Jack Straw's Lane Association

 

 

 
 

 

 

'Help for Haiti' Coffee Morning
 Saturday morning, 23 January

Scout Hall, Marston Road

 

Sale of cakes raised £420, including £63 from a cake sale run by Hamish McMichael at his work. Every penny will go to Haiti, as the Scout Hut managers waived the normal fee.

The money is being paid to the Disasters Emergency Committee, which is made up of several NGOs. 

 

 

Useful links  Newspapers, TV, travel, free telephone directory enquiries, post code finder and a lot more.

 

Met Office weather forecast  for Oxford

 

All UK sunrise / sunset times

 

Oxford Airwatch - information on current air pollution in Oxford

Current public consultations

Planning applications

 

Marston Cycle Path  - information is posted by users during very wet weather on whether the track is passable

 

 

Traffic/Weather Conditions on motorways and major A-roads at Traffic England

 

 

Police - local website

Thames Valley Police websites have been greatly improved.  There are now neighbourhood ones - see

Thames Valley Police - Marston neighbourhood


There is a single number to ring for all non-emergency contact with the police. 

Contact our Neighbourhood Specialist Police Officer for Marston, PC 5901 Jon Shaw on 0845 8 505 505.   Calls to this number will be immediately routed to PC Shaw, if he is on duty.  At other times calls may be dealt with by an ansaphone.

The local police e-mail address is:

MarstonNorthway@thamesvalley.pnn.police.uk

You can provide the police with information anonymously by calling Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. 

Crimestoppers are NOT part of the police.  They are an independent charity working to fight crime by passing on to the police information that's been given to them anonymously.   If you call them, you will not be asked for your name, address or phone number.   You will be given a code number to quote, in case you wish to call them again to give further information.  You will not be obliged to sign any kind of statement or appear in court.

 

Lost & Found Dogs

 

To report a stray dog call Oxford City Council during office hours on 01865 252 887 or 01865 742 138 out of hours.  For further information, follow link above.

 

If you have concerns about a dog or its owner, report it on 08458 505 505 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Concerns about animal welfare should be directed to the RSPCA on 0300 1234 999 (24 hours).

 

Gas leaks

If you smell gas and suspect a leak, call National Grid, gas and emergency services on Freephone, 0800 111 999.  Keep a note of this number where you can easily find it.  You are advised to use a telephone outside your home, if the leak is inside your house.

Please do call this number if you suspect a leak.  

 

Last updated  7 February 2010

 

 

 
 

 

Lots of interesting local news on
Stephanie Jenkins's
Headington website

 

Oxford Core Strategy 2026

Mr David Fenton, the Planning Inspector appointed to examine the Core Strategy at the hearing in June and July 2009, retired at the end of October that year.   Prior to his retirement, Mr Fenton explained in a letter to Oxford City Council that he was suspending the examination until legal challenges to the South East Regional Spatial Strategy (which had substantially influenced the determination of the Core Strategy) had been concluded.

Mr Stephen Pratt was appointed as Mr Fenton's successor.

Continuation of the Core Strategy Hearing - 2010
Due to the adverse weather, the Procedural Meeting, due to take place in January, was postponed until Tuesday, 9 February 2010, and will start at 11 am in the Assembly Room, Oxford Town Hall.

The City Council has now produced its response to the points raised in statements to the Procedural Meeting and a list of the changes that would need to be made to the Core Strategy, should the South of Oxford Strategic Development Area (SOSDA) be deleted from the South East Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS), as a result of the current legal challenges to the RSS.

Core Strategy - Core Documents

For notes on the 2009 sessions of the Core Strategy Hearings that dealt specifically with a) student accommodation and b) the Natural & Built Environments, click here.

 

Oxford Brookes University

New moves to clamp down on student 'ghettos': Oxford Times article, 4 Feb 2010

 

Oxford Brookes University 'buys' two Community Support Officers (PCOs) to patrol its campus: Oxford Times article 4 Feb 2010

 

New Student Centre
(Now referred to as 'New Library & Teaching Building')

Revised Plans


The latest version of the plans - December 2009


Previous amended version (the dotted line above
the building indicates the height of the original version)

Comments can be submitted via Oxford City Council's planning website: search for Application Number 09/02764/FUL The official deadline for comments was Thursday, 21 January, but the City Council's planning website indicates that comments will still be accepted.

This application is on the agenda for the North East Area Committee meeting on Tuesday, 16 Feb.  It is likely to be referred at that time to the Strategic Development Control Committee, which is due to meet next on Wednesday, 24 Feb.   Therefore, if you wish to comment, it would be wise to do so via the City Council's planning website, as soon as possible.

JSLA did not initially intend to submit comments on this new application but eventually sent a letter after further examination of the details of the new plans led to the conclusion that a reduction in the height of only part of the fifth level would not materially alter the overall impact of the building on its nearest neighbours and on the Conservation Area.   To see the JSLA letter, click here. 

The letter sent by Oxford Civic Society gives a good summary of what continues to be of concern to local residents.

Headington Hill Residents' Association and Divinity Road Residents' Association joined forces to produce an Outline for Objections, in which they give the reasons for their continued opposition to the plans for the new student centre.

Brookes held a public exhibition of the new plans on Friday 4th and Saturday 5th December in the Buckley Building, Headington campus.  Details of the proposed changes, with links to the exhibition boards, are on the Brookes website

See BBC article, 18 December

For information on the history of this planning application, click here.

 
 

 

Wildlife

has a separate page - click here

 

New Marston Wildlife Group AGM
Wednesday, 24 Feb, 7.30 to 9.00 pm

Scout Hut, Marston Road
(corner with William Street)

All welcome - no need to be a member

 

Further information on the AGM
and the history of the NMWG

 

 

Website

Latest Newsletter

 

Refuse and Recycling

 

 

Collections are now back to normal

 

Wednesday, 10 February 2010

Blue wheelie/box  / green BAG

 

Wednesday, 17 February 2010

Green wheelie / green BOX

 

 

 

For information on reycling, including composting, see the

refuse/recycling webpage

 

BRITA waterfilter cartridges can now be recycled
 They can be dropped off at Argos or Robert Dyas and also at Tesco (Superstore, Cowley Retail Park, only), as well as at other shops in this area.
 

BUT please DON'T put them into your blue box/wheelie.

 

 

Small Electrical Items:

Don't want to go all the way to Redbridge to deposit them? 

Curry's will accept them in their larger stores (they haven't got a lot of storage space for this in their Oxford City Centre store) and will send them for recycling, even if the products have not been bought at Curry's.   Batteries  (not car batteries) can also be deposited at Curry's shops (including the Oxford City Centre shop) for recycling.

By 2010 Oxford City Council has to reduce the amount of refuse it sends to landfill by 60%; after that time, it will incur a penalty of £150 for each tonne over the new limit.

At present 60% of rubbish that goes to landfill could be recycled.

It takes 24 trees to make just 1 ton of newspaper.

 

History of
Jack Straw's Lane

Stephanie Jenkins has a page on the history of the Lane on her excellent Headington website - click here.  If you have any interesting information to add, Stephanie would be very pleased to hear from you.   She can be contacted via the link given on her JSL history page.

 

Headington Farmers' Market