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A beginner's guide to growing your own food

Have you ever thought about growing your own food? To reduce food bills, or for the joy of using a few fresh basil leaves or a tomato that has real tomato flavour? We asked the Clarion's resident horticulturist, Amandine Lepers-Thornton for her tips on starting out, whether you

The Clarion, 3 March 2026

Spring is in the air, temperatures are rising and Oxford is stretching its legs – as shown in this wonderful picture of Port Meadow sent to us by Nick Thorn. This week we have new homes (…but are there enough?), carbon savings, the future of streets in Oxfordshire, OUFC’s Great

Oxfordshire’s maternity care

Many Clarion readers will have passed through the maternity ward of the John Radcliffe Hospital, whether as an infant or a parent. It is a place with which Oxfordshire, literally, has a familial bond. But recently it hasn’t all been happy families. On Thursday, Baroness Amos published her Interim

Clariwn Rhydychen*, 27 February 2026

* That’s ‘Oxford Clarion’ in Welsh. It’s St David’s Day on Sunday! Scroll down for our suggestions. Plus a bumper batch of city news, walking and cycling, the best events, election musings and your weekend indie reading. This week’s long reads Oxfordshire’s councils are being reorganised

Oxfordshire councils: the power of three

Oxfordshire’s councils are to be combined – and there are competing visions for how to do this. Oxford City Council leader Susan Brown writes for the Clarion on why it believes a three council setup is the best solution. Most people in Oxfordshire have asked the same question at some

The Clarion, 24 February 2026

In this edition, we pitch a TV show for the county's politicians, celebrate an award-winning midwife and an award-winning wine merchant, tackle the City's budget shenanigans, meet VIP pets, and bring you the best dirt from Vale of White Horse. Welcome to the midweek Clarion, always

House prices in Oxfordshire 2025

Who among us doesn’t sneak a quick look at house prices now and then – whether it’s to eye up your dream home or just to find out what’s happening where you currently live? Where to live, where to work, where to shop and where the kids go

Clarion Weekend, 20 February 2026

Have you been watching the Winter Olympics? Or merely doing the Olympic juggle that is half term? Put the kettle on: here is Oxfordshire's best curated news feed. More homes! More labs! More SEND support! More police? Along with a cracking selection of events and perhaps the most

The Clarion, 17 February 2026

It is (in no particular order) Shrove Tuesday, Chinese New Year, and starting tonight, Ramadan. Which is a pretty wonderful representation of our gloriously diverse city. We hope you enjoy whatever you're celebrating. Crispy (vegan?) duck pancakes after dark? See you at the (newly reopened) Red Star. This

Clarion Weekend, 13 February 2026

It might be Friday 13th today, but tomorrow is Valentine's Day. We could have gone with horror or love; we choose love. So here’s our roundup of Valentine’s events complete with heart-shaped cheese – oh, and city and county news, places to walk, books and more! This

The volunteers helping children find their voice through books

“It’s three minutes past one,” announced B, as we walked from his Year 4 classroom, down the corridor and to our normal reading space outside of the school library.  “So it is B, you did a super job telling the time,” I replied encouragingly. “But you’re meant to

Patrolling toads on Oxfordshire’s roads

The weather is warm(ish) and it’s nearly Valentine’s Day. Which means, for the Oxfordshire toad population, at least, it’s baby-making time.  Toad migrations You’d be forgiven for thinking that toads just hang out around their ponds doing amphibious things forever. But once they’ve completed

The Clarion, 10 February 2026

Let joy be unconfined! The trains are back. We have everything you need to know about county and city budgets, plus toilets, a furore over a Chinese university and a grave situation in Banbury. Happy Tuesday. This week’s long reads Today is Budget Day for Oxfordshire. Right now, the

Budgets 2026: deckchairs on the Titanic?

Oxfordshire’s councils’ days might be numbered – but the cheques still have to be signed, bills paid, and council tax collected. As connoisseurs of Clarion cheese will know, the county, city and district councils are all set to be replaced by ‘unitary’ councils of as yet undetermined shape. So although

Clarion Weekend, 6 February 2026

Will this rain ever stop? Here is a boatload (geddit?) of news, including buskers, bridges and beer, dukes and dogs, pubs and phone boxes. And cheese. Put the kettle on. This week’s top stories The new Botley Road rail bridge is in. The concrete walkways have been manoeuvred into

The Clarion, 3 February 2026

Botley Road, choral music, flags, pubs (award-winning and political), disgraced alumni and a train toilet nightmare. Happy Tuesday! This week’s long reads This week is Oxford Living Wage Week. In a collaboration with Oxford City Council we took a look at why Oxford needs a living wage, and celebrate

Oxford’s trailblazing living wage

Today marks the first day of Oxford Living Wage Week, an annual event celebrating our city’s belief that everyone deserves a decent wage. The Oxford Living Wage was launched in 2018 after a campaign began in 2017. A living wage represents the true cost of living; according to the

Clarion Weekend, 30 January 2026

Congratulations! You’re nearly through January. The weekend is coming. We have news for you to read, and new coffee shops for you to read it in. Plus the latest on the County Hall hotel, a reprieve for Banbury Museum, and more. This week’s long read There are 250

Holding hands in the dark

Protests outside asylum hotels; calls in the national media to “stop the boats”; a polarisation of national discourse, headlines sometimes more for clickbait than facts. What is the real story of refugees and asylum seekers in our county? We asked Sushila Dhall of local charity Refugee Resource to tell us

The Clarion, 27 January 2026

Lots of protests, even more politics, utopian trains, our first ever political cartoon, and the kids are all right. This week’s long reads £10m of Government funding for Oxford was sent back. Could it have paid for the cancelled Dutch-style cycleway on Woodstock Road? In a deep dive, we

Why the Park & Ride should remain free

Luke Marion, Managing Director of Oxford Bus Company, on why providing the free Park & Ride is integral to the future success of Oxford’s congestion charge. Oxford is a city steeped in history and tradition, and we are all fortunate to live and work in such a wonderful place.

Exclusive: £10m of Government funding for Oxford was sent back

A £10m grant for infrastructure in north Oxford was returned to Government unspent – just as a safe cycleway on Woodstock Road, to be funded by a very similar Government grant, was cancelled due to a £10m shortfall. The Government is funding road schemes across Oxfordshire including the A40 to Witney,

Clarion Weekend, 23 January 2026

Come for the potholes if you like. But there's also election, local plan and Oxpens Bridge news, plus Oxfordshire food producers in Parliament, and the most incredible selection of events to inspire your weekend. Long reads Two articles for your weekend reading if you didn't catch

The Oxford roads where most traffic is speeding

Roads outside schools, residential streets, and city centre arteries are among the ten worst roads for speeding in Oxford, according to new data. Speed is the single biggest factor in road deaths, cited as a factor in 950 (59%) of Britain’s fatal collisions in 2024. Researchers at the University

10 ways to make your garden wildlife-friendly

One of the things I get asked the most in garden consultations is how to make gardens more attractive to wildlife, writes Oxford gardener Amandine Lepers-Thornton. I help people I visit as a garden coach to pick plants suitable for their setting (e.g. small urban gardens) or to extend

The Clarion, 20 January 2026

It is cold, yesterday was Blue Monday, but the news is hot, hot, hot. Right this way for a governmental slap on the wrist for Oxford City, life-saving Low Traffic Neighbourhoods and so much more… This week’s long read Are solar panels in space a real possibility, or just

Space Solar – power from above

We’ve written about the emerging climate crisis and the 250 years of Oxford science as evidence. We’ve written about its impact on our gardens. We’ve written how renewable solar energy, one part of the remedy, is planned on a large scale in Oxfordshire but is facing challenges

Clarion Weekend, 16 January 2026

This week’s top stories A legal bid to halt Oxford’s congestion charge has been turned down. The High Court yesterday refused an application for judicial review by Open Roads For Oxford Ltd, which had raised £60,000 “from private donations, transfers from aligned funds, and our GoFundMe campaign”

The Clarion, 13 January 2026

This week’s top stories Oxford’s Green Party have gained a ninth City Councillor, making them the joint second-placed party on the council. Independent Cllr Edward Mundy was elected for Labour in Holywell ward in 2021 and 2022, but had left Labour along with nine other councillors over Keir

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

New Year Clarion, 6 January 2026

A very Happy New Year to all our readers! The start of January always makes for a quiet news week, so this and the next newsletter or two will be shorter than you might expect. Over the festive break, we’ve been writing long reads and we have some absolute

A year in Oxfordshire, 2025

A growth corridor, a new stadium, a new branch line, a congestion charge, and partying seagulls. It’s been a busy year in Oxfordshire. Here are just a few of the highlights. January Growth, part one: Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced the formation of the Oxford–Cambridge Growth Corridor, very much

A Christmas Clarion, 23 December 2025

This week’s top stories Ian Hudspeth, former leader of Oxfordshire County Council, has died. He was awarded an OBE in 2021 for services to local government. First elected in 2005 as Conservative councillor for Woodstock, including his home village of Bladon, he was swiftly elevated to the Cabinet under

Clarion Weekend, 19 December 2025

’Twas the Knight before Christmas... yes really. We start our penultimate newsletter before Christmas with a note from a Clarion correspondent who reports the sighting of a knight in Summertown: “He was having a little difficulty with the pelican crossing when I caught up with him. Pressing the button is

Oxford’s new billionaires

Do you know your Blavatniks from your Bukhmans, your Saïds from your Schwarzmans? We take a look at Oxford University’s 21st century donors. For centuries, Oxford’s university buildings have each been adorned with the name of a benefactor: Radcliffe, Rhodes, Nuffield, Templeton and Green. In Part 1, we

The Clarion, 16 December 2025

It's nearly Christmas. Are you ready yet? To paraphrase the carol, today we have: seven brand new shops, six bed suites, five new towns, four school visits, three villages getting a new bus service, two MPs angry about Thames Water, and… a really very lovely fluffy cat. This

Clarion Weekend, 12 December 2025

Happy Friday to all our readers. Take a break from your week and your festive preparations with the weekend Clarion. We have the latest on the congestion charge and Kidlington dump (of course) but also two excellent long reads, important Lego news, and good news for mouth cancer patients at

Oxford’s hidden food emergency – and the community filling the gaps

“What are your plans for next week?” asks Dave. Maria tells him that it's her birthday.  As a volunteer for Oxford Mutual Aid (OMA), which delivers food to people across the city, Dave calls Maria every week to check on any food needs or preferences and signpost her

Wolsey, Maxwell, and Morris: the curious philanthropists who made Oxford

Rich donors are nothing new to this venerable city. Oxford's reputation makes for an attractive place for philanthropists from across the globe to leave a legacy. Barely a week goes by without another announcement of a new foundation. A rash of shiny new buildings (Blavatnik, Schwarzman, Ellison, Tata)

The Clarion, 9 December 2025

This week’s top stories Plans to reorganise Oxfordshire’s fire service, which could see the closure of Eynsham, Woodstock and Henley fire stations, have provoked anger from firefighters. The Fire Brigades Union organised a rally outside County Hall this morning to coincide with the monthly council meeting. John Shuker,

Clarion Weekend, 5 December 2025

Less than three weeks until Christmas yet the news shows no signs of relenting. This week we have breaking news about Oxford–Bristol trains, the latest on Campsfield House, a new Oxford restaurant, and reusing heat from AI data centres. Read on… Top stories Outline plans have been unveiled for

Right town, wrong place?

Outline plans have been unveiled for Chalgrove Airfield, Oxfordshire’s most controversial housing development. Can the merits of a “21st century sustainable market town” outweigh the problems of its location? Chalgrove New Town would be located on one of Oxfordshire’s many historic airfields, ten miles south-east of Carfax. It

The Clarion, 2 December 2025

Today’s Clarion is an eclectic mix of festive joy, budget commentary and Morris dancers. Pretty sure you don’t get this anywhere else. This week’s top stories The Hong Kong-based landowners of Jericho Wharf have “finally conceded they have no new scheme” for the site, according to the

Clarion Weekend, 28 November 2025

Is this our Black Friday edition? Accidentally, perhaps so. Oxford has the most incredible independent retailers – so we've rounded up some festive inspiration if you're shopping over the weekend. And keep reading to the bottom of the newsletter for our roundup of Christmas markets this weekend.

Shop local this Christmas

We love this city every day of the year, but at Christmas it is extra special. The Christmas lights; the way the frost sparkles on the Corallian limestone of the colleges; people from city, county, college and (much) further afield thronging the shops; pubs with log fires and mulled wine;

The Clarion, 25 November 2025

Welcome to our news and politics edition where we round up the very best city, county and university news, plus what our MPs have been up to. After the craziness of our much-shared little article on college cats last week, this edition is a cat-free zone. There is a rather

Clarion Weekend, 21 November 2025

Weekly weekend warmth from the Clarion right this way. It may be cold, but in here are gems of stories to warm your heart. Plus the latest on the illegal rubbish dump in Kidlington and bird flu in Witney. This week’s top stories We wrote an article about college

College cats of Oxford

Once upon a time, we featured an image of Magdalen's kitten, Ozymandias, in our newsletter. We figured it might be a gentle contrast to our regular diet of planning and local politics. The grey ball of fluff with the steely eyes proved so popular that we got repeated

The Clarion, 18 November 2025

Week two of two newsletters in a week; welcome to our news and politics edition. This weekend, we went to see both the illegal dump in Kidlington, and the Unity March in Oxford. Both were… quite something. This week’s top stories Sometimes photos aren’t enough to tell a

Clarion Weekend, 14 November 2025

When we started the Clarion as a Twitter account in 2022, we didn’t anticipate that we’d be reporting almost every week on massive new tech developments around Oxford. But the life science and AI booms are rapidly reshaping the city and its environs – as several of our stories

Gentrifying Oxford vs the left-behinds

Oxford’s poorest areas are not sharing equally in the city’s increased prosperity, new figures suggest. Parts of Minchery Farm, Rose Hill, and Wood Farm are now suffering more deprivation compared to 2015, while Littlemore, Northfield Brook and Temple Cowley have seen little change. Meanwhile, areas of East Oxford

The Clarion, 11 November 2025

The Clarion? On a Tuesday?! We’ve been struggling to fit everything in of late, so on Friday we announced a move to a twice-a-week format. In this Tuesday edition you'll find news, politics, medieval riots and trains. Our top stories An extraordinary artwork is being created to

Botley and the narrow bridge of art

Amidst the turmoil of the Botley Road bridge works, a remarkable artwork is being created, both to tell the story of the bridge and its complexities, and the rich history of West Oxford. Local artist Chris Shipton has quietly been creating artwork to adorn the pedestrian walkway between Oxford railway

Clarion Weekend, 7 November 2025

Sometimes quantity means quality. We owe you all an explanation. Thanks to our growing list of amazing contributors, we have more content than we can fit into our weekly newsletter. Email clients cut it off around 4,100 words (thanks, Google!) and its length means it sometimes gets directed into

Twelve easy hacks to beat Oxford’s congestion charge

Don't want to pay? We got you. Here's the tea on how you can avoid the congestion charge entirely, and still visit all your favourite places in the city centre. Here's the official website, but our hacks are better. Oxfordshire residents, you got this!

Clarion Weekly, 31 October 2025 (ghost town edition)

👻It's Halloween, and the temporary congestion charge went in two days ago. But is it spookily good, or has the city been turned in to a ghost town? We had way too much fun writing this. This week’s top stories Ten years after traffic filter plans were

Nium: a new chemical romance?

Featured in Dickens and even Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, our familiarity with ammonia may be through the pungency of smelling salts wafted under a nose. But now we have roused you to alertness, we’ll tell you why it is one of the most important chemicals in the world, and

Clarion Weekly, 24 October 2025

This week’s long reads The Cowley Branch Line is reopening! The Government this week pledged £120m to bring passenger trains back to Cowley and Littlemore. Our long read has everything you need to know. Full steam ahead for Cowley Branch LineDirect trains will run from Cowley and Littlemore to

Full steam ahead for Cowley Branch Line

Direct trains will run from Cowley and Littlemore to Oxford and London Marylebone, as the Government today announces £120m of funding to reopen the Cowley Branch Line to passengers. The funds will pay for the line – currently used only by freight trains to BMW’s Cowley plant – to be upgraded

How plants can help reduce flood risk

When I lived in Scotland, people often used to say to me “Don’t worry if you’re not happy with the weather, it’ll change in 15 minutes.” And they weren’t lying. It wasn’t uncommon to have all four seasons in one day! Moving to Oxford, I

Clarion Weekly, 17 October 2025

This week’s top stories It’s all go for Oxford United’s new stadium at the Triangle, near Kidlington, as the Secretary of State Steve Reed confirmed he won’t “call it in”. This means the Government has forgone the chance to order a further review, which it could

Clarion Weekly, 10 October 2025

Happy weekend to all our readers! We have a gloriously varied newsletter for you this week: historical mysteries, bonus buses, and geeking out about council reorganisation. Put the kettle on and settle down. We know it's long – pretend it's a newspaper and enjoy it all, or

Oxfordshire’s councils: slicing the cheese

Do you want an extremely geeky deep-dive into local council reorganisation? You’re a Clarion reader. Of course you do. Your quick recap. In those days, Angela Rayner issued a decree that county and district councils shall be merged. In previous episodes of the Clarion (cue dramatic theme music), we

IOA group leader “harassed and bullied” female councillor

The group leader of the Independent Oxford Alliance, David Henwood, has been found to have harassed and bullied a Labour councillor and brought Oxford City Council into disrepute. Trish Elphinstone, who works as a music teacher, was Labour county councillor for Rose Hill & Littlemore. She brought a complaint to

Have we found St Frideswide’s Priory?

An unexpected discovery at Oxfordshire County Council’s proposed new HQ could transform our understanding of Oxford’s history. Madeline Odent explains more… Oxfordshire County Council received some unfortunate news this month. Its move to Speedwell House must be paused, perhaps permanently, by the discovery of ‘well preserved walls’ beneath

Clarion Weekly, 3 October 2025

This week’s top stories Oxfordshire's council leaders issued a rare joint statement following the terrorist attack in Manchester. In it they expressed shock and horror, sending thoughts and prayers to the victims, their loved ones, and members of the local community. The districts of South Oxfordshire and

Clarion Weekly, 26 September 2025

Welcome to all our new subscribers this week! We round up the best of Oxfordshire's news, events and local media, gift-wrap it with our own brand of commentary and any longer articles we've published, and deliver it to your inbox each Friday lunchtime. If you like

Time for Oxford to organise

With the far right hogging the headlines, Oxford trade union activist Toby James says the city can buck the trend – but only if we work together, from allotment associations to school governors to community music… There's a Kurt Vonnegut quote: “What should [...] people do with their lives today?

Kids claim the streets of Oxford

The latest Kidical Mass family bike ride attracted a record turnout, according to organisers Cyclox. More than 200 cyclists of all ages converged in Oxford ringing bells as they circled the city centre. Four feeder rides from Florence Park, Cutteslowe, Headington and West Oxford met in Gloucester Green for a

Clarion Weekly, 19 September 2025

This week’s top stories Banbury’s Labour MP Sean Woodcock has called out roundabouts being painted with red and white flags as “vandalism”, saying “it doesn’t honour our nation, it disrespects it… we must reject racism and bigotry outright”. Read more: “We must never sacrifice our decency or

“We must never sacrifice our decency or humanity”

Banbury MP Sean Woodcock weighs in to the debate on flags, and outlines his thoughts on national pride and Labour's progress in their change agenda. Pride in our country I am immensely proud to call England my home. Our nation, with its rich history, is something to cherish.

Clarion Weekly, 12 September 2025

This week’s top stories Oxford’s £5 congestion charge is set to come into force by 10 November. The County Council cabinet unanimously approved the scheme at a special meeting on Wednesday. We covered the meeting live on Bluesky. Proposing the motion, Cllr Andrew Gant said “This doesn’t

Clarion Weekly, 5 September 2025

Kids are back at school, traffic is back… and the news never went away. We bring you a smorgasbord of exclusives, events and some dodgy monastic puns. Trigger warning: there is a picture of a spider in the MP section! This week’s long reads Oxford’s new railway line

What on Earth is a Climate Café?

At the end of a hot, dry summer where the impact of climate change has been visible from day to day, how do Oxford residents and their families come to terms with the changing world? Karen Dauncey, a volunteer for Oxford's Network of Climate Cafés, writes about their

We are sorry to announce that the 08.44 to Milton Keynes has been delayed by several months

Oxford’s new railway line to Milton Keynes has been complete for almost a year – but there’s no sign of passenger services beginning. On 20 October 2024, railway track company Network Rail officially declared the line open. Chiltern Railways and GWR were quick out of the blocks, each running

Playtime in St Giles’

In a city where the smallest change to how we get around creates headlines, it might come as a surprise that the widest street in the city centre is closed for two days each year... for a funfair. But Oxford is also a city which enjoys tradition. St Giles’ Fair

Clarion Weekly, 29 August 2025

Oxford is never shy about making its views known, and this week more than ever with the city rallying in support of Ukraine, asylum seekers, and Palestine. With Nigel Farage choosing Kidlington as the venue to launch his repatriation policy this week, Oxfordshire took the opportunity to reply – and how.

Climate change and Oxford – a history and primer

On 26 January 1776, at just after ten past eleven in the evening, Dr Thomas Hornsby, Professor of Astronomy, walked back from his thermometers on the lawn of what is now Green Templeton College into his study. He recorded the temperature carefully in his book - ‘16 2/3’, the

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’

Clarion Weekly, 15 August 2025

In any other week, the visit of US vice-president J.D. Vance to West Oxfordshire would be the biggest story. Until Thursday night, it was – then Oxford United got the official thumbs-up for their new stadium, as Cherwell District Council voted to give it planning permission. All this below, plus

J.D. Vance has taken over my village. Send help

The tiny Oxfordshire village of Dean has an unexpected visitor – US vice-president J.D. Vance on his summer holidays. Local resident Jonathan Mazower writes from inside Fortress Dean. What to do when J.D. Vance comes to stay? This wasn’t a question I’d ever considered, but it was

Climate-proofing your garden

Is your garden suffering in this uncommonly hot summer? Oxford horticulturist Amandine Lepers-Thornton explains how to future-proof your planting in the age of climate change. Imagine a typical British garden. Lush green grass, shrubs and trees looking full and beds bursting at the seams with green leaves and spires of

Clarion Weekly, 8 August 2025

We admit we have spent too much time this week trying to work out a football version of Barry Manilow’s “classic” Bermuda Triangle for the proposed Kidlington Triangle stadium. For more on that story, read on. The stadium would of course be opposite Oxford Parkway station, which brings us

Oxford’s commuter future

Could Oxford learn from Copenhagen and Cambridge? We ask if rail commuting could be an answer to the city’s housing woes. In 1947, Copenhagen’s Urban Planning Institute set out a “finger plan” for development of the city. To avoid uncontrolled sprawl, the finger plan proposed that new houses

Clarion Weekly, 1 August 2025

Welcome! Holiday season is well underway, and unlike (ahem) some media outlets, we refuse to pad for length because we don’t have advertisers to worry about. But we do have small children clamouring while we write, who are just as demanding. Read on for bridge news, expanding villages and

Clarion Weekly, 25 July 2025

This was supposed to be a huge news week, with planning officers’ recommendation on OUFC’s proposed stadium. Yet we find ourself reporting on delays, closures, strikes and the climate emergency, while it has rained almost all week. But it's not all doom and gloom in here: read

Clarion Weekly, 18 July 2025

There is a certain serendipity in publishing a series of long reads on a mega reservoir in the same week Thames Water announces a hosepipe ban. Whatever your views, we were delighted to get people talking: if you missed them, read on. We also have the latest on the congestion

“Support grows” for Oxford's congestion charge

“Support is growing” for the congestion charge, say civil society and business leaders as they sign an open letter to Oxfordshire County Council Cabinet. This follows transport leaders expressing their support recently. Nearly 25 Oxfordshire-based organisations and leaders from across health, business, climate, active travel, and social justice signed the

Why wasn't I consulted? How local consultations work

This is a story about Flower Lane. It’s a story about what you can do with and without asking. Two neighbours decided to brighten up an alleyway used by children walking and cycling to Larkrise School in East Oxford. Dawn and Lesley, the ‘Flower Ladies’, started with flowerpots, then

Abingdon Reservoir: how much will it cost?

The proposed reservoir will be Oxfordshire’s most expensive infrastructure project ever. In the last part of his personal look at the project, Andy Cooke asks if costs will be kept under control. For a moment, let’s ignore issues raised in the last two articles and assume it is

Abingdon Reservoir: what are the risks?

In part two of a personal look at the case for and against a new reservoir near Abingdon, Andy Cooke asks if a 150-billion litre ‘bunded’ reservoir is too risky. In 2010, a public inquiry into Thames Water’s then proposals found that a 100-billion litre reservoir was unjustifiable – but

Abingdon Reservoir: is there an alternative?

Few projects in Oxfordshire have excited as many column inches as Thames Water’s proposed Abingdon Reservoir. Is it a simple NIMBY battle – or are the issues more complicated than that? Andy Cooke, local councillor and water champion for Vale of White Horse District Council, thinks it deserves more thought

Clarion Weekly, 11 July 2025

“More positions than the Kama Sutra” – it was an eventful week in local politics. Read on for commentary on the latest County and City Council shenanigans, news from around Oxfordshire, and the very best events and media. This week’s top stories Last month the government published the Strategic Defence

What does the Strategic Defence Review mean for Oxfordshire?

Last month, the UK Government published its Strategic Defence Review (SDR). A wide-ranging document, it has the aim of making Britain stronger and safer, as well as resetting the UK's approach to defence in the face of what it calls a ‘generational’ defence and security challenge. The Government

Clarion Weekly, 4 July 2025

Water voles and praying mantises, roses and lentils, museums, cinemas, council offices and brand new bridges – all this and much more in another packed week of city and county news. This week’s top stories With Oxford’s congestion charge proposed to start this autumn, we asked Luke Marion, managing

Oxford’s traffic emergency needs a bold approach – Luke Marion on the congestion charge

A temporary congestion charge could be introduced to Oxford this autumn to get the city’s streets moving again. Among its main aims is speeding up bus journey times, currently suffering from queues on the main routes into the city. We asked Luke Marion, Managing Director of Oxford Bus Company,

Clarion Weekly, 27 June 2025

Your Friday lunchtime reading is right here! In this edition we have serious commentary on industrial strategy; Thames Valley PCC commissioner Matthew Barber writing exclusively on the future shape of Oxfordshire; plus East Oxford's new geyser, some cracking photos of morris dancers, and a cat. Thank you this

There’s only one Oxfordshire – Matthew Barber on council reorganisation

In what is set to be Oxfordshire’s greatest political upheaval in a generation, the organisational map of the country is set to be redrawn. We wrote about the challenges of doing this in December. The change is so significant it deserves both open and wide debate. Today we open

The very model of a modern industrial strategy?

You might think that an ‘Industrial Strategy’ has a lot to do with steelworks, ports and car plants – and not a lot to do with leafy Oxfordshire, BMW Cowley aside. But the Government’s new flagship document is The UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy, and “modern industrial” is very much

Clarion Weekly, 20 June 2025

As the mercury rises across Oxfordshire, so the temperature rises in politics across the county. Full reports and commentary on the Botley Road saga, congestion charge proposals, Oxfordshire and the climate emergency, and the Government's plan for the Oxford Cambridge corridor in this week's issue. Plus