The Clarion, 2 June 2026

Watching the Summer Eights. (Photo by Roger Close.)

New town! New bookshop! New science! This way for all the city and county news you need…

This week’s long reads

Saturday saw the culmination of Oxford’s Summer Eights, the annual college rowing races on the Thames (or rather, the ‘Isis’). Our photographer, Roger Close, was there to capture all the action and given special permission to record the traditional burning of the (replica) boat inside Oriel's First Quad to celebrate being Head of the River.

Volunteers make this county tick – carers for people, for the environment, for buildings, for the arts, you name it. (There’s even a volunteer online newspaper!) This week is Volunteers’ Week: we spoke to Jenny Bowley from Oxfordshire Community & Voluntary Action to find out more.

Do you have an apple tree in your garden? Have you looked at it recently? Time for our annual repost: the pest that’s decimating Oxford’s apple trees.

This week’s top stories

Around 180 people marched in Oxford in support of trans rights on Saturday, following the Government’s latest draft code of practice from the Equality and Human Rights Commission. Opponents have called the guidance “unworkable” and say it amounts to an attack on trans and non-binary people.

The march to Oxford Crown Court brought traffic to a standstill, with chants including “1, 2, 3, 4, stop your stupid culture war”. Speeches pointed out that “JK Rowling’s house has a gender-neutral bathroom” and said: “The state wants us to hide away but we thrive in the open. We can be brighter than anything.”

Oxford has the second highest proportion of trans people in England and Wales. Oxford’s Green Party said “We condemn the failure of the Labour Government to legislate to recognise the reality that trans men are men and trans women are women”, while the city’s Liberal Democrats said: “This city should be a place where everyone can be their true and authentic selves, and locally and nationally we will fight to make sure it is.” Both parties were represented on the march.

Meanwhile, June is Pride Month across the county. Banbury Pride was this weekend, with the town council flying the Pride flag alongside the Union Flag (#BeMoreBanbury). Cherwell District Council’s deputy leader Chris Brant (who took a turn as a DJ) commented: "It is a visible show of support for our LGBTQ+ community and a celebration of inclusion, equality and respect for everyone.” Best of all, Oxford Pride held its annual Dog Show.

Steven Croft, Bishop of Oxford, retired on Sunday after 10 years with a service of valediction at Christ Church Cathedral. His tenure has been marked by a call to “be a more Christ-like church: contemplative, compassionate and courageous”, including support for same-sex marriages in church. In 2022, he published a 52-page essay, ‘Together in Love and Faith’:

“I became more alert to the pain experienced by Christian parents who saw their LGBTQ+ children increasingly alienated from the Church… Jesus commands his followers ‘Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful’; he entrusts the Church with responsibility and flexibility in ethics.”

Cowley Road Carnival (photo by Kamyar Adl at flickr.com, CC-BY); Bad Girl Books on the way.

Around the city

Oxford is getting (another!) new bookshop. Bad Girl Books will open at 29 Walton Street, Jericho, next month as a romantasy (romance+fantasy) bookshop and gift store. Proprietor Starlin Marot says she wants it to be “a place where people can make like-minded friends in a fun, judgement-free space”. On weekends throughout July and August, she will be running a Bad Girl Books Romantasy Festival with author signings, giveaways, a vegan pastry booth, book boyfriend lollipops, and imported special edition books from the USA and Australia with sprayed edges. (The Clarion recently published a guide to ‘Every bookshop in Oxford’ and we are delighted to have to update it so soon!)
Oxford’s biggest bands have paid tribute to music magazine Nightshift, which has ceased publication after 35 years, and its editor Ronan Munro. Radiohead said: “Through his writing and support, he played a huge role in creating a sense of a thriving and credible musical community. This, in turn, allowed all the nascent Oxford bands, including us, to believe in themselves. He gave us our first feature article (even though we were called On A Friday at the time…) which was a huge shot in the arm and felt like a very significant step forward.” Supergrass added their thanks: “Ronan, on behalf of Supergrass and the many, many Oxford artists & bands that you championed over the magazine’s 35 year reign, thank you.” Here is Nightshift’s final issue.
Cowley Road Carnival will return as a “focused” event on 20 September, building up to a full carnival in July 2027. New trustee Alan Brown, whose background includes Flo Fest and Leys Festival, said “2026 is about a tight, well-delivered event that gives us the platform to go bigger and better in 2027.” Rosie Jacobs from Independent Oxford added: “At a time when division and hate are tearing communities apart, Carnival stands for the opposite: unity, celebration, belonging and the richness of Oxford’s diverse communities. Events like this remind us what connects us as human beings.” The Cowley Road Works charity is seeking to raise £130,000 by the end of June to secure Carnival this year. Registration forms for performers and community groups will be released this summer.
And relax… 🧘‍♀️: East Oxford yoga studio Every Body Studio is expanding for a second time, bringing their signature inclusive and community-focused yoga, Pilates and barre classes to Botley from 6 June, with free taster classes and discounted sessions this weekend. (We're there for the shavasana.)
The penultimate workshop in the participatory design project 'Future
Streets Oxfordshire' takes place next Tuesday (9 June). Part of a project undertaken by Oxfordshire Liveable Streets to elicit aspirations for residents’ ideal environment, it aims to find community-designed indicators of what thriving streets and neighbourhoods actually look like. “We have collected hundreds of ideas, hopes, fears and dreams about Oxfordshire's streets and neighbourhoods. Now we need to bring them together into something that can measure what actually matters to people," said Siobhann Mansel-Pleydell, the group's campaigns director.

Around the county

A 2,700-home new town, “New Astrop”, has been proposed as an extension to Brize Norton village – filling in much of the land between Carterton and Witney. The development would include two new primary schools, a new country park, employment sites, and a relief road for Brize Norton itself.
An early-stages application has been submitted by land promoters KSW. It envisages upgrading the B4477 main road link to the A40 with a new roundabout at Minster Lovell, plus improved cycling links to Carterton and Witney. There would be a local centre with convenience stores, village hall and café. Two further developments of 2,500 and 350 homes are currently planned for the adjacent Foxbury site, at the northern edge of Carterton, plus 1,000 homes on the western edge – meaning the town could double in size over the course of a decade. The New Astrop “screening application” is now with West Oxfordshire District Council. (Will this stop West Oxfordshire politicians frothing about the Brize Norton–Curbridge road, which would presumably be completely redeveloped? Will it heck.)
Bicester Motion has unveiled a 10-year ‘masterplan vision’ for the ‘future mobility estate’, home to cutting edge automotive and aviation businesses like Oxford University spinout YASA, Polestar, Skyports Infrastructure and synthetic fuel manufacturer Zero. Taking a ‘retrofit-first’ approach to the former RAF base, it envisages a new technical site for startups, a hotel, and 200 new apartments including affordable homes. The travel plan prioritises walking, cycling, and public transport including shuttle buses to Bicester’s railway stations. A public consultation is now open, with a view to submitting planning applications this summer.
It’s not often we hear about a Post Office opening. Normally we post petition updates on trying to save them (Horspath, East Hagbourne). But in July 2004, when the post office in Milton Village closed, it relocated to hi-tech business zone Milton Park: it has now moved to Signal Yard, Milton Park's retail quarter. Originally established by Abdul Rehman Bajwa, it is now run day-to-day by Abdul’s son, Zaeem. The £14m Signal Yard will also be the new home of a pharmacy, vegan restaurant, Tap Social, a barbers, dentist and gym.
Mignonne, allons voir si la rose... Blenheim Palace is inviting visitors to celebrate National Rose Month by showcasing a spectacular display of roses, including 50 new varieties, planted in 2024, in its Rosarium. The roses are companion planted with alliums and catmint for natural pest control.
Achingly hip (and remarkably flammable) Charlbury gastropub, The Bull, is opening a new restaurant in the West Oxfordshire hamlet of Gagingwell. Canteen Cotswolds (which is not in the Cotswolds) will be less than two miles’ walk from Notting Hill-set country club Soho Farmhouse. The restaurant opens this Thursday, serving “fresh pastas, pizzas and seasonal dishes that will change weekly”. Online reservations are at canteen310.com, the 310 being its parent restaurant’s location on Portobello Road.

Oxfordshire politics

Banbury MP Sean Woodcock has been to Brunei on the Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme, where he has been learning about how the Gurkhas conduct riverboat operation, and met Gurkha families. He’s been out on the doors in Chipping Norton with a residents’ survey.

Bicester & Woodstock MP Calum Miller has written to the Foreign Secretary to urge measures to ensure the UK does not abet illegal settlements as part of the reconstruction of Palestine. He visited Oxfam's emergency aid warehouse in Bicester.
Witney MP Charlie Maynard has been releasing documentary style videos again. This time, without a hint of irony, he is up on a church roof in Witney, asking for help to fix the ~~roof~~ flagpole and volunteers to ring the bells. He's a one man 'Visit West Oxfordshire' salesperson this week, flagging Carterton Open Gardens, Carterton Arts Week, and Kelmscott Manor, home of William Morris (the textile designer and friend of the original Clarion, not the bicycle and car magnate). In more campaigning content, he remains annoyed that services promised by developers are late – in this case, a Sainsbury’s in a new estate in Witney.

Oxford East MP Anneliese Dodds spoke out in support of renewable energy in the House of Commons. She also raised questions about the voluntary approach to AI regulation (she seems to be carving out a niche as a functional expert in this rapidly emerging sector). Locally, she attended the opening of the ‘Community Becomes Home’ exhibition at the Museum of Oxford, which shows the journey Oxford's Hindu community have been on to secure a temple in the city. She dropped in at Headington Festival and went knocking on doors in Rose Hill.

Show us a better dog name than Bilbo Waggins. We'll wait.

Oxford West & Abingdon MP Layla Moran launched the Health & Social Care Committee Report on Healthy Ageing with the help of the Abingdon Green Gym. It recommends helping people to move more as they age, for "exercise can be more effective than medication, and these changes would also cut the NHS’s vast expenditure on drugs." (Brb, just going to water my allotment.) She took the opportunity to stand firmly with "trans and non binary friends" in a barnstormer of a speech in Parliament. In the most joyful news we will cover this week, she helped judge the Oxford Pride Dog show, crowning Bilbo Waggins the winner.
Didcot & Wantage MP Olly Glover was on Politics Home's podcast speaking about electoral reform and what Burnham as PM could mean for it. On his transport brief, he called HS2 “a national embarrassment” compared to high-speed lines in Europe, noting that the UK needs more long-distance rail capacity, to make better use of existing lines for freight and regional trains. On Ed Vaizey's Times Radio show, he celebrated the highlights (?!) of Didcot & Wantage in ‘It's a Constituency Knockout’: secret underground tunnels in Wantage; Wallingford as the birthplace of People magazine’s 2025 Sexiest Man Alive (Jonathan Bailey, apparently); and Harwell Campus as home to the first nuclear reactor in Western Europe. Seems to have worked, as he won. In Parliament, he went in to bat for small businesses struggling to stay afloat among rising operating costs and business rates.

Henley & Thame MP Freddie van Mierlo visited Mill Lane Primary School in Chinnor, where he is lobbying for investment in its buildings. He's calling for more action from the government on ADHD support, while on SEND, he attended a forum in Thame on the proposed SEND white paper. He’s also written to DEFRA urging speed on the repair of Henley's Marsh Lock Horse Bridge. He visited Le Manoir in Great Milton to see their refurb progress, breaking the news that there will be a “more modestly priced” brasserie concept alongside the existing two Michelin star restaurant.
Thames Valley Police & Crime Commissioner Matthew Barber has been out campaigning in Didcot. Here's his weekly update, including hosting a Conservative Curry Club event and speaking to Panorama documentary makers about a forthcoming programme on grooming gangs.

Mansfield’s planned new buildings facing the Main Quad; Eric Whitacre (photo by Marc Royce via Somerville);

University and research

Mansfield College, the Oxford college with the highest proportion of state-school educated entrants (93.7%), has been given planning permission for its “once in a lifetime” transformation project. The entire south range will be replaced, completing the main quad and offering a new, welcoming arrival. Oxford City Council agreed to grant permission at its planning committee meeting last week. The college says: “We have long since outgrown our current space… we must plan for a future where Mansfield can continue to lead the way on widening participation.” The design, by architects Feilden Fowles, replaces a collection of 1960s buildings with a single new south range influenced by the architect of the north range, Basil Champneys (1842-1935). The Porters’ Lodge will be housed in a new tower, and a biodiverse South Quad created.
Messages and emails from Peter Mandelson, released as part of the controversy over his appointment as US ambassador, show him extensively lobbying Oxford-educated MPs to support his bid to become Chancellor of Oxford University – a position ultimately won by William Hague. In one exchange, he bemoans that “Hague has well oiled machine apparently and thousands of Oxford University Conservative Association members to draw on”. Cabinet Office parliamentary secretary Georgia Gould MP offers to help in exchange for “tell[ing] me how to organise cabinet office??”. Another document contains his speech to the Ditchley Foundation, the international networking salon in Churchill’s wartime retreat Ditchley House, outside Charlbury. He calls it “a magnificent crucible of ideas” despite an occasion when “I nearly left without my kidneys when thrown from a horse”.
A demonstration outside Linacre College yesterday alleged “racist bullying of one of the kitchen staff”. ‘Joe’, who had worked in the kitchen for 23 years, said that racist abuse began with the arrival of a new manager. New steel toe-capped boots issued to kitchen staff were too small for him but no replacements were issued: “eventually, after six weeks, he could no longer walk… in hospital, he was diagnosed with gangrene, and they had to amputate his leg up to the thigh”. Former councillor Jabu Nala-Hartley said “The University’s indifference is chilling.” Linacre disputes the allegations but has not yet responded to a request for comment.
A rare orchid, the white helleborine, has been discovered in an unusual location: the green roof of the John Henry Brookes Building. Brookes’ green roofs are now "whole ecosystems largely invisible above our heads", says Brookes' Andrew Lack. (If you want more orchid content, head to our short read.)
Oxford University and Diamond Light Source are partnering with the French synchrotron SOLEIL, and two Paris research institutes, to accelerate research on women's health, infectious diseases and pandemic preparedness. Diamond and SOLEIL are two of the world's most powerful synchrotrons: they accelerate charged particles close to the speed of light, which scientists can use to create a very bright beam of light as a massive super-microscope to image everything from proteins to historical artifacts. This emerging scientific entente cordiale also includes a collaboration between the two national supercomputers, Isambard-AI in the UK and GENCI in France: the Government says millions stand to benefit from what it calls a “sci-tech deal between UK and France”.
Grammy award-winning composer Eric Whitacre has been appointed as Somerville College’s Musician in Residence for 2026-27. Best known for his choral works, Whitacre has also written for films in the Pirates of the Caribbean and Kung Fu Panda series. Will Dawes, Somerville’s Director of Chapel Music, said: “I have learned so much from his humanity, his wisdom, and his extraordinary compositional talent. I can’t wait for Somerville’s students to meet him.” Whitacre said he was “honoured beyond words”.
Oxford space communications company Archangel Lightworks has demonstrated the UK’s first optical data transfer from space. With the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, they transferred “many gigabits of data” by laser. The data was transferred from a satellite in low Earth orbit to an optical ground station in the Mediterranean. Osney-based Archangel specialises in laser communications between space and ground – much higher bandwidth and more secure than radio frequencies. (End-of-level boss challenge: transfer “many gigabits of data” to a mobile phone on St Clement’s.)
A new series of animations from the Oxford University Department of Paediatrics talks through everything from what is a gene to CRISPR base editing. Co-developed with families affected by neurodevelopmental disorders, each video is inspired by real questions & experiences from parents & carers. Kate Bailey, whose daughter has Tetrasomy 9p, said: “It is very lonely when your child has a rare chromosome disorder and others don’t understand what you are dealing with. I have loved watching the videos come to life and, as parents, to feel our comments were always listened to and taken on board.”

Trains and buses

Tackley station, in northern Oxfordshire, joins a select list of ‘one-way stations’ this month. Only northbound trains will call while a new bridge is installed: passengers heading to Oxford will need to go up the line to Banbury and double back, or catch the S4 bus. Until 2020, passengers crossed the line on an unmanned level crossing, but the death of an elderly resident who was hit by a train in 2008 led Network Rail to erect a temporary bridge – now being replaced.
Trains from Oxford to Milton Keynes could potentially start running in December, over two years since the line was completed. The Clarion understands that rail operators are considering offering rail unions a deal over a second staff member on trains, breaking the impasse over the Government’s original plan for driver-only trains. Chiltern Railways is set to be nationalised in September: if a December start date for the trains were announced at the same time as nationalisation, the Government could claim a quick win for the publicly owned railway. Despite Chiltern recruiting drivers and hiring six nearly-new trains, only freight services currently run on the restored £1.3bn line. The Clarion was the first to break the story, subsequently followed up by national media, last September.
The CityZone ‘Get Around for £1’ under-18 bus ticket has been extended by Oxford Bus Company. All fares on CityZone routes are £1 for passengers aged 18 and younger who hold a Get Around Card, which costs £15 either online or from Oxford Bus Company’s Gloucester Green travel shop.

Notes from Clarion HQ

We’re starting to wonder whether we should have a “no Oxford Union” policy to go with our “no Jeremy Clarkson” rule, given that the Union appears to be to (say) the Telegraph what Clarkson is to the Oxford Mail – full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. Anyway, that’s one sentence more than the Union deserves. More enjoyable local culture: Oxfordshire’s very own Banksy, Athirty4, this week took some fabulous photos of new Didcot mayor David Rouane. Didcot becoming effortlessly cool? You love to see it. We’re back on Friday – see you then.