Oxford News
Oxford: 330 home £100m development gets the green light
Oxford City Council’s cabinet approved the £97.6million scheme at a meeting on Wednesday (March 18), giving the go ahead to progress the major development of affordable homes.
With a total of 331 homes going to be built on the Sandy Lane Recreation Ground in Blackbird Leys, chosen for position next to the upcoming Cowley Branch Line development, the council has agreed the football pitches used by local clubs will be relocated.
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Councillor Linda Smith, cabinet member for housing and communities, said at the meeting that building on the recreation ground is ‘not something to be taken lightly’.
She said: “There’s a strong case for development there because of the reopening of the Cowley Branch Line and the citing of the new station, but what we need to be absolutely clear about is that the football pitches on the site, which are well-used by local teams at weekends, they will be re-provided.
“No housing development will take place on this site until those pitches have been re-provided and they’re up and running and in use by those teams.
“I’m determined, as a cabinet member but as a local Blackbird Leys councillor as well, that we don’t just re-provide those pitches, but the local teams affected, the Greater Leys football club and the Blackbirds football club, they get improved facilities – an enhancement of the facilities for their teams to enjoy.
“We can’t say that enough.”
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The plan is to relocate the four football pitches from Sandy Lane to Herschel Crescent Recreation Ground, 150 metres away, with newly-built changing facilities and storage.
They will proceed any housebuilding and are expected to be useable by summer next year.
Alongside the relocation of the existing pitches, the city council is ‘exploring’ the delivery of an additional pitch at another council-owned site.
Built on council-owned land by OX Place, the wholly council-owned housing development company, more than 800 new residents are expected to be housed including 300 children, and with reallocations of existing stock, the knock-on effect is expected to be felt by 1,200 people.
Council officer Dave Scholes, the corporate lead on affordable housing supply, said: “The numbers really start to multiply out, and you can see the impact on people’s lives.”
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The council plans to work ‘closely’ with the developers of the Cowley Branch Line to deliver the scheme in phases, which includes a central boulevard and station square with direct links to the new station ‘Sandy Lane, Blackbird Leys’ via a footbridge over the railway.
The development will also link directly to the Oxford Arc Business Park in Cowley for easy access to employment opportunities.
Approval was given at the cabinet meeting for the grant project, including the £97.5m budget, and for the legal and planning processes to bring the site forward to be started.
Susanna usually presents the breakfast time show alongside the likes of Ed Balls and Richard Madeley at the beginning of the week.
However, today she has been replaced by Kate Garraway, who is fronting Monday’s GMB alongside Paul Brand.
It comes as last week, Susanna revealed she will be “taking a break” from the ITV programme until April 13, as she thanked the “incredible” fans.
Good Morning Britain presenters over the years
Why isn’t Susanna Reid on GMB today?
On Friday (March 27), the 55-year-old shared a picture on Instagram posing in a blue and white dress, before her last GMB appearance for the next two weeks.
She captioned the post: “LOVE IT! I am just hopping off for my Easter break – back @gmb on Monday 13th April.
“THANK YOU to all our incredible viewers and guests after another HUGE programme yesterday – with increases in viewers and share of viewing year on year.
“We love what we do and we love that even more of you love it too!”
One viewer replied in the comments: “Have a great holiday.”
Another wrote: “Have a lovely Easter break!”
Along with guests such as Kwasi Kwarteng, Kate and Paul are discussing today’s news headlines until 10am, such as the “deadly risks” of corridor care and hospital overcrowding in England, as well as fuel shortage concerns.
Another major story making headlines on GMB this morning is about a guest at a Travelodge who was sexually assaulted by a man, who had been given a key card to her room by the hotel’s reception.
Plus, Kate told viewers she has found frog spawn in her garden pond and was looking for advice on how to care for them, including joking about “bottle feeding them if I could”.
Recommended reading:
Some were left confused about the topic being featured on GMB, as someone put on X: “Frogs? Is this a news programme or not? #GMB.”
This person said: “Had a mental image of Kate bottle feeding tadpoles since 6:15 Hows your Monday going ?”
Are you watching Good Morning Britain on ITV1 today? Let us know your thoughts on the show in the comments below.
Didcot Town FC sent out a reminder yesterday (Saturday March 28), that its event today (Sunday, March 29) has been cancelled.
The show was billed as an afternoon with “three Leeds United Legends… Gordon Strachan and Mel Sterland and Jon Newsome”.
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Mr Strachan is perhaps the best known of the three having also managed Southampton, Celtic, Middlesbrough and Scotland.
To be held at the football club, its description said: “A night you don’t want to miss.
“Filled with historic stories from the lads at their time at the club, funny inside memories and much more.”
However, the event was cancelled and Didcot Town said that despite its request for tickets to be taken off sale by TD Promotions, they were still showing as on sale yesterday.
Today, the event is listed on TD Promotions’ website as being ‘sold out’ and does not mention that it has been cancelled.
A statement from Didcot Town Football Club said: “The Gordon Strachan, Mel Sterland and Jon Newsome event at Didcot Town this Sunday has been cancelled.
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“Despite our request for tickets to be taken off sale by TD Promotions, they are still showing as on sale.
“TD Promotions have said they will be in contact with everyone that bought a ticket next week to sort out refunds.
“Any issues contact didcotmedia@gmail.com and I will give you their details.”
Didcot Town welcomed former Leeds United strikers Jermaine Beckford and Luciano Becchio in September 2025 for an event through TD Promotions.
Didcot’s event featured an auction and raffle, with comedian Jed Stone as the compere and saw a turnout of around 200 people.
This followed on from other high profile events at the club over the past two years which includes the late boxing legend Ricky Hatton and former England footballer Paul Gascoigne.
Thames Valley Police said on Saturday morning that its investigation continues after a duo were arrested on Thursday, March 26 across the county border from Oxfordshire in Berkshire.
A 27-year-old man and a 28-year-old woman from Slough were arrested on suspicion of murder and grievous bodily harm.
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The force said both adults had been released on conditional police bail “pending further enquiries”.
The arrests come after a child “sustained serious injuries” and “tragically passed away in hospital”, according to Detective Inspector Nick Hind from the Major Crime Unit.
The detective said the force’s enquiries are “still at an early stage” and acknowledged the incident is likely to cause “significant concern” in the community.
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