The city council has decided to allow some grass verges to remain uncut for most of the year in the interests of bio-diversity. There has been a mixed response to this policyt. The streets in Old Marston affected are:

Cherwell Drive

Marston Ferry Road

Lonsdale / Marston Ferry Track

Marston Road All

Old Marston Road/ Oxford Road

Marsh lane.

You can find out more by going to their website:

Grass cutting initiative aims to increase the Oxford’s biodiversity | Oxford City Council

• The County Council are proposing to develop back lane should the developments at Hill View Farm and Almonds Farm be approved. Scheme ambition: Retain a green infrastructure corridor and provide a wide, traffic free route for walkers, riders, cyclists, scooters and skateboarders.
  Work required: vegetation clearance to facilitate machinery access, drainage including the creation and digging out of current ditch network, excavation of path tray and sub base surfacing. Installation of KBI Flexipave or similar free draining resin-bound
  surface suitable for all users. You can find out more at https://www.oxford.gov.uk/info/20066/planning_applications/328/view_and_comment_on_planning_applications – reference 20/03034/FUL – document “Oxfordshire county council – one voice – cyonev” dated 26th March 2021 page 7

• 20/03034/FUL – link to planning application and documents
• The submitted plan for the building of 159 dwellings and demolition of historic barn have been approved by the City Council Planning Department. There are questions the need to be answered about how the construction traffic will access the site, provision of local services such as shops and a bus turning to allow public transport to the site.

In view of the proposed developments both within Old Marston and nearby, the parish council is looking at setting up a neighbourhood plan in response. You can find out more about neighbourhood plans here: ONPA – Oxfordshire Neighbourhood Plans Alliance

Plans have now been submitted: ref 21/01217/FUL  – Erection of 80 residential dwellings (use class C3) formed of 13 one-bedroom apartments and 28 two-, 35 three- and 4 four-bedroom houses with associated public open space, access and landscaping. Deadline date for consultation is 11th June. Almonds Farm, Mill Lane, is owned by Oxford City Council. The development have been approved in the Oxford Local Plan. https://www.oxford.gov.uk/land-west-of-mill-lane

The Oxford Preservation Trust has created a number of walks around Oxford. You can find out more on their website here: Oxford Preservation Trust | Guardians of Oxford since 1927

There is a consultation just opened looking at the proposal to link Oxford to Cambridge by rail. To find out more and to have your say: Share Your Views – East West Rail Consultation.

Old Marston Library will reopen for specific services from 19 April.  Although closed for browsing, it will offer click and collect, reservations and returns. More information can be found at their website: Old Marston Library | Oxfordshire County Council

Oxfordshire County Council is proposing to make amendments to the Traffic Regulation Order (TRO). Deadline is 15:00 16th April 2021. Follow this link to the consultation: Consultation Homepage – Marston North Area (Oxford) Administrative Amendments to Controlled Parking Zone (CPZ) – Oxfordshire County Council Consultation Portal

Oxford’s proposed Zero Emission Zone (ZEZ) pilot has today been formally approved by the county council’s Cabinet for launch in August. The scheme can proceed after it was approved by City Council’s Cabinet last week as the joint partner in the scheme. https://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/zezpilot-approved-by-cabinet/

The Local Transport and Connectivity Plan (LTCP) is the County Council’s long term countywide transport strategy. The plan also takes into account the strategy for digital infrastructure and for connecting the whole county. The vision sets the direction for transport in Oxfordshire and outlines a clear long-term ambition for transport to 2050. The policies and transport schemes included in the LTCP document will all be aligned with the Vision. To find out more just click on this link: Consultation Homepage – Local Transport and Connectivity Plan – vision consultation – Oxfordshire County Council Consultation Portal

The City Council is updating its Statement of Community Involvement (SCI). This document sets out how and when they will involve different groups, organisations and our communities in the planning process. The document must be used when they prepare and consult on their planning policy documents including the Local Plan, and it explains how they will involve people when they assess and decide on planning applications for new development.

You can view the draft SCI here: https://www.oxford.gov.uk/sci

You can have your say here: https://consultation.oxford.gov.uk/planning-services/sci-consultation

The public consultation will run for six weeks, ending at 23:59 on (6^th May 2021).

This is a small piece of land off Butt’s Lane next to Buswell Mobile Home Park. It was designated in the Local Plan for future development of 39 dwellings. There will be a public consultation before plans are submitted later this year.

This is a proposed development of about 750 dwellings on land owned by Christ Church College on land north of Bayswater Brook in the greenbelt. Although outside the parish, it would impact greatly on the parish. The Parish Council is currently having meetings with the PR company representing the developer as a key local stakeholder. This is part of the South Oxfordshire Local Plan 2035

• South Oxfordshire Local Plan – link
• South Oxfordshire Infrastructure Delivery Plan – link
• Bioabundance – a local pressure group opposed to the development – their website
• Detailed information on Headington website: Land North of Bayswater Brook (headington.org.uk)

Latest legislation and current rules on what you can and cannot do during the pandemic: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/national-lockdown-stay-at-home

Information about possible Covid-19 Vaccination Scams: https://news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/scammers-target-residents-with-promise-of-covid-vaccine/

Enshrine in law all brown field sites to be fully developed within a 25 mile radius of green belt or farmland before any development is allowed on non-brownfield land. Ensure in law the democratic wishes of local residents and local authorities as a precedent and limit ministerial powers to suit. Find out information on Parliament website here.

“Help reverse the serious decline in swift numbers. Oxford Swift City Group is recruiting volunteers to survey swift nest sites in Oxford City this summer. Just one hour twice a month during May, June and July. Training will be provided. Contact [email protected] if interested.” Thanking you in anticipation, Colm Ó Caomhánaigh. Joint Coordinator, Oxford Swift City Group

Oxfordshire County Council are aiming to be Carbon Neutral by 2030 with their Climate Action Framework: 2020 Climate Action Framework (oxfordshire.gov.uk)

The Department for Transport has licenced in the Oxford area on a trial basis the use on the public highway of e-scooters being used as part of an approved rental scheme. The initial trial area will cover the Headington and Marston areas of Oxford. To find out more and to have your say (deadline 13th August 2021) visit the consultation page: Consultation Homepage – Headington & Marston Area (Oxford) Experimental Traffic Management (E-scooter Trial) – Oxfordshire County Council Consultation Portal

The County Council are promoting Street Tag as a way of encouraging personal fitness. Find our more here: https://streettag.co.uk/

As I write this, it is almost exactly two years to the day that I moved back to Oxford and started work on The Swan School – Oxford’s first brand-new secondary school for over 50 years.  At that time, sitting on my own in the offices of the River Learning Trust with just a piece of paper to start planning, it was hard to imagine what the school would be like when it finally opened. Indeed, I think it is fair to say that I would have had to have supernatural powers in order to predict quite how everything has unfolded for the school over the intervening months and years!  Yet, despite the challenges, The Swan has made such a strong start and I am so grateful for the hard work that all of our staff, students, and families have put into making our school a success that all of our community can be proud of.

There has been so much to celebrate since September 2019 when our first group of ‘cygnets’ first walked through the gates of our temporary site. Right from the start, student attitudes to learning were exemplary and they demonstrated their determination to achieve ‘more than they ever believed possible’.  Everyone in our school community got involved in choosing the names of our four houses – Yousefzai, Berners-Lee, Bannister, and Hawking – named in honour of individuals with a connection to our city who have embodied our school values. We enjoyed getting to know each other more informally through our ‘elective’ programme of enrichment activities and educational visits, celebrating student success as part of inter-house (and inter-school) competitions and our first Christmas Carol Concert (held at Trinity College chapel).

Then, just as we were getting into the swing of things, the first national lockdown was announced and, having been open for only just over half an academic year, The Swan was forced to close its doors to the majority of our students.  Since then it has been a year like no other as we have successfully got to grips with teaching remotely, welcoming children back safely during a global pandemic, and setting up a Covid mass-testing system.  Amidst all of this, we have also moved into our new home in Marston and kept calm while operating a school on a building site due to inevitable virus-related delays!  We have even managed to launch our fantastic new sixth form, despite not being allowed to have any visitors onto site!

Despite all of these difficulties, however, we remain resolutely optimistic.  Now, as we look forward to lockdown restrictions starting to ease over the coming months, we are excited about the opportunity to embed our school at the heart of our community.  As soon as we can, we will invite our neighbours into our new buildings to showcase both the new facilities our young people are already enjoying and the parts of the site that are available for community use, ranging from the excellent sports facilities to the drama studio and beyond. We are also looking forward to our students getting out into the community to help make it better in whatever way they can. We hope this will include working with Marston Community Gardening group, joining litter picks, forging links with the elderly in our community and working with local businesses. If you have other suggestions for community action we would love to hear from you. We are immensely proud of what we have managed to achieve so far, and hope to become a school that the whole community can be proud of.

Kay Wood

Headteacher