TALKING benches, greener gardens and ubiquitous Wi-Fi are all set to come to Headington after a local community group agreed the projects.

Headington Neighbourhood Forum voted to support a number of schemes aimed at improving the area at a neighbourhood forum annual meeting held on Saturday morning.

At the meeting members agreed that four projects would be pursued as part of their Neighbourhood Plan, and that they could now seek funding from Oxford City Council to realise the schemes.

The group were able to bid for a number of projects after completing a Headington Neighbourhood Plan, which was approved by Oxford City Council last year.

Chairman of Headington Neighbourhood Forum Patrick Coulter said: “It shows that the community, if they work together, can do pretty much anything.

“This is how we are trying to engage with the community, and it shows that you can do far more together than you can on your own.”

The projects which have now been given the blessing of the forum include Greening Headington which aims to improve the gardens and greenery of the area through a number of smaller projects to increase biodiversity and extend green corridors.

Another project is the ‘Hear in Headington’ scheme which will provide specially designed listening benches along London Road and Bury Knowle Park which will provide audio information on the local area.

Wi-Fi across the whole of Headington is another project which was agreed by members to ensure access to the internet in all corners of the area east of the city as well as more fitness facilities for Headington.

Now that the individual projects have been decided for the area Oxford City Council will now be requested to release funding to support the plans.

Mr Coulter added: “We now feel that we have this purpose and we are able to produce the kind of Headington that people would like to see.”

Despite agreeing the projects, however, he added that volunteers were still needed to realise some of the schemes and to help improve the community of Headington for other residents.

He said: “We do need volunteers to come and help us with all of these projects.

“We will be looking for people to come in and get involved, and we are looking for people who have expertise with these projects.”

Anybody wishing to get involved can contact the Neighbourhood Forum by e-mail at headington.action@gmail.com.

The Neighbourhood Plan was first touted by the Neighbourhood Forum in 2015 before the final version was put to the public in a referendum which passed on May 4 2017.

When the Plan was finally approved by the city council in July last year Mike Ratcliffe of the forum said it would give Headington ‘a strong local voice’ in planning for the city’s future and growth.