OXFORD City Council will replace flammable cladding on its tower blocks – but wants the government to stump up the bill which could spiral up to £1m. The council’s executive board tonight voted to pay up to £1m to replace cladding which covers
COMMUTERS from Oxford to London will soon be paying more than £5,000 a year for the first time after the biggest fare hike in five years was revealed.Currently passengers travelling from Oxford to London - on both Great Western Railway and Chiltern Railways
F1 FANS can try their hand behind the wheel as a new racing simulator event is being staged by Thames Valley Air Ambulance.People will have the chance to get behind the wheel and race the famous Silverstone circuit in the The Race Hut Oxford simulation
THE next areas in Oxford which will see their streetlights improved have been announced. The existing lamps will be replaced with LED lights, which will reduce energy consumption in Summertown, Marston and Wolvercote. To see if your road is affected,
AN OLYMPIC silver medallist will pay a visit to Oxfordshire.Keri-anne Payne will host a special swimming masterclass at the White Horse Leisure and Tennis Centre in Abingdon on Saturday.She will share her experience and offer advice on healthy eating.
A PETITION has been launched in a bid to bring two post offices back to East Oxford.Branches on Cowley Road and Iffley Road have both closed in the past 12 months with no sign of either service reopening.In a change.org statement Labour city councillor
A NEW Argos store inside a Bicester supermarket will open today for the first time. The store will open inside Sainsbury’s after the retail giant bought up Argos’s owners, Home Retail Group. Argos customers will be able to order and collect in the store
Youngsters can enjoy clowning around at a circus-themed arts and craft event tomorrow. Activities will include popcorn creations, sand dough and a clowns tent.It will be held at the West Oxford Community Centre, Botley, between 10.30am and 11.30am. Children
OXFORD University boffins have developed a new method to 3D-print laboratory-grown cells to form living structures.The researchers said their approach could ‘revolutionise’ regenerative medicine, enabling the production of complex tissues and cartilage
Traffic travelling away from Bicester is slow after four people were injured in a serious accident on the A41 this afternoon. A crash has closed the road between Kingswood Lane and the Thame turn-off for the B4011. A fire crew from Bicester
ADULTS looking to go back to school can enjoy two days of world-class talks and workshops from Oxford University lecturers next month. More than 60 free sessions will be held across September 1 and 2, with subjects ranging from a beginners guide to Chinese
A BAN on pineapples at this year's Reading and Leeds Festivals has been put down to Oxford's hottest new band, Glass Animals.The fruit has appeared on a list of barred items including weapons, drones and fireworks.They will not be allowed into
THE STARS of Countryfile have confirmed they will be returning to Blenheim Palace next year after the four-day event was a roaring success.More than 120,000 people – and thousands of dogs – flocked to the grounds over the course of the event at the start
A CHARITY cricket match will be held in memory of siblings killed in an arson attack 20 years ago. Majid and Anum Khan died after their Oxford home was set on fire in August 1997. To honour 15-year-old Majid’s passion for cricket, family and
THE STARS of Countryfile have confirmed they will be returning to Blenheim Palace next year after the four-day event was a roaring success.More than 120,000 people – and thousands of dogs – flocked to the grounds over the course of the event at the start
TWO new allotment sites are to be built in the county to create more than 25 plots for people.Bloor Homes announced it will be creating the new allotments in Springfield Farm in Ambrosden, near Bicester, and The Watermeadows development in Thame.It comes
PHOTOGRAPHERS can put forward their favourite snaps for an Abingdon competition.Abingdon Camera Club is running a contest for snappers in the town, with entry closing on September 2. Details of prizes, rules and entry forms area available by visiting
GARDENERS with a penchant for plants and tea parties can enjoy an annual show in Abingdon.Members of Abingdon Horticultural Society will put on a floral spectacle for the club’s autumn show.The public event will be held on Saturday, September 9 from 2pm
BUSINESS Park owners say tenants are ‘queuing up’ for spaces ahead of a massive renovation.Managers at Grove Business Park say six firms employing a total of 24 staff have already snapped up offices at the newly-refurbished ‘serviced office’ block Boston
GRANTS of up to £5,000 are on offer for Oxfordshire groups seeking to bring together communities usually divided by ethnicity, age or social background. Oxford Community Foundation are looking for applications to the High Sheriff’s Community Integration
AN OXFORDSHIRE mum has been chosen to take part in a ‘life changing’ trek across Middle Eastern mountains to increase awareness of breast cancer. Kelly Whitehead will be joined on the trip, which has been organised by charity CoppaFeel, by Olympic gold
THE inaugural Orders of St John Care Trust Wallingford Fete has been hailed a success after raising hundreds of pounds for good causes.The day-long event at the weekend, encouraging a mix of youngsters and older people, was held at Wallingford School
A GROUP of youngsters organised a charity music event yesterday as part of the National Citizenship Service.The Witney-based team invited local bands to perform in Rocket, in Corn Street to raise money for Base 33 - a charity for vulnerable and disadvantaged
VOLUNTARY groups can bag up to £1,000 funding from the latest wave of SPARK grants from Cherwell District Council.The authority is calling on local groups in Bicester to apply for the fourth round of SPARK funding for projects that support culture, healthy
CHILDREN can get involved in free and fun holiday activities across Oxford during the summer break.Oxford City Council’s Youth Ambition team is running a range programmes for young people right across the city this summer with full-day, half-day, two-hourly
GLIDER pilots took on a range of challenges as they soared through the sky in a week-long contest. About 40 gliders were listed to compete in this year's Regional Gliding Competition, hosted by Windrushers Gliding Club at Bicester Gliding Centre
Rail commuters will be hit by a 3.6 per cent rise in the cost of season tickets from next year. The rise - based on the Retail Price Index measure of inflation - will affect all season tickets and some 'anytime' and off-peak tickets. The Office
PEOPLE in Barton will set off on a coach trip to Brighton tomorrow.As part of the Barton Community Association’s summer holiday trips to the seaside, coaches of families are planning to make the trip down to the coast.The passengers have had to pay £10
TEACHING Indonesian children natural history can change attitudes towards the illegal wildlife trade according to a team of Oxford researchers.New research, which has assessed the impact of a children’s storybook on a critically endangered species – the
RESIDENTS of East Oxford turned out to share their memories of Oxford's 'favourite street' as part of a bid to create an online 'Wikipedia' of Cowley Road.The group behind the new digital encyclopedia cataloguing the history of the
A REVOLUTIONARY Polio vaccine which can be produced inside living plants has been developed in Oxfordshire with funding from Microsoft founder Bill Gates. A team of scientists have found a way of getting tobacco plants to produce 'fake virus' particles
A Banbury School is opening up its sports and performing arts facilities for community groups to hire on evenings, weekends and during holidays.Banbury Academy's sports hall and main hall, a dance studio and drama studio as well as an astro turf pitch
AWARD-WINNING cinematographer Roger Chapman will give museum visitors an insight into his travels throughout India, Mongolia, Sudan and the United Arab Emirates on Saturday.His globetrotting was for exhibition Camel: A Journey through Fragile Landscapes
Oxford is the most expensive bank holiday weekend destination in the UK, it has been revealed. An average weekend break in Oxford will set you back £1,156 for three nights - that includes lunch, dinner and taxi journeys, according to TripAdvisor
NEIGHBOURS of Oxford railway station have criticised a proposed £75m transformation scheme and claimed that Network Rail has ignored their concerns.The rail infrastructure operator, together with Oxford City Council, wants to revamp the 1970s-era station
TEAMS will charge around a transformed playing pitch as a school taps into 'state-of-the-art' technology. The Oxford Academy is set to unveil its new 3G football pitch in a bid to boost its sporting facilities, which will soon become home to a
HOW do you get your tomatoes looking this good?Master composter Colin Fox revealed the secrets to super soil as part of an open day at Grove Road Allotments in Wantage.The Oxfordshire County Council employee was the special guest at the event on Sunday
MARK Jones has challenged Oxford City to build on their first win of the campaign when Hungerford Town visit tonight (7.45).After losing their first two games of the Vanarama National League South season, City got up and running with a 3-0 win at Whitehawk
FESTIVAL goers and their four-legged friends enjoyed the annual Bluefest staged at The Chequers Pub in Brize Norton on Saturday.The pub staged the music festival for pets for the second year and people were invited to enjoy a day of performances plus
MATT Goode says he is “delighted and honoured” to become head coach of his boyhood club Banbury, writes JACK JOHNSON.The experienced centre, who will continue to play, has been busy putting his squad through their paces over the last month.Goode replaces
DAVID Willmore produced some huge efforts on the way to finishing second in the over 45 category at the American Golf UK Long Drive Championship.The 47-year-old, from Brize Norton, blasted one drive of 398 yards at Heythrop Park as he finished runner-up
OXFORD RL’s depressing run of defeats continued when they crashed 66-0 away to London Skolars in the Kingstone Press Division 1 Shield on Saturday. It was the 11th defeat in a row for the Blues and came against a team, whom they had beaten 24-20
A WOMAN was subjected to a horrifying two-day ordeal in which her ex-lover set fire to the clothes she was wearing and dragged her down a staircase by her hair, a court has heard.Robert Brewerton, 38, of Willow Brook, Abingdon, denies seven counts; two
MATT Goode says he is “delighted and honoured” to become head coach of his boyhood club Banbury, writes JACK JOHNSON.The experienced centre, who will continue to play, has been busy putting his squad through their paces over the last month.Goode replaces
A CODE of conduct for bike hire companies which want to set up in Oxford has been provisionally drawn up by authorities. At least six companies have approached Oxford City Council and Oxfordshire County Council to set up here, including some from
GREGOR McKenzie has hit terrific form to claim two titles in quick succession.The teenager from Kirtlington followed up victory at Frilford Heath’s Junior Gold Medal with the under 16 crown at the South England Boys Open.McKenzie trailed by four shots
OXFORDSHIRE'S most famous festive fundraiser has finally admitted that even being a Secret Santa isn't just for Christmas.Courtney Hughes has announced that she is planning to turn her annual appeal into a registered charity and start helping
RICARDINHO believes the standard of football in Sky Bet League One surpasses what he has experienced elsewhere in his career. The left back got his first taste of English football on Saturday, when he impressed during Oxford United’s 3-0 win at
IT'S not a meteor shower, but it's almost as spectacular.When amateur photographer Mark Bentley went out over the weekend to try and capture this year's Perseids, he ended up capturing this spectacular UFO instead on the Brize Norton Road
RESIDENTS have branded Gibbs Crescent a 'war zone' six months after the explosion that saw homes and lives destroyed.Several flats were destroyed in the Valentine's Day blast meaning many residents needed to be re-homed.City and County Councillor
THE cost of rural crime in Oxfordshire fell by 30 per cent last year, new figures have revealed.The National Farmers Union rural crime report said countryside crime in the county cost more than £580,000 in 2016 compared to £840,000 in 2015.The figures
RETAILERS will be relied on to draw up plans encouraging shoppers and staff to ditch their cars as fears grow over access to the new £440m Westgate centre. It comes as a number of key local authority projects designed to reduce congestion may now
VULNERABLE pupils in Oxfordshire are living in limbo amid ‘unacceptable’ school placement delays, politicians fear.All six of the county’s MPs have penned a letter to the Government, lobbying against lags faced by children in care who relocate school.They
A MAN who fled police when they stopped his rented car before discovering a mobile 'drugs shop' has denied his role in dealing drugs.Daniel Carruthers, of Chaucer Road, London, denies two counts of possessing class A drugs, heroin and crack cocaine
APPROVAL has been given to the latest string of changes David and Victoria Beckham have made to their multi-million pound Oxfordshire home.The celebrity couple bought the grand barn conversion in Great Tew, near Chipping Norton, for an eye-watering £6,150,000
ANGRY residents are so sick of work which has left them unable to sleep and breathe properly they are moving out of their homes. Traffic has been diverted down Rectory Road in Oxford since July 10 for Thames Water to carry out £500,000 sewer replacement
TEENAGERS and children are being told of the dangers carrying a knife creates as police step up efforts to crack down on crimes involving blades.Thames Valley Police seized 47 knives in a week-long amnesty - 16 in Oxford - after blades ranging from carving
