The planned annunal OxClean litterpick planned for  13th March has been postponed until later this year. The Oxford Civic Society who co-ordinate the city-wide event are awating government guidelines before going ahead with the event.

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 and to have your say just click on this link: Consultation Homepage – Local Transport and Connectivity Plan – vision consultation – Oxfordshire County Council Consultation Portal

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

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.

Latest on what you can and cannot do during this lockdown: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/national-lockdown-stay-at-home

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 new Meadowbrook College is now complete. Demolition of the old Meadowbrook is now complete, with the removal of the foundations, concrete slabs and tarmac now complete. Work will commence to new Muga pitch week commencing 8^th Feb with completion by 22^nd April. The Swan School final sectional handover (north and east blocks) will be 22^nd February, with any snagging works to complete.

Temporary Road Closure and “No Waiting” restriction at Oxford, A4142 Eastern Bypass Junction with A4074/A4142 to junction with Horspath Driftway (southbound only). A temporary Notice is being made to implement the temporary closure and will operate from 11 April 2021. The anticipated completion date is 21 April 2021. The works will run overnight from 20:00 to 06:00 for a maximum period of 5 nights within this period. You can download the following information: Notice of Closure, Map one, Map two.

Oxfordshire County Council have issued a response to the proposed development at Hill View Farm. You can view their response here.

The national Census will take place on Sunday 21st March 2021. You can find out more on the Census 2021 website: Census 2021

The Ramblers Association searched all of England and Wales and found over 49,000 miles of paths that could be lost forever. Identifying them is just the start of a long process to put them back on the map, and they need to prioritise, research and apply for the paths to be restored before 2026. To find out more and to get involved vist their website: Don’t Lose Your Way (ramblers.org.uk)

A response to the Government White Paper on proposed changes to the planning system by CPRE: A joint vision for planning, 2021 – CPRE

The South Oxfordshire Local Plan has been passed by South Oxfordshire District Council. This could potentially impact on the Marston. For more information: https://www.southoxon.gov.uk/…/our-forthcoming-local-plan/

The planning application for Hill View Farm Development has now been submitted. To view the application reference: 20/03034/FUL: 20/03034/FUL | Demolition of Existing Buildings and construction of 159 dwellings, associated roads and infrastructure, drainage and landscaping | Hill View Farm Mill Lane Marston Oxford Oxfordshire OX3 0QG

In addition to the 153 proposed dwellings at Hill View Farm in Mill Lane, there is also a proposed development of 79 dwellings at Almonds Farm, a piece of land owned by Oxford City Council which is also on Mill Lane and next to Hill View Farm. Both developments have been approved in the Oxford Local Plan. The consultation has now finished but you can find out more information by following this link: https://www.oxford.gov.uk/land-west-of-mill-lane

Residents are urged to be on their guard against scammers using the promise of a coronavirus vaccine to con them out of money. To find out more information follow this link: Scammers target residents with promise of Covid vaccine (oxfordshire.gov.uk)

Oxfordshire County Council have a live dashboard with up-to-date information regarding Covid-19 cases in Oxfordshire: https://phdashboard.oxfordshire.gov.uk/

The Parish Council receives a lot of local news from various sources, sometimes we are the first ones to receive this information. This could be a local event, a planning issue, local news or urgent information. If you would be interested to be added to our email list so you can receive news as soon as we receive it then please email the clerk: [email protected]

All the information you need to get walking in beautiful Oxfordshire: Oxfordshire walks to download and print FREE! | Walking in England

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

Oxford Zero Emission Zone Pilot Formal Consultation: Oxfordshire County Council, with support from Oxford City Council, is formally consulting on final proposals to introduce a Zero Emission Zone Pilot deadline 17/01/21 Consultation Homepage – Oxford Zero Emission Zone Pilot Formal Consultation – Oxfordshire County Council Consultation Portal

Covid Winter Grant Scheme – Department for Work & Pensions On Sunday 8 November 2020, the government announced a package of extra targeted financial support for those in need over the winter period. This includes the £170 million COVID Winter Grant Scheme, which will be made available in early December 2020 and covers the period until the end of March 2021. DWP will provide the grant scheme funding to county councils and unitary authorities who will administer the scheme and provide direct assistance to support families with children, other vulnerable households and individuals. The grant will be used to support those most in need across England with the cost of food, energy and water bills and other associated costs.

COVID Winter Grant Scheme: guidance for local councils – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Solar powered street lights have been installed in School Lane, Mortimer Hall Recreational Ground and Boults Lane Recreational Ground. We were denied a request to have street lights installed along Elsfield Road by Oxfordshire County Council’s Chief Engineer. However as an alternative we have been offered the option to have solar powered studs installed into the path itself to mark out the path and improve the safety of pedestrians. We are currently waiting for the County Council’s legal team to draw up an agreement that will allow us to install the lights. As soon as this is done then they will be installed.

Thames Valley Police have started a campaign to encourage better cyber security. To find out more just follow this link: https://rlsd.co/p/QF1kKQ

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

The local plan has been approved by the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government and passed by the City Council. The are three sites in the Old Marston Area that have been designated for possible development. For more details please follow this link.

To find the latest government guidelines – just visit their website

Guidelines from Oxfordshire County Council: The number of corona virus cases has been increasing in East Oxford. The County Council have issued some guidelines: https://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/council/coronavirus-covid-19/controlling-local-coronavirus-outbreaks