Archive

  • Council approves new children’s home

    A NEW children’s home proposed following Operation Bullfinch has been approved by Oxfordshire County Council. The home at Litchfield Farm, Eynsham, will provide short-term care for up to six children aged between 12 and 17. It is part of a

  • Church volunteers put their stamp on charity

    DID you hear the one about the man who tried to buy 20 goats with 58,000 stamps? A team of dedicated Banbury volunteers have spent about a year collecting stamps to be sold by Oxfam. Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

  • Group plea to stop privatising NHS

    A NATIONAL Health Service pressure group has called on the Government to stop privatising parts of the healthcare system. Keep our NHS Public (KONP) and Oxford and District Trade Union Council held a public meeting at Oxford Town Hall on Tuesday

  • ‘Give us a hand to get parks fit for summer ‘

    MORE volunteers are needed to clear up the green spaces in Blackbird Leys as summer approaches. The Conservation Volunteers (TCV) group are hosting events every week to clear litter, plant trees and encourage wildlife. Donning her gloves at

  • Mum is hoping to make a big impact in modelling contest

    MUM-of-one Sarita Jack is practising her poses with her three-year-old daughter Teiarra to prepare for the finals of the Top Model of Colour competition. The Greater Leys resident is now one of 25 finalists in the worldwide competition to find

  • Thriving charity cafe targets expansion

    TWO years after setting up a cafe to help people with learning disabilities, Yellow Submarine is hoping to expand across the county. The Park End Street cafe employs and trains people from Oxfordshire with learning disabilities and autism to help

  • Men accused of city centre jewellery theft appear in court

    TWO men accused of conspiracy to rob a city centre jewellers hen another man died have appeared in Oxford Magistrates' Court. Paul Anderson, 33, of Abingdon Road, Oxford, and Lee Pullen, 32, of Saxton Road, Abingdon, are accused of conspiracy together

  • Chance to nominate your top local bobby

    NEIGHBOURHOOD bobbies across the county will have the chance to be recognised in the Community Policing Awards 2015. The award means residents can nominate an officer, staff member or volunteer who has made a difference to their community over

  • Two men arrested over vehicle interference in Wallingford

    TWO men from Oxford are in custody after being arrested on suspicion of vehicle interference. Police said two men were seen having broken into a vehicle at 2.20am yesterday in Wilding Road, Wallingford. A 27-year-old was arrested on suspicion

  • Failed approach

    Sir – High energy bills are a big problem for many people locally, especially at this time of year. 1.6 million children in the UK live in fuel poverty, and this winter one older person will die of cold every seven minutes. Meanwhile the Big Six energy

  • Honours are overdue

    Sir – This will be the last opportunity for me to write to your readers about medal awards for surviving members of Bomber Command before this Parliament ends on March 30. One of my late colleagues aged 93 died unexpectedly in hospital on March 17.

  • Spiritual science

    Sir – Mr Surman (Letters, March 19) challenges my use of the word ‘pornographic’ to describe the Charlie Hebdo cartoons. Well, when I go to the ‘Google Images’ search engine on the internet and type in ‘Charlie Hebdo Cartoons’, the first one to

  • Insults create suffering and cannot be justified

    Sir – In his interesting letter defending freedom of speech, Paul Surman (Letters, March 5) complains that Rowan Williams could only describe the cause of human suffering as “mysterious”. However, it is doubtful if the atheist Stephen Fry’s answer

  • All east-west traffic must be diverted from North Oxford

    Sir – The proposed Northern Gateway development on land enclosed by very busy roads and the soon-to-be-busy railway to Milton Keynes and beyond is understandably causing much local concern. At the Core Strategy Inquiry in 2011, the Inspector said that

  • Ominous views

    Sir – British EU critics comprise two broad categories: the economically anxious group; and the historically conscious group apprehensive of newcomers. Views shared by a rainbow of political mavens. The first group examine things like trade cycles

  • What is privatisation?

    Sir – The Government is busy agreeing huge NHS contracts with private firms while claiming that it is not privatising the NHS. Ian Hudspeth said it again at the hustings at Wesley Memorial Church on March 16 (where he was standing in for the Conservative

  • ‘YoBs’ become writers to reveal Bicester’s best bits

    THEY will happily say they are a bunch of YoBs, but these youngsters are actually working hard to improve life in their town. The group, whose name is an acronym for Youth of Bicester, have been out on the town’s streets to discover what makes

  • Rail failings

    Sir – Having recently travelled on First Great Western trains, I fail to understand how FGW deserve an award for customer service. On an outward journey from Oxford to London Paddington, the one toilet on this train was locked and out of order.

  • Lack of communication

    Sir – Oxford City Council no longer directly informs residents of adjacent planning applications – as Fergus Millar states (Letters, March 19). Lack of effective communication with residents by the city council was clearly identified by the Goodstadt

  • Green Belt car parks

    Sir – Oxfordshire County Council has announced proposals to set up a number of massive new park-and-rides in the Oxford Green Belt. It says that the existing park-and-rides in Oxford should be closed, because they are creating too much traffic.

  • Children losing out

    Sir – We are concerned at the further delay in deciding the planning application for a replacement railway bridge at Aristotle Lane and the much-needed enlargement of the play space for children at SS Philip and James’ Primary School. Phil and

  • Ruining a special place

    Sir – Oxfordshire County Council has realised that Oxford has a traffic problem -- that is the good news. The bad news, however, is that one of their proposals for easing congestion involves building a road over the golf course in Headington, and

  • Logical lack of lights

    Sir – Isn’t it wonderful how well the traffic is moving around Frideswide Square since the traffic lights have been removed while the improvements are in progress. No more is the backlog in St Giles, Beaumont Street, Worcester Street and Hythe

  • Tons of roadside litter

    Sir – With the long-delayed awakening to the fact that litter is a dreadful problem in this country, can we now expect local authorities to clear the verges? On a recent trip by bus from Oxford to Bicester to visit family, I was appalled to see

  • Drain on communities

    Sir – In the current furore (supported mainly, I suspect, by construction companies), the role of second homes is hugely underestimated. There were over 245,000 of them in the UK in 2009. More now, I suspect. They drain local communities and do

  • Litter on the A34

    Sir – This major trunk road, and other routes in to Oxford, is a disgraceful mess of accumulated debris these days. Can we please be told through your paper who, in authority, is doing what and when to address this deplorable situation? We have

  • Solar surprise

    Sir – What a surprise it was to see the headline of the article Solar panels to be removed after complaints on page 25 (March 12). We should laud the council for every effort they make to use renewable energy, so it’s difficult to understand why they

  • Leave panels in place

    Sir – It is a shame that Friends of Old Headington cannot see that solar panels far from being an ‘eyesore’ are the future for local, sustainable energy generation in the 21st century (Solar panels to be removed after complaints, March 12). According

  • Plan to cause chaos

    Sir – Oxfordshire’s Local Transport Plan is currently out for consultation. It includes a very instructive diagram on page 26 illustrating the main road network in the county. Roads are coloured according to the degree of congestion in the morning

  • Wonderland parking

    Sir – In your report (March 19) on the catastrophic parking situation at the Headington hospitals, you quote a joint city and county council statement as justifying their refusal to allow further parking facilities on the grounds that ‘Extra car parking

  • Road needed to link A40 to the John Radcliffe

    Sir – Your front page article (March 19) highlighting the problems of non-staff parking at the Oxford University Hospitals Trust is appropriately placed as a major issue affecting Oxford. Not only is it a waste of the public’s time, but leads to

  • Sparrow stays at top as 2,000 join birdwatch

    RESULTS flew in from across Oxfordshire for this year’s RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch, with the rising number of volunteers as striking as that of the birds. A total of 9,511 people in the county, up from 7,808 last year, lent their eyes for an hour

  • Subsidising landlords is not popular with most

    DAVID Cameron deserves at least half a cheer for transferring the revenue saved by housing benefit cuts to working families. To get three cheers, Mr Cameron would have to restore the Fair Rent Act that worked well for 80 years and would save the

  • What does PM think of new hospital food plan?

    I THINK the people of Witney should be aware of NHS proposals (i.e. the Government) regarding catering provision at the Witney Community Hospital. It is proposed to close the hospital kitchen and provide chilled readycooked meals which would

  • This road is now a nightmare for residents and users alike

    A RECENT edition of the Oxford Mail had four articles about our roads, one of these saying that the Oxfordshire County Council is “anxious to keep transport moving”, which the other articles proved was a problem. Headley Way is a nightmare for

  • So why didn’t Labour save the health service?

    WITH reference to Councillor Tanner’s letter (March 20), can he prove that the Labour Party can save the NHS beyond all reasonable doubt? I doubt it. If it could, they would have during their 13 years in office between 1997 and 2010. Instead

  • Privatising the post has meant it’s gone haywire

    WE ARE often told by Conservative and Lib-Dem MPs that privatisation would deliver better and more efficient service to the public. The recent privatisation of the postal service organised by the Lib-Dem MP Vince Cable for the coalition Government

  • The old style shops had better customer service

    AFTER almost a month of trying to buy a freezer, I wonder why none of the vacant shops in Witney have turned into an electrical dealer? We are swimming in coffee shops, shoe shops, opticians etc but we seem to have lost many independent traders

  • Pupils get first look at new technical college

    PUPILS joining a new University Technical College in Didcot have visited for the first time on a tour around the campus as it takes shape. The £10.5m specialist college, on the Great Western Park estate, will become the county’s first UTC, providing

  • New signing Kyle Vassell keen to give Oxford United a boost

    KYLE Vassell is hoping to end the season with a bang – by scoring goals and firing Oxford United to safety. The 22-year-old joins the U’s on loan from Peterborough on a deal until the end of the season. Vassell signed on a day that saw three

  • Merlin helicopters leave RAF Benson to head for new Navy home

    SIX Merlin helicopters left RAF Benson yesterday and headed to a naval air base in Somerset. The move was part of an ongoing transition, as the RAF hands over the Merlin HC Mk3 and Mk3A helicopters to the Royal Navy, with 78 Squadron formally disbanded

  • Missing girl Jennifer Moore found safe and well

    A BICESTER teenager reported missing has been found safe and well, police said this morning. Jennifer Moore, 15, went missing after last being seen in Headington at 11.45pm on Wednesday. Police appealed for help to locate Jennifer - who previously

  • Exhibition highlights ‘18th century Spitting Image’

    IF YOU were a fan of Spitting Image you will love a brand new exhibition at the Ashmolean Museum which pokes fun at the great and good. The show, Love Bites: Caricatures by James Gillray, which opened yesterday marks the 200th anniversary of the

  • FIXTURES March 28 - April 3

    SATURDAY FOOTBALL SKY BET LEAGUE TWO Oxford Utd v Carlisle Utd. VANARAMA CONFERENCE NORTH Hednesford Tn v Oxford City. EVO-STIK SOUTHERN LEAGUE Premier Div: Banbury Utd v Paulton Rov. Div 1 South & West: Cinderford

  • SNOOKER: Trafford secures a final spot for Kennnigton

    Mark Trafford clinched a last-frame decider as Kennington Social Club triumphed 4-2 away to Oxford Bowls Club A in the semi-finals of the Gentworks Oxford & District League’s Sherlock Cup. With the sides locked at 2-2 and the aggregate scores

  • RUGBY: World Cup trophy set to pay visit to Oxford

    OXFORDSHIRE RFU chairman, Paddy Gregan, says having the World Cup Trophy visit Oxford is a great opportunity for the county. The sport’s biggest prize, the Webb Ellis Cup, will be at St Hugh’s College and South Park on August 22-23. Its arrival

  • COMMENT: Council has failed to heed lessons

    LESSONS have been learnt was the repeated phrase after the Serious Case Review over Operation Bullfinch. But it is hard to believe they have when the county council has dismissed the notion of an independent review before anyone has barely had

  • New Thai restaurant to spice up the job market

    A CITY centre restaurant premises which has previously offered Cajun cooking, pizzas, and ribs will soon be serving up Bangkok street food – as well as an estimated 70 new jobs. Thaikhun will be opening in George Street on a site that has changed

  • Michael Appleton on the up in manager listings

    INCREDIBLY, Michael Appleton is now exactly halfway on the list of long-serving Football League managers. Following Shaun Derry’s dismissal as Notts County boss on Monday, the Oxford United head coach has been promoted to 36th on the 72-man list

  • RUGBY: Relegation looms for battling Oxford Harlequins

    OXFORD Harlequins face relegation from National League 3 South West when they take on Exmouth tomorrow. If Quins lose and Old Redcliffians beat Barnstaple, their fate will be sealed. They are currently seven points adrift of safety. Ollie

  • Oxford United give backing to footgolf

    OXFORD United fans are being encouraged to try something a little different with the launch of a footgolf course. Hinksey Heights Golf Club’s latest addition will open on Saturday, April 4, with United’s support. A charity tournament will be

  • Is anyone in county older than me? asks Doris, 105

    THERE’S a lot you can fit into 105 years. And no one knows that more than Doris Field. The Witney grandmother turned 105 on November 9, last year, and now this incredible lady wants to know if she has any rivals for the top spot in Oxfordshire

  • Building designs gain eco awards

    THE creators of two Oxford buildings have been honoured for their energy-efficient and sustainable approach to construction. Pembroke College’s 2013 extension and the British Gas building on the Oxford Business Park have been commended for their