City Council election results 2008
One seat on each of the six wards in the North-East area committee was contested at the local election on 1 May.
Four out of six councillors stood for re-election, but three of them lost their seats to Labour (which will form a minority administration in Oxford as there is no overall control):
- Churchill: Claire Kent (IWCA) lost to Mark Lygo (Labour)
- Marston: Caroline Van Zyl (LibDem) lost to Beverley Hazell (Labour)
- Quarry & Risinghurst: Tia MacGregor (Conservative, formerly LibDem) lost to Laurence Baxter (Labour)
- Barton & Sandhills: Patrick Murray held seat for LibDems, winning by four votes
In the following two wards, the party remained the same but the councillor changed following the resignation of Stephen Tall and Tony Gray:
John Goddard resigned as leader of the LibDem group on the city council, and was succeeded by Headington city councillor David Rundle.
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4×4s targeted in Headington
Tyres were let down in Grays Road, Jack Straw's Lane, Southfield Road and Staunton Road in Headington and Ferry Road, Nicholson Road and Raymund Road in Marston in the week ending 19 July 2008. Notes were left on the windscreens explaining how Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs) emit up to 300% more greenhouse gases than the average car.
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Another Blue Plaque for Headington
A Blue Plaque on the Kilns in Risinghurst, C.S. Lewis's former home, was unveiled on Saturday 26 July.
The only other Blue Plaque in Headington is on the site of the Red House at 72 Old Road, once the home of Professor Gathorne Robert Girdlestone.
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C.S. Lewis Holyoake Road house sold
According to the "Our Property" website, 14 Holyoake Road ("Hillsboro"), where C.S. Lewis lived with Mrs Moore before moving to The Kilns, sold for £1,600,000 on 2 May 2008.
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EF Language School
Work began in 2008 on new buildings for the EF language school in Pullens Lane, which had
three sets of plans approved:
(1) to partially demolish the Isis Building
and erect a new entrance, lecture theatre, student accommodation
building, and central link building (approved).
(2) to erect a two-storey building to provide
28 student study rooms (pending)
(3) to demolish the current JCR and erect a
two-storey building incorporating teaching accommodation and
ancillary facilities (approved)
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Barton Village Road plan rejected
An application to demolish a stone cottage and replace it with 2×two-bed semi-detached dwellings was rejected on 4 July 2008.
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New homes in Bateman Street
Building on the site in Bateman Street formerly occupied
by garages and the ends of the gardens of 52, 54, 56, and
58 Windmill Road is now complete.
Crampton Smith Developments have built two three-bedroom
houses to the east of the site, and four two-bedroom
and 2×one-bedroom flats to the west. All of the flats
were reserved before the foundations were even laid.
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Oxclean
At least ten groups in Headington took part in Oxclean on the weekend of 15/16 March.
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Archbishop at All Saints funeral
The Archbishop of Canterbury read a eulogy at the funeral of the wife of the Vicar at All Saints Church on Monday 23 June 2998.
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Fish & chip shop fire
Fire crews were called to "Posh Fish" on the London Road at 8pm on Monday 11 February 2008 following a fire in the deep-fat fryers.
In 2002 there was a similar fire in this shop (which was then called the Mediterranean Fish Bar), resulting in closure for over three months. The current fire does not appear to have been as serious.
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Easter sofa-sit
Seven members of staff at the Britannia Inn on the London Road took part in a sponsored sofa-sit from noon on Good Friday to noon on Easter Sunday 2008. They were raising money for “Against Breast Cancer”.
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Tree-felling
Work started on 24 July 2008 on felling trees in Bury Knowle Park. Seventeen trees have been felled for safety reasons.
Twelve trees in Headington Hill Park were felled in early July 2008. The Creation Theatre Company used the trees as benches for the audience for its two-month run of A Midsummer Night's Dream, which ended on 13 September.
The following planning application was also approved: "Temporary use of land from June to September 2008 for the siting of various structures including a catering marquee and logs for seating in connection with a 'promenade' theatre production. Temporary use of the 'Dairy' building for toilets and storage".
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Late postal collection abolished
On Monday 21 April 2008, the last collection of post from Headington Post Office was changed to 6pm from 7pm. |
Black Boy
The Mustard Group did not renew their lease with the brewery, Greene King, and the Black Boy gastropub closed on 15 July 2008, but reopened within two days of its closure with an interim manager.
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Chequers reopened
The Chequers pub in Headington Quarry reopened on Saturday 12 April 2008.
It was bought by the landlord of the Red Lion in Old Marston, Steve Jenkins.
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Kitten Club robbed
On Saturday 7 June 2008 at 10.30pm a gang armed with knives robbed the Kitten Club massage parlour in Cherwell Drive. Four months earlier on Saturday 2 February it suffered a similar attack.
On 21 July the Kitten Club moved to central Headington.
Two other brothels in the Headington and Marston area were closed down this year. The "Venus massage parlour" which operated near St Michael's Primary School at 230 Marston Road was raided by police at noon on Tuesday 8 April; and another brothel in All Saints Road was raided by 17 officers at 2pm on Friday 1 February.
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Headington Festival
The 2008 Headington Festival was held on Sunday 1 June in Bury Knowle Park
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Conservative Club
Headington Conservative Club on the corner of Windmill Road and Bateman Street was refurbished in June 2008.
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Palm "Saturday" procession
More than 110 adults and children took part in the Headington procession on Saturday 15 March 2008 from All Saints Church to a service in Bury Knowle Park.
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Helicopter lands in park
The police helicopter encircled and eventually landed in Bury Knowle Park at around 7pm on Saturday 12 July 2008. It is understood that a young woman had collapsed in the park, but that her exact location was unknown.
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Latin in South Park
Two groups met in South Park between April and July 2008 to learn Latin: one on Thursdays at 12 noon, the other on Sundays at 2pm.
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Chimney demolished
A 30-metre chimney that has stood at the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre for 53 years was felled at 9.15am on Saturday 2 February.
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Takeaway appeal dismissed
On 17 January 2008 the Planning Inspectorate dismissed
an appeal by Mohamed Garni of Mojo's Sandwich Bar at 123 London
Road against the city council's decision to refuse permission
for change of use of its premises from retail (Class A1) to
hot-food take-away (Class A5).
The Inspector concluded that the proposal was contrary to
RC4 of the Local Plan and harmful to the vitality and viability
of the Headington District Shopping Centre, and that the same
would apply if the appellant sought a change of use to A3
status (hot-food dishes to eat in).
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Ramsay Road arson case
The two teenage boys convicted at Oxford Crown Court of arson being reckless as to whether life was endangered were sentenced at Reading Crown Court on 11 July 2008. They have avoided a prison sentence, but have to pay £5,000 each in compensation, undertake 540 unpaid hours of work between them, and observe a night-time curfew for six months.
The severe fire in a house in Ramsay Road was caused by a firework being set off through the
letterbox at about 1am last Halloween night (31 October 2007).
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