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 ask why a Government grant was returned, and if it could have been spent elsewhere in Oxford.

Among our findings are that planners had already identified Woodstock Road cycle routes as a priority for the Oxford North development; the County Council was deliberately kept in the dark about the £10m by Homes England; and reallocating funds was considered “unusual” but not impossible.

This is our most complex investigation to date – it’s long (3,400 words!) but important. Read on…

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,

Oxford ClarionOxford Clarion

“Buses are running quicker in many parts of the city, nowhere more than Abingdon Road” – so says Oxford Bus Company MD Luke Marion on the impact of the congestion charge. “What we are seeing is a combination of the ‘carrot’ of the free Park & Ride scheme, and the ‘stick’ of the congestion charge.” In a guest article for the Clarion, he argues that Park & Ride buses must remain free.

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. But

Oxford ClarionClarion guest contributor

This week’s top stories

Oxford’s cycle delivery company Pedal & Post is set to enter voluntary liquidation, barring a last-minute rescue. The company has lost its contract with scooter operator Voi, which they say accounted for 36% of their profit: “we cannot continue solvently into the future with this loss of contract”.

CEO Chris Benton said he was “deeply sorry” to be sharing the news with shareholders, who are unlikely to recoup their investment. He promised “a responsible and ethical wind-down” for staff, creditors, and the colleges and other businesses who rely on Pedal & Post.

He added: “I want to thank every shareholder for your support, belief, and commitment to what we set out to build. This is not the outcome any of us wanted, but we will handle the next steps with care for our people as best we can.”

The campaign for a playground in Oxford city centre has taken a major step forward. City councillors voted yesterday for a Green Party amendment to the draft Local Plan, supporting “proposals which seek to make provision for play space within the City Centre”. Green councillor Lois Muddiman, proposing the amendment, said “When you are in town with young children, it is hard to entertain them when you've got a lot of shopping to do.” New Green councillor Ed Mundy added “Children’s enjoyment does not happen on the timescale adults set.”

A second amendment on preventing net loss of playground space across the city was narrowly voted down, largely by Labour and independent councillors. The city centre proposal was carried by LibDem and Green votes with several Labour and independent supporters. The LibDems also successfully secured an amendment to increase cycle parking (and mandate high-quality racks like Sheffield stands).

However, an attempt to withdraw Iffley’s Horse Fields as a development site failed. A late amendment by the Independent Oxford Alliance would have struck it out, but councillors were worried that any such decision could be challenged by other local councils. The Friends of the Fields say they want Meadow School to use the area for outdoor education; they describe the site as a “sensitive site unsuitable for housing”, saying it has more constraints than any other in the plan.

With these amendments, councillors voted for the Local Plan to go out to consultation. But the extended debate meant there was no time for councillor motions, including one seeking a review of the Oxpens Bridge: they’ll be held over to a future meeting.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting says the decade-long delay to build a GP surgery in Didcot's Great Western Park is “completely shocking”. In an interview with BBC Oxford, he described local MP Olly Glover as being “like a dog with a bone” on the issue, adding:

“This is a debating point nationally because we do need to build more homes; this country's crying out for them. But people often say we also need the infrastructure, the services to go alongside.”

In December, negotiations with healthcare developer Assura foundered over the build costs vs the likely return. The Integrated Care Board's Oxfordshire director Dan Leveson said there was a “process in place” to identify a new developer. We wrote about the surgery back in 2024; the story, described by Glover in Parliament as having “more twists and turns than a Netflix saga”, appears to be in at least Season 5 with Season 6 in filming…

Oxford graduate Nigella Lawson has been confirmed as new host of TV's Great British Bake Off. While studying at Lady Margaret Hall, she was allegedly approached by her tutor to join MI5, but was advised against it by her father Nigel Lawson (later Chancellor of the Exchequer). Lawson became a journalist, author of many cookbooks including How to be a Domestic Goddess and cult TV presenter. Via the Salmon/Lawson dynasty that once ran tea shop chain J Lyons & Co, she is cousin to Oxford journalist George Monbiot. (Yes, this is a top story and we will not hear any argument against Queen Nigella.)

Around the city

• Oxford’s historic buildings could be at risk from plans to reorganise the county’s fire service, Oxford City Council claims. Leader Susan Brown said: “Oxford has a significant transient population, high-rise tower blocks, and unique world heritage buildings. A city centre fire station must be retained.”
       The Oxfordshire Fire & Rescue Service says that an imbalance between firefighters’ preferred duty times, and the times when fires happen, is leading to “slower response times during the day, and costly overtime to maintain adequate coverage”. But Cllr Brown characterised the proposals as “sacrificing deprived communities in Oxford in favour of rural communities”. Reporting that Oxford University also had concerns, she added: “The growing level of lab space brings challenges given the substances and equipment contained within.”
       She said that safety on the Oxford Canal and River Thames was a particular concern: “The extensive and busy waterways present a unique risk. There has been a number of deaths associated with our rivers and canals in recent years, both in terms of fires on canal boats and deaths in the water. Specialist services for these incidents come from Kidlington and we are concerned that this expertise could be broken up and spread thinly around the county." The consultation continues until 31 January and can be filled in online.
• The Jam Factory on Frideswide Square took a step towards reopening with a planning application to Oxford City Council for upgrades to the building structure, including thermal efficiency improvements and removal of an internal mezzanine floor. At the time a popular arts venue as well as a cafe, the Jam Factory closed its doors in 2022: its tenants said they were unable to come to an agreement with landlords Nuffield College, who own much of this part of Oxford. The building gets its name from Frank Cooper’s Oxford Marmalade, made there by his wife Sarah from 1903.
• River Island in the Westgate is closing. This Saturday will be its last day of trading. The clothes retailer is closing 33 of its 230 stores as part of a Company Voluntary Arrangement after running into financial trouble. Joules also recently closed its ground-floor store.
• The White Hart community pub in Wolvercote is holding a fundraiser this weekend to recover from a burglary two weeks ago. The Big Hart Weekender will feature soul, sea shanties, and karaoke. Contributions will go towards replacing equipment and repairing damage.

• The city had a protest-heavy weekend. Protesters gathered in Bonn Square in solidarity with protesters in Iran and calling for democracy and human rights. Their signs condemned the Iranian Republic, claiming over 40,000 protesters killed in the country. Highlighting an internet blackout, they said they were using their presence to raise the profile of the protesters in Iran and called on the world to act urgently. Meanwhile, Stand up to Racism staged a counter protest against a far right protest that never happened – one demonstrator reported that police had been drafted in from Milton Keynes to keep the peace. There will be a rally for Ukraine in Radcliffe Square on 22 February.
• Talking Climate, Taking Action: Over 150 people gathered on Saturday for Oxford Friends of the Earth’s event. Keynote speeches were given on the state of climate action nationally and locally by Shaun Spiers of the Green Alliance and Sarah Gilbert of Oxfordshire County Council. Sessions included climate outreach, patterns of misinformation and disinformation, and 10 workshop sessions on communication.

Around the county

• Contractors are on site at the Kidlington fly-tip ahead of the full removal starting at the end of February. Pits are being excavated at different depths to get a cross section of the waste materials, tracks for heavy vehicle access are being scoped out, and a site compound established.
• Oxfordshire County Council is leaving X, the Elon Musk-owned platform formerly known as Twitter. It says it is “deeply concerned about the rise in online hate speech and abuse targeting women and girls… we must make clear and principled choices about how we communicate”. The decision follows Cherwell, Vale of White Horse, and South Oxfordshire – and the Oxford Clarion – withdrawing from the platform. West Oxfordshire and Oxford City are still on X, though the latter has not tweeted for over a month.
• Blenheim Palace is inviting donations towards its £12m roof repairs with the incentive of signing a slate which will be reinstalled at a topping-out ceremony in March. Increased rainfall is causing the roof to deteriorate and putting interiors at risk.
• UK Minister for Space Liz Lloyd visited the Harwell Campus to visit leading space companies including Astroscale, Magdrive, Oxford Space Systems (who we wrote about last year) and Open Cosmos. Astroscale is developing technology to clear up ‘space junk’; Magdrive has an innovative ion thruster for manoeuvring spacecraft; and Open Cosmos builds and operates satellites based on platforms it has developed since 2015, such as the OpenConstellation satellite of which the Minister said: “This project cements the UK's position at the forefront of the global (surely interplanetary?) space economy.”
• Co-op news: Oxfordshire’s Co-op group, which dates back to the Chipping Norton co-operative society in 1866 and the Oxford society in 1872, yesterday completed its merger with a Midlands co-operative to form the second largest co-operative in Britain. The Midcounties and Central England groups will trade under the OurCoop banner. The merged group has over 500 food stores as well as travel agents, funeral homes and nurseries.

Oxfordshire politics

Our favourite political story of the week is Oxfordshire County Council’s Pizza & Politics event for 11-18 year olds in Witney, attended by local MP Charlie Maynard, LibDem county leader Liz Leffman, Labour leader of Witney Town Council Ruth Smith, and district councillors Thomas Ashby (Conservative) and Andrew Prosser (Green). The event, which followed on from Oxford, Banbury and Didcot dates last year, was oversubscribed and filled Langdale Hall. Sophie from the Marlborough School even interviewed local politicians for a newspaper she founded (we like the sound of Sophie). The kids are very much all right.

• Banbury MP Sean Woodcock, in a rare departure into almost criticism of the Government, urged the Secretary of State to accelerate Local Government Reform – pointing out it was taking a great deal of capacity in local councils when they should be prioritising local economic growth. The SoS agreed (…as do we). He welcomed the news that the government has launched a consultation on social media for under-16s.

• Oxford East MP Anneliese Dodds has written for Renewal about the challenge for Labour (though this could be translated to any political party) to cut through in a digital world where algorithms don’t favour good news or nuance. In that vein, she filmed a video talking about what the Labour government has done to lower the cost of living: here it is on Bluesky, Twitter and Facebook. (At the time of writing, 15 hours after posting, it has been shared a grand total of 32 times which we guess makes her point.) In Parliament she called for Government departments to work together to replace Kennington Bridge. She also raised concerns around Iran and Sudan.

• Bicester & Woodstock MP Calum Miller is the LibDem Foreign Affairs spokesperson and really not a fan of Donald Trump. He says Trump is threatening jobs and security, and the UK needs to spell out consequences (which sounds a lot like a parenting manual for a playground bully, but if the red cap fits…). Locally, he calls for action to combat a crisis in illegal waste dumping, including more funding, an incident hotline, and joined-up response. Finally, he's asking Bicester residents to ‘donate £1 to go underground’ – a crowdfunder of sorts to demonstrate local support for an underpass at London Road level crossing.

• Witney MP Charlie Maynard is the MP for Brize Norton, which has responsibility for managing the repatriation of fallen soldiers. In a video filmed next to the Memorial Bell which tolls during repatriation ceremonies, he expressed outrage that Trump doesn't recognise the sacrifice of 457 British soldiers in Afghanistan. He visited Faringdon Community College with Faringdon’s councillors Bethia Thomas and Lucy Edwards, and visited Witney's Yellow Submarine bakery and social enterprise, where he discussed how they help to train and get people into work. (Also the best coffee near Oxford railway station!)
• Oxford West & Abingdon MP Layla Moran was on BBC's Question Time where she came out slugging. Sample clips: “Who needs enemies when you've got friends like Donald Trump?", and of the Conservative/Reform intrigue, “I don’t think these psychodramas are very good for politics." On LBC she “tried to get into the brain of Donald Trump”, suggesting putting some threats on the table.
• Didcot & Wantage MP Olly Glover presented a Bill for a Rail Passengers’ Charter, conjuring up a utopia where trains are not only comfortable and run on time but also have wifi, bike storage and functioning lavatories. (Dare to dream…) He welcomed the government's new Road Safety Strategy, but noted concerns on the impact of road infrastructure. As MP for a tech-heavy constituency, he asked if US funding cuts to health research could be an opportunity for the UK to, in short, pinch talent.
• Henley & Thame MP Freddie van Mierlo met with broadband minister Liz Lloyd (yes, also the space minister) to discuss gigabit connectivity in his very rural constituency. In the Science & Technology Sub-Committee he discussed introduction of a licensing regime for non-surgical cosmetic procedures in England.
• Thames Valley Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Barber wrote to the Home Secretary to warn of shortfalls in the policing budget. The Home Secretary announced an increase of 53 local police officers, but Barber maintains that only 40% of the required funding has been provided: despite this, he committed to provide the officers. He is also warning residents to protect themselves from fraud and cybercrime as a new fraud reporting service is launched. And finally, with under-16s spending an increasing amount of time online, he wants your data views on social media. Here's his recap.

University and research

• Last week saw Oriel College’s 700th birthday. King Edward II issued a charter on 21 January 1326 for what is the fifth oldest college, and the oldest royal foundation, in the University of Oxford. A 700th anniversary programme will include concerts, lectures and an alumni ball for ‘Orielenses’. Its provost, Neil Mendoza, said: “The longevity and continuity of this college and its work is astonishing. Few institutions have endured for so long, and even fewer have remained devoted to the same cause.” The oldest colleges in the University of Oxford are Univ, Balliol, and Merton, and no, we are not getting into the argument about which came first.
• Oxford biotech start-up Newrotex, which uses spider silk to make implantable nerve repair devices, is moving into new lab and office space at Oxford Trust’s Wood Centre for Innovation in Headington. Newrotex uses silk from Golden Orb Weaver spiders because of its biocompatibility, biodegradability and nerve cell affinity. Its devices are implanted to allow a damaged nerve to regrow over an up to 10cm gap – for example, after a mastectomy or prostatectomy. The Trust was founded by Sir Martin and Lady Audrey Wood, who we wrote about last May.
• A free legal advice clinic for Oxfordshire residents has been launched by Oxford Brookes, working with Citizens Advice. Every other Wednesday, law students, qualified solicitors and legal advisers will offer advice at Brookes’ Headington campus. The project aims to help people “who find paying for legal advice is beyond their means” while giving Brookes law students real-world experience of dealing directly with clients.
• In a blow to Donald Trump, children across the UK have voted for “peace” as the Oxford University Press Children’s Word of the Year. OUP says that many of the respondents, aged 6-14, mentioned specific conflicts such as Ukraine and Gaza when choosing the word. Mentions of “peace” in children’s stories have increased by 60% since 2015. The runner-up word was “AI”, while perhaps inevitably, the Children’s Slang Word of the Year was “six seven” which OUP generously says “fosters inclusivity and social currency”.
• Oxford is more stylish, more sustainable, and has better chocolate than other cities – or so ChatGPT will tell you. The Oxford Internet Institute has found that subjective prompts to LLMs consistently replicate existing social biases across cities and countries.
• Two senior surgeons at Oxford’s hospitals have received prestigious national awards from the British Association of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeons. Daljit Dhariwal was recognised for “a lifetime of exceptional surgery”, while Montey Garg won a prize for surgeons in their first 10 years of practice. Daljit Dhariwal leads the facial deformity practice at Oxford University Hospitals and is the university’s deputy director of Undergraduate Surgical Teaching. Chief Medical Officer Andrew Brent noted that “It is highly unusual for two surgeons from the same unit to receive BAOMS' highest honours in the same year.”
• Oxford University’s Catholic Chaplain Damian Howard has stepped down following a complaint of professional misconduct. The Jesuit order, which staffs the chaplaincy, said: “A safeguarding investigation confirmed that inappropriate behaviour had occurred, which we regard as entirely unacceptable.” Howard was appointed Senior Chaplain in 2023. The incident is understood to be unconnected to Campion Hall, the permanent private hall run by the Jesuits. Student newspaper Cherwell reports that “Father Howard initiated sexual contact with the student on multiple occasions last summer, often while the student was under the influence of alcohol.”

Trains and buses

• GWR is planning an extra morning express service from Oxford to London to deal with overcrowding. It has applied for permission for an 08.12 departure from Oxford, starting in December. At present, there is a gap in services between 07.53 and 08.47.
• The first of Chiltern Railways’ new trains entered service yesterday. The Explorer fleet, built for Transpennine Express but withdrawn in 2023, will be used on services from Banbury and Bicester North to London Marylebone, freeing up Clubman trains for the Oxford route. They will replace 1970s carriages currently in use, as well as bringing extra capacity.
• A shuttle bus for staff at the luxury Estelle Manor club has been withdrawn after a local councillor complained about “minibuses parking outside residents’ homes while dropping staff at local bus stops”. Cllr Sarah Veasey (Con, North Leigh) said the withdrawal was “a positive outcome for residents”. Staff would travel on the S7 bus from Oxford to North Leigh, where the shuttle minibus would pick them up for the short journey to Estelle Manor across the busy A4095. There is no pedestrian crossing on the main road, which has a poor accident record with several fatalities in recent years.
     Cllr Veasey wrote: “I have been in regular discussions with the new hotel General Manager and his Estates Manager over the past few months. As a result the hotel has now agreed to stop the minibuses. Effective 19th January this service has been cancelled. This is a positive outcome for residents.” However, a minibus driver responded: “We were always very considerate of the people living in Common Road and parked right up by the junction until both S7 buses had dropped off staff. I hope they pull the S7 service through the village – the truth is the village does not like Estelle Manor.”
       The half-hourly S7 began in 2023 with funding from Estelle Manor to help its staff get to work. Celebrity guests at the hotel have included Angelina Jolie, Princess Beatrice and Steve Jobs’ daughter Eve.

Notes from Clarion HQ

We’re a little behind on covering Oxford City planning applications recently. The council has changed its planning website, and our ‘scraper’ that automatically scours it for new applications doesn’t yet work with the new one. Normal service will be resumed shortly, but until then, do email us with anything you spot.

Should we have a letters page? Every day, interesting insights from Clarion readers pop into our inbox. Often these are tip-offs or observations not to be published directly, but sometimes they’re well argued comments for publication, and right now we don’t have anywhere to put them. Readers’ letters roundup every month or two, perhaps?

We do sometimes receive green ink missives too! Your occasional reminder that we're all volunteers with full time jobs, and early alarms to fit this in. In 2024 we set out any biases we may or may not have; despite growing the team – data experts, science specialists, a proofreader, a cartoonist! – every word remains true. Peace out. See you on Friday.