leader of Oxfordshire County Council, said:

“Drainage systems across the UK and Europe are being overwhelmed by the sort of extreme rainfall we’ve seen this week. In the UK, this is compounded by the impacts of over a decade of austerity, along with well-documented underinvestment by privatised water companies. The council has diverted extra funding to flood prevention, but the job we have to do is bigger than any of that. Even if it were possible or affordable, replacing all of our drainage pipes with bigger ones, they won’t work when a month’s rain can fall in a couple of hours. There’s a much wider landscape-scale and street by street operation needed locally and nationally to work out how you hold back rainwater wherever it lands, slowing down the rate at which it hits or flows down our streets, rivers and highways.”

Around the city

• Oxford City Council is planning to become the landlord of 352 affordable homes at Barton Park – 168 from its own OX Place operation, and 184 from developer Vistry. Existing tenancies will become secure council tenancies, as will those at the 184 new homes. Cllr Linda Smith, cabinet member for housing and communities, said “Tenants will still be paying social rent and get more rights, while OX Place will be free to focus on building high-quality affordable homes.” Social rent is typically 40% of private rent levels. A change in Government regulations since construction began in 2015 has allowed the City Council to take the homes onto its Housing Revenue Account. The council’s cabinet is expected to approve the £33.4m (OX Place) and £39.7m (Vistry) acquisitions at its October 16 meeting.
• A high-density development of 402 apartments, plus a 131-bed hotel, has finally been signed off for Thornhill Park off the A40 beyond Risinghurst. Half the homes will be “affordable housing”. A café and gym will be provided on-site. There will be 1,187 cycle parking spaces, but just 93 car parking spaces for residents. The site is directly next to Thornhill Park & Ride. Cycle routes through the development connect to the existing cycleway beside the A40, with developers saying the plans will “minimise use of cars” – though comments on Twitter criticised the quality of the A40 cycle route. An Innovation Centre will be created by refurbishing and extending the original Forest Lodge, once a standalone villa and possibly the dower house to Shotover Park. This, and the hotel, are intended to act as gateway buildings to the development. The scheme was initially ok’ed by Oxford City Council’s planning committee in 2022, but was held up by negotiations over the Section 106 agreement (infrastructure and other conditions). @HeadingtonNews on Twitter reports that the hotel “opportunity” is already under offer.
• Scheduled repairs to the towpath between Folly Bridge and Donnington Bridge have been postponed due to adverse weather and flooding, according to local councillor Brad Baines. Works will be rescheduled to spring/summer 2025.
• Oxford City Council has opened consultation on a proposed development of 200 homes at Redbridge Paddock, a former landfill site near Redbridge Park & Ride, close to the recycling centre. Residents can view proposals at drop-in sessions on 12 & 14 October. The land is owned by Oxford City Council and has been allocated for the development of new homes in the Oxford Local Plan 2016-2036.  We wrote about Oxford's housing crisis and the challenge of building new homes in Oxford in our Housing Week series.
• The Oxford Wine Company is opening a third bar, the Oxford Wine Tavern, on South Parade in Summertown. A wide-ranging selection of wines and beers is promised. The opening date is projected for November.

Around the county

• A new report by the Institute for Government says a “Thames Valley Combined Authority” should be set up grouping Oxfordshire, Berkshire & Buckinghamshire. The counties do not currently have the devolved status granted to major cities and counties like Cornwall or Cambridgeshire. Devolution deals usually involve an elected Mayor leading a Combined Authority which has dedicated funding and power over transport and housing. Labour has pledged to “drive forward our devolution revolution” and recently signed off deals in East Yorks, Lancs, Lincs and Devon. The think-tank’s report says the Thames Valley has “good travel infrastructure along the M4 corridor”, with a size “closer to the largest pre-existing devolution settlements” – but it concedes there is “no current public support from key political figures in the region”. Previous attempts to forge a Thames Valley identity have not been successful, with Police & Crime Commissioner 2024 election turnout just 25%. Older Clarion readers may recall Robert Maxwell’s 1983 proposal to merge Oxford United and Reading FC as “Thames Valley Royals”.

• 300 more homes have been approved for the area between Yarnton and Kidlington. The ‘Begbroke South’ district, next to the recently greenlighted 1800-home Begbroke Science Park development, was approved in outline by Cherwell District Council yesterday. 50% of the housing will be affordable, with most homes 2- or 3- bedroom. The developers say it is designed as a “15 minute neighbourhood” with a play space at its core; a network of low-volume streets will link to an upgraded cycleway along the A44. The stream that runs through the site will be treated as a “green corridor providing visual amenity”, with a wetland area next to the play park. A community orchard will be planted on the northern edge. The outline plans also suggest that parking will be integrated behind building lines rather than on-street “to ensure a clean and uncluttered streetscape”, but a detailed design has not yet been drawn up. The planning permission is subject to agreement being reached with Network Rail over the level crossings at Sandy Lane and Yarnton Lane which it wants to close. The Environment Agency’s objections, including sewage capacity, also need to be resolved before construction can start.

• Smokers are being urged to quit smoking during ‘Stoptober’ in an Oxfordshire County Council campaign. OCC says the benefits of stopping smoking include feeling fitter, better sense of taste and smell, plus saving on average £365 a month. Cllr Nathan Ley, cabinet member for public health, said: “We understand the challenges people face to give up smoking. Our Stop for Life service provides free support which is proven to help people who want to quit smoking in Oxfordshire.”
• The FixMyStreet platform that enables people to report issues from potholes to pavement parking will be running for another three years in Oxfordshire after the County Council renewed its £94,500 contract. Over a thousand issues are typically reported each week. Dedicated volunteers are now able to work with parish councils to become FixMyStreet “super users” who can assess potholes, blocked drains, and damaged kerbs, and directly order defect repairs with OCC’s contractors.
  

University and research

• The list of candidates to become Oxford University’s next Chancellor will be published on 17 October. The online election will be held in the week from 28 October. Candidates are expected to include Peter Mandelson, William Hague, Imran Khan, Elish Angiolini, Jan Royall and more. The University says its Chancellor must demonstrate “outstanding achievements in their field”, “a deep appreciation for the University’s research and academic mission”, and “the ability and willingness to enhance the reputation of the University locally, nationally and abroad”.
• Researchers at the University of Oxford are developing a “second life” for EV batteries. These typically retain 70-80% capacity at the end of their useful life in a vehicle: redeployment as solar energy storage would help third world communities gain access to electricity. Oxford was the birthplace of the lithium ion battery. We wrote about the city’s pioneering work on EV charging in a long read here.
• Yalda Hakim, journalist at Sky News, and Oriel College have partnered to offer an Afghan woman a masters’ scholarship. Hadia Azizi starts a master’s degree in Refugee & Forced Migration Studies in October. The scheme aims to support female students from the country, where the ruling Taliban government banned education for women. Ms Hakim said: “We are excited to offer this once in a lifetime opportunity to a talented woman who has been deprived of this kind of education as a result of the devastation in Afghanistan. Neil Mendoza, Provost of Oriel, added: “Scholarships mean brilliant students who have faced adversity can take the opportunities that study at Oxford provides. My thanks go to Yalda for her work to help those whose futures have been put at risk by the brutality of the Taliban regime."
• A start-up founded by Oxford University researchers has unveiled Atomic Scissors, designed to tackle the global plastic waste crisis. Unlike traditional recycling methods, Atomic Scissors selectively degrade plastics into valuable raw materials. Dr Bryan Ng, founder of Repolywise, said: “By transforming hard-to-recycle plastics into valuable raw materials, we’re not just reducing waste — we’re enabling a circular economy that redefines how we produce and reuse plastics for a sustainable future.”
• A new exhibition has been unveiled at the Museum of Natural History to celebrate 30 years of Oxford Vaccine Group fighting diseases like pneumonia, meningitis, typhoid, Covid, malaria and Ebola. Six sculptures are woven in English willow, representing the diseases. Sound will also feature within the installation: the noise of the malarial mosquito will be played on a loop, pausing 10 seconds every minute to symbolise the fact that today a child under the age of five dies of malaria every 60 seconds. Oxford Vaccine Group worked with artist Angela Palmer. Professor Sir Andrew Pollard, director of the group, said: “For 30 years, OVG has been working at the forefront of vaccine research saving millions of lives. It is really exciting to see Angela bring this to life in her artwork.”
• Oxford and Cambridge universities, together with the Université libre de Bruxelles, have renewed a triple partnership to support cross-border research and collaborations. Professor Deborah Prentice, Cambridge’s Vice-Chancellor, said: “The partnership will continue to enable new accomplishments and scientific breakthroughs, as well as the creation of innovative businesses and the nurturing of careers in public service on both sides of the Channel.”
• Not strictly news, but fascinating: St John’s College reopened its Old Library. Did you know we've been shelving books the wrong way round? Have a look at how libraries have changed…

Buses and trains

• Oxford Bus Company has celebrated the completion of its nine-month electric bus roll out project. The vehicles are used on its city fleets, BrookesBus service, and City Sightseeing Oxford open-top tours. MD Luke Marion said: “This groundbreaking rollout is already delivering lower emissions, quieter and smoother journeys, and better air quality for our city. I’m very proud of everyone who helped deliver this ambitious infrastructure project on schedule.”
• An excursion train in November will provide the first opportunity for passengers to travel along the reopened East–West railway from Oxford to Milton Keynes. Fares start at £135 for a day-long tour including “loops and other sections of rare track”. The full passenger service is currently expected to start in summer 2025 but no final date has yet been announced. Trains will run every half hour through the day, taking under 45 minutes for the full journey stopping at Bletchley, Winslow, Bicester Village and Oxford Parkway.
• A new minibus route across Donnington Bridge, the 46A, will start on 14 October linking the city centre and Cowley via New Hinksey and Florence Park, after lobbying by councillors and residents. The 46 bus has not served these stops since a weight limit was imposed on the bridge.
• The H2 bus from Witney to the John Radcliffe Hospital will double in frequency to half-hourly from next spring. Pulhams, part of Oxford Bus Company, are taking over from Stagecoach. Some buses could continue to Cowley, providing part of the mooted Eastern Arc service avoiding the city centre.

Walking and cycling

• A parallel pedestrian/cyclist zebra crossing is proposed for Woodstock Road between Observatory Street and Bevington Road. Consultation is open until 18 October.
• A £1.5m scheme to fix a “missing link” in the national cycle route across Abingdon is set to go ahead. 2 parallel and 2 zebra crossings, 3 raised tables, and a cycle contraflow will create a new through route on National Cycle Network 5 where cyclists currently have to dismount. The scheme is funded by Active Travel England, with Oxfordshire County Council expected to agree the contract next week. Construction will start next summer.

Oxfordshire politics

• Banbury’s Sean Woodcock expressed concern about the knock-on impact of Oxford's housing issues to the Banbury constituency. He’s also been learning about farming in Heythrop and attended Grimsbury's 'Oxfordshire on the Move' event. As his mother is a care worker, he was extremely unimpressed by Conservative leadership candidate Kemi Badenoch's comments on migrant care workers.
• Oxford East’s Anneliese Dodds’ ministerial work usually doesn’t directly impact her constituency and so it’s out of the Clarion’s remit. But it would be remiss of us not to mention in passing that she has been representing the UK in New York at the UN General Assembly this week. Straight after that, she attended a crime drop-in event at the Leys. She also attended Oxford Quins rugby club to talk about women’s and girls’ rugby.

• Henley & Thame’s Freddie van Mierlo has been campaigning on reducing the number of HGVs going through Henley [another MP now doing videos – perhaps he read our last roundup?]. He's been at the Warburg Nature Reserve taking about biodiversity, and joined Thame residents protesting against a proposed concrete crushing facility.
• Witney’s Charlie Maynard has been visiting employers in his patch, with an eye to ensuring Witney remains competitive. Like Sean Woodcock, he had some thoughts around the knock-on issues of Oxford's housing challenge. He's been visiting failing water pumps in Carterton (a strong video, worth a watch) and took on a long walk through the lovely Wychwood villages to meet people in the constituency. Charlie, if you're reading this, you had a dog lead in the video. Next time please show us the dog!
• Layla Moran in Oxford West & Abingdon visited the Nationwide in Abingdon to celebrate their 60th birthday and their pledge to keep high street branches open.

In recent weeks we reported on both the Labour and Liberal Democrat conferences. This week was the Conservative conference in Birmingham. Oxfordshire currently has no Conservative MPs, but it does have councillors and activists, many of whom attended conference. With county elections in May, the conference may give clues as to the direction of the local party.

We're told the theme was #ReviewRebuild. Our Clarion correspondents were not the only ones to note a surprisingly upbeat mood at the conference, much of which was taken up with the leadership contest: former MPs across the country were notably optimistic of getting back into Parliament next time around. Our correspondents also noted that more young activists were present compared to previous years. Here's what we spotted from our local party members:

• Former Wantage MP David Johnston has created a new organisation, ‘Conservative Networks’ to help rebuild the party.
• Former Witney MP Robert Courts is backing Kemi Badenoch in the leadership contest.
• Hanborough & Minster Lovell county councillor Liam Walker said “Conservative councillors are key to the party & we have lost too many brilliant colleagues due to Westminster politics. Time to change that!” He also met anti-Brexit campaigner Steve Bray who, you may recall, also disrupted Rishi Sunak's resignation speech.
• Henley & Thame Conservatives attended a panel event on attracting young voters.
• Matthew Barber, Thames Valley Police & Crime Commissioner and a rare election success for the Conservatives in 2024, had a busy conference. He attended a reception on house building (there are Conservative councils across the country tasked with delivering the new Labour government's housing targets), talked about freight crime and rural crime. He spoke to BBC South about driving down crime generally in the region and met with other PCCs to discuss police reform.

Black History Month

October is Black History Month and the theme is #ReclaimingNarratives. Organisations around Oxford have been marking it. Here are a few we've spotted.

• In 1935, Lady Ademola MBE (née Moore) became the first Black African woman to achieve a degree at Oxford. Lady Ademola, who studied English at St Hugh's College, was a lifelong advocate for women’s education and social reform. More here.
• Oxford University has a full programme of events in the month, with many open to the public. Brookes also has a long list of events.
• City Sightseeing have laid on a special bus tour around Oxford University, “Black Oxford: Untold Stories”. Created by award-winning producer Pamela Roberts, it reveals the “secret histories of Oxford’s black scholars”. Guests will learn about the lives of Oxford’s forgotten black community like James Aurther Harley, who became the first black scholar at the Pitt Rivers Museum and Kofoworola Moore, Oxford University’s first African woman scholar at St Hugh’s College. Luke Marion of City Sightseeing Oxford said : “We’re proud to have formed such an innovative partnership to offer our customers a unique insight into Oxford’s history.” Tickets cost £20 for adults and can be bought from the visitor information point on the High Street.
• Merton College has curated a collection of books that explain Black history and culture.
• The Oxford Research Centre in the Humanities (TORCH) is holding a lecture 'Black History Month, 100 years on'. Further events by TORCH in this excellent thread.
• An Alternative Oxford Walking Tour touches on British colonialism, tourism, sites of historic unrest, and community organising in Oxford.

This weekend

• Didcot Food Festival. Saturday 10am–4pm, Didcot Civic Hall. Demonstration theatre plus fine food & drink.
• Banbury Canal Festival. Saturday & Sunday, 11am-5pm. The two-day waterside family friendly festival features floating markets, fairground attractions, arts performances, music, comedy, and theatre.
• Leisure centres across Oxford will hold a Big Open Weekend this weekend offering two days of free activities: fitness taster sessions, skate sessions, swimming and soft play. Operator More Leisure run activities at centres in Barton, Ferry, Leys, & Oxford Ice Rink.
• A vigil is being held for those who suffer from conflict and war in the Middle East in Bonn Square at 7pm on Sunday. Community and faith leaders from across Oxford will be in attendance.

Dates for your diary

• Could you run the world? Friday 25 October, for age 8+.What would our world look like with you in charge? Explore the UN Sustainable Development Goals by playing a simulation game balancing the demands of the economy, the environment and society into the future. An interactive experience where your team will run the world and discover the future you will choose.
• Didcot Craft and Gift Fair. Saturday 9 November, showcasing local handmade traders of gifts, food and drink.

Notes from Clarion HQ

3,500 words in one newsletter? (“All killer, no filler” says our newsletter editor.) We think that’s enough for one week. Enjoy your weekend.