Local News

Water testing and other explorative work revealed the water wasn’t coming from a burst pipe A suspected leaking pipe on a Banbury road has turned out to be a natural spring.   Local people had contacted Councillor Mark Cherry – the Oxfordshire County Councillor for Banbury Ruscote – after water appeared across Orchard Way. Both Oxfordshire […]

Across the country council debt is increasing New figures show that West Northamptonshire Council’s debt rose by more than £90m over a twelve-month period up to the end of the last financial year. Data from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government shows the council’s borrowing reached £679m by the end of 2024-25 – […]

Water is at historically low levels at the canal feeder reservoirs Water levels at the three reservoirs which feed into the Oxford Canal have fallen to historically low levels leading to boat users having to remain where they are, with all locks closed on the waterway between Claydon and Aynho.   The closure will remain in […]

A campaign has been launched to help repatriate them to their native Poland Two of the people killed in a helicopter crash on the Isle of Wight yesterday were a couple who lived in Bloxham. 52-year-old Justyna Czoska and 49-year-old Wojtek Kowalkowski were killed when the aircraft they were in “spiralled” onto a field.   One […]

A number of conversions of pubs to residential properties have been submitted in recent months An application to convert Little Bourton’s only pub into a house has been lodged with Cherwell District Council. The Dirt House on the Southam Road closed last November.   Formerly known as the Plough, the pub had reopened in March 2019 […]

The attack happened on August 11 A man from Kidlington is wanted by police in connection with the rape of a teenage girl in Banbury on Monday August 11. Twenty-three-year-old James Doran is known to frequent the North Oxfordshire and South Warwickshire areas.   He also has links to Hillingdon in London and Leicestershire. Doran is […]

“The thought of this being next to us is terrifying” Following the High Court decision earlier this week forcing the government to remove asylum seekers from the Bell Hotel in Epping, West Northamptonshire Council has confirmed action is underway to take similar legal and planning steps in their area. In a statement issued yesterday council […]

“The thought of this being next to us is terrifying” by Nadia Lincoln, Local Democracy Reporter The Council has further delayed making a decision on plans for a biogas plant in rural Northamptonshire, despite outcries from neighbours who claimed they had already “suffered over three years of life-changing uncertainty” from the project. Developers Acorn Bioenergy […]

The age limit will also be reduced from 25 to 21 by Esme Kenney, Local Democracy Reporter The number of beds available for homeless young people leaving the care system has been cut by Oxfordshire County Council. The council has approved the plan to reduce the number of beds by 20 per cent and reduce […]

Its GCSE results day and around our area students have been collecting their results… BGN At Blessed George Napier Catholic School 83 percent of students gained at least a Grade 4 or above in English and 80 percent achieved at least a Grade 4 or above in Maths.  Seven out of ten achieved a Grade […]