As the EHRC Code of Practice comes into force, we’ve compiled a new Oxford toilet guide highlighting unisex/gender-neutral provision. 38 facilities across the city for when you need to go. Read it here: oxfordclarion.uk/oxford-publi...

Oxford public toilets: Where to go when you need to go

We are all the Clarion – and, sometimes, we all need the loo. And especially if you're pregnant, have an unreliable postnatal pelvic floor, are looking after children, or just need to spend a penny wi...

oxfordclarion.uk

190 homes are proposed for the West Oxfordshire village of Bampton, off Mount Owen Road. Anwyl Homes say the development would have “extensive public open space” with a footpath/cycleway green corridor through the site. An outline application is with West Oxfordshire District Council.

The leadership of the RMT rail union have rejected the latest plans to get trains running from Oxford to Milton Keynes. They say Chiltern Railways’ recruitment of Customer Service Inspectors to carry out guard-like duties is “an abhorrent attempt to undermine the safety-critical role of the guard”.

No to driver-only operations on Chiltern

RMT has rejected plans to introduce Driver Only Operation (DOO) on the new East West Rail line following confirmation that Chiltern Railways intends to operate services on the new route without a seco...

rmt.org.uk

A 65-year old cyclist has died after a road traffic collision on Iffley Road at 11pm yesterday. A 21-year old man has been arrested on suspicion of death causing dangerous driving. Police are appealing for witnesses and dashcam footage of a grey Volkswagen Golf.

As balance to the other post that is doing numbers on our feed... Bishops Court Farm in Wallingford has announced the birth of Franklin the baby alpaca. He’s apparently "curious, excitable, and loves zooming around the alpaca field!"

HAPPY HENS #NiceThings

Mary@yersin.bsky.social · 18h ago

I’m one of the volunteers with BHWT. All my chickens are from there. ❤️

South Oxfordshire District Council has £270,000 available to support community projects in this year's Councillor Community Grant Scheme, launching 17 August. Previous projects supported include mental health support groups for children, sporting equipment & solar panels for community buildings.

A new state-of-the-art asphalt plant has opened in Yarnton. The plant was originally established to provide a dedicated supply of asphalt for work on the M40 between Junctions 8 and 15, but is improved and expanded to serve Oxfordshire and surrounding counties' road building and maintenance needs.

Didcot's Cornerstone Arts Centre is to install 56 solar panels and four air source heat pumps, removing the old gas boilers - an estimated saving of 55 tonnes of carbon dioxide each year. The work is expected to be complete by the end of the year.

Construction work on Banbury's Cherwell Street bus service improvement project is complete. Changes aim to improve bus travel by alleviating congestion, as well as make it easier for people to walk to bus stops, shops, businesses and the rail station. news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/banbury-bus-...

Oxford City Council is reminding residents and visitors to the city's open spaces in the current warm weather to dispose of their rubbish, particularly in Port Meadow. In recent years, two cows, including a seven-month-old calf, died after eating plastic bags, balloons and other discarded rubbish.

Richard Ovenden, head of Oxford's Bodleian Libraries and author of 'Burning the Books', reports that Russian missiles hit the warehouse of his Ukrainian publisher Ranok for a second time on Sunday. His book will now be distributed electronically instead. www.instagram.com/p/Dbm_8_WDtNj/

Richard Ovenden on Instagram: "Devastated for my Ukrainian publisher @ranok_vydavnytstvo whose warehouse was hit by the missiles of Russian aggressors for a second time on Sunday- destroying millions ...

65 likes, 6 comments - richard_ovenden on August 4, 2026: "Devastated for my Ukrainian publisher @ranok_vydavnytstvo whose warehouse was hit by the missiles of Russian aggressors for a second time on ...

instagram.com

It's been a while, and you've all filled our inbox.. Let's see what news appeared while we were at work...

Night Shift Crew Neon Sign - Rayinthecity

Alt: Night Shift Crew Neon Sign - Rayinthecity

static.klipy.com

Have you got the heart to save a hen? The British Hen Welfare Trust is (BHWT) looking for homes for 173 ex free-range laying hens, and is holding an urgent rehoming event in Didcot, on Sunday August 16th. Register by 2pm Friday August 14th on bhwt.org.uk/hen-adoption

Leaders of flag-raising group Raise the Colours Oxfordshire placed trackers on highway workers’ cars to find out their home addresses, the High Court has heard. RTC then attempted to intimidate the highway staff into no longer removing flags by repeating their addresses to them.

Silly season? Oxford’s news never stops. In today’s newsletter: 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Raise the Colours’ campaign of intimidation 🚍 More buses after Botley Road reopens 🔥 Oxfordshire firefighters tackle wildfires 🔨 Last orders at 16th century ironmongers Join thousands of subscribers: oxfordclarion.uk/the-clarion-...

The Clarion, 4 August 2026

We're doing a rain dance. You? While we wait for some sorely needed water, here is some news, not all of it cheerful. Including less than savoury details about Raise the Colours; celebrating Oxford Ci...

oxfordclarion.uk

Trains from Oxford to Didcot and Paddington are being disrupted due to leaves on the line, except in this case the leaves are still attached to the tree. One line is still passable, but Network Rail warns disruption will be long-lasting since “the trunk has become entangled in lineside equipment”.

England's children's social care system has reached crisis point, but poverty, not asylum seekers, is to blame, says a University of Oxford study that has interrogated 50 years of data. www.ox.ac.uk/news/2026-07...

Councillors in southern Oxfordshire say they want to “provide trans and non-binary residents of our district reassurance that they will not be discriminated against in the provision of council services”, with resolutions at July meetings of both South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse councils.

The Botley Road rail bridge project is back on track*, with gas company SGN today having completed their pipe repair works and left the site. Three leaks had been unexpectedly discovered in a gas pipe at the site. The reopening date has been confirmed as 20 September. * famous last words

The Government is being asked to contribute £8m to repair Donnington Bridge. Buses & HGVs have been unable to cross the bridge since significant deterioration was found two years ago. Oxfordshire County Council is bidding to the Government’s Structures Fund, and will contribute further funds itself.

A plan for 95 new houses on the edge of Bloxham, near Banbury, has been turned down. Cherwell District Council planners said it “would result in an urbanising form of development and the permanent loss of open greenfield land in a prominent location at the entrance to the village”.

The Witney to Chipping Norton bus is going hourly, seven days a week. The X9 service currently has two-hour gaps in the afternoons and on Sundays. Thames Travel will take over the route from sister company Pulhams on 30 August, with financial support from Oxfordshire County Council.

Residents in Marston, Oxford, are petitioning Oxfordshire County Council & the bus companies for better bus services: there is currently no public transport from Marston to the train station, Headington & Summertown, with long delays & disruptions on the two existing bus services.

Sign the Petition

Better buses for Marston, Oxford.

change.org

Today is Swiss National Day and Lincoln College is flying the flag in honour of its late alumnus the Marquis de Amodio, who endowed scholarships for Swiss students. Applications close at the end of the month. www.berrow-society.org

A pipe organ dating from 1876 is being installed at St Barnabas’ Church in Jericho. Built originally for Bargeddie Church near Glasgow, it is being combined with pipework from Bow Common in London by Henry Willis & Sons Organ Builders, the firm that built the original instruments.

Five female councillors unveiled a plaque yesterday commemorating the first woman elected to Oxford City Council. Mary Sophia Merivale served as councillor for North ward from 1907 to 1918. (Some women had been able to vote in local elections since 1869.) www.oxonblueplaques.org.uk/plaques/meri...

Mary Sophia Merivale: Oxfordshire Blue Plaques Scheme

oxonblueplaques.org.uk

A landlord renting out a property on Headley Way, Oxford, has been fined over £23k after failing to license a rented property which was also damp, mouldy, electrically faulty, cold, and in disrepair. www.oxford.gov.uk/news/article...

Some of the fire engines on Port Meadow just now for a fire on the nature reserve at Burgess Field @oxfordclarion.bsky.social

Thames Valley Police conducted a road safety operation at The Plain and in Headington yesterday. 38 Traffic Offence Reports were issued including 10 for using a mobile phone while driving, 2 no insurance offences, and 1 number plate offence.