Both Wantage Town Council and Wantage Chamber of Commerce have highlighted significant concerns around the county council’s plan to improve the local market square.

In particular they have flagged the removal of car parking spaces, with the scheme also set to make more space for markets and events, and new and improved bus stops.

READ MORE: ‘Significant issues’ flagged amid Oxfordshire market plan

Following an emergency meeting last month, the Chamber of Commerce said its members have a number of issues with current plans.

Businesses at the western end have questioned how day-to-day servicing would work in practice and whether the current proposals could unintentionally create difficulties for deliveries, loading and unloading arrangements and access for suppliers.

Richard Shepherd, president of Wantage Chamber of Commerce (Image: NQ)

In addition, further issues have been raised following the county council’s separate proposals relating to additional parking restrictions and residents permit schemes in central Wantage.

Combined with the loss of parking through the Market Place project, businesses are struggling to understand how reducing parking and introducing further restrictions around the town centre aligns with the wider objective of supporting a thriving high street.

Richard Shepherd, president of Wantage Chamber of Commerce, said: “Wantage has a successful and vibrant town centre because it remains accessible and serves not only the town itself but many surrounding communities.

Wantage Market Place (Image: Oxfordshire County Council)

“We welcome investment and improvements, but there is understandable concern when businesses see multiple proposals emerging which appear to restrict access and reduce parking provision.”

This comes after the town council also cited “reservations” with the plans, while asking to meet the county council following the end of the current consultation on July 8, something the local authority has agreed to do.

Mayor of Wantage Iain Cameron (Image: Facebook)

A spokesperson said: “We remain committed to promoting enhancements which will make this vital commercial area even more attractive and accessible for residents and visitors, and where businesses can thrive.

“The final consultation version of Oxfordshire County Council‘s plans are a radical approach to delivering this, but we have reservations relating to a number of significant issues.

“In particular the impact of the proposed bus gate, the effect on bus routes, the loss of disabled and very short-term parking and the impact on businesses for delivery and collection of goods.”

Councillor Gareth Epps (Image: Councillor Gareth Epps)

The cabinet member for transport said they want to hear views and concerns before designs are developed.

READ MORE: Urgent business meeting on Oxfordshire market place plan

Councillor Gareth Epps added: “We share an ambition which the proposals currently out for consultation are designed to deliver — more space for markets and events, new trees and planting, improved bus stops, improved loading facilities, and a safer, more pleasant environment for everyone who uses the town centre.”

The Liberal Democrat added: “We will take on board the feedback from this period of consultation, working together with the town council and other local groups to create a scheme that works for the whole community.

“The consultation runs until 8 July 2026, and I encourage residents and businesses to have their say.”

A county council spokesperson added: “A controlled parking zone was introduced in the central area of Wantage in 2023 following requests from the local member, the town council as well as residents. We are now moving on to the second stage, again requested by residents, and supported by the Town Council and local member.

“The scheme has a number of elements, including changing from single yellow lines to double yellow lines, mainly for safety concerns and to also avoid divers obstructing the very narrow carriageways of central Wantage.

“We are also introducing some new areas of residents’ permits bays to enable residents to park near their homes. It is more common that shoppers and commuters try to find places to park all day, quite often at the expense of the residents who live in properties without off-road parking.

“There are numerous options for parking in the Wantage area including Mill Street Undercroft and Portway car park which offer one hour’s free parking Monday-Saturday and free parking all day on Sunday.

“With regards to the Wantage Market Place project, following the consultation process, we will review the designs to ensure a holistic approach.”

SOFIAH NICHOLE SALIVIO

News Editor

Rock Solid Knowledge has launched Open.IdentityServer, a free open-source identity platform for Microsoft .NET users.

The launch follows the commercialisation of a previously free identity security platform used by thousands of organisations. Open.IdentityServer is intended to give those users an open-source alternative built from the IdentityServer4 codebase under the Apache 2.0 licence.

Identity software underpins sign-in systems, access controls and application authentication. Open.IdentityServer is aimed at developers and organisations running .NET applications that need OpenID Connect and OAuth 2.0 support for token-based authentication, single sign-on and API access control.

The earlier free IdentityServer community was used by up to 10,000 organisations. Rock Solid Knowledge has long contributed to that ecosystem, and its founder, Andrew Clymer, decided to fork the project and maintain a separate open-source version.

The new platform is intended to keep the core software free, while optional commercial products, services and support generate revenue around it. Rock Solid Knowledge has also published a manifesto setting out how it plans to run the project.

The manifesto says the core platform will always be free and open-source, commercial offerings will remain optional and help finance the free core, and the community will have a voice in the project’s direction.

Open.IdentityServer is being maintained in a public repository with documentation and community contributions. Version 1.0.0, the first release, was published earlier this month.

Rock Solid Knowledge has worked in several open-source software communities, including IdentityServer, OpenIddict and Umbraco. The business was founded in 2009 and has a 22-strong development team in Bristol.

Until this year, it was also the official European support partner to Duende IdentityServer. That background gives the company a direct link to the software lineage behind the new project and to users looking for continuity after licensing changes in the market.

The move also reflects Rock Solid Knowledge’s wider positioning. The company became a certified B Corporation in 2023 and said supporting an open-source identity platform aligns with its view that technology should serve people as well as profit.

A central issue in the identity software market is how open-source projects are funded once adoption grows. Some vendors move towards commercial licensing to fund development and support, while parts of their user base look for low-cost or free options that can still be used in production systems.

Open.IdentityServer appears to target that gap. Rather than charging for the core platform, Rock Solid Knowledge is separating the free software from paid support and related services, a model used elsewhere in open-source software.

For organisations already using .NET, the launch may offer a familiar way to maintain existing sign-on and access management systems without switching to a different architecture. For developers, the practical question is whether the project can sustain updates, support and community involvement over time.

Clymer set out the company’s rationale in a statement on the launch.

“We’ve worked in the IdentityServer ecosystem for more than a decade, and we know how important it is for teams to have a dependable open-source option. Open.IdentityServer is our commitment to keeping that option available, supported and genuinely free at its core. This is not a short-term initiative; we are here to invest in the platform, protect it and grow it,” said Andrew Clymer, founder of Rock Solid Knowledge.

SOFIAH NICHOLE SALIVIO

News Editor

Norton has added its Genie scam detection tool to Anthropic’s Claude, making scam checks available across all Claude tiers.

Users can now analyse suspicious emails, text messages, links and images within a Claude conversation by turning on the Norton connector. The tool assesses whether content appears safe, risky or fraudulent and can also provide general cyber safety advice.

The move extends Norton’s recent push to place its scam detection technology inside mainstream artificial intelligence assistants. Earlier this year, Norton introduced Genie to ChatGPT, and the Claude launch adds another large consumer AI platform to that effort.

Scam detection has become a growing use case for AI assistants as consumers increasingly ask chatbots to assess whether messages, offers or requests are genuine. The service is designed for common situations such as package delivery texts, account suspension emails, suspicious links and online offers.

How It Works

Within Claude, Norton Genie reviews the broader context of a message rather than isolated keywords. The system examines language patterns, urgency cues, impersonation attempts, requests for sensitive information and other signs of social engineering.

It also analyses URLs and domains by expanding links, inspecting destination sites and evaluating trust and reputation signals. Based on that review, the service tells users whether to avoid replying, not click a link or delete a message.

The integration also reflects a wider shift in how cyber security companies are trying to meet users where online decisions are made. Instead of asking people to switch apps or use separate websites, this model places fraud checks directly inside the conversational tools many people already use to evaluate information.

That approach matters because scams now appear across a broad range of digital settings, from text messages and social platforms to online marketplaces, dating apps and fake customer support exchanges. The rise of AI-generated material has added another layer of difficulty by making fraudulent content more personalised and convincing.

The launch also sits within Norton’s broader consumer safety business under parent company Gen.

“AI assistants are becoming part of how people make decisions and evaluate information online,” said Travis Witteveen, Head of Products and Portfolios, Gen. “People are already asking AI tools whether something feels legitimate, suspicious, or safe to engage with. By bringing Norton Genie into even more AI platforms like Claude and ChatGPT, we’re making trusted Cyber Safety intelligence available directly in those moments to help people make more confident decisions in real time.”

Everyday Use

Norton framed the Claude integration around routine consumer questions rather than specialist security tasks. Its examples included checking whether a missed delivery text is legitimate, whether an urgent account warning is real, whether a link looks suspicious and whether an online offer may be a scam.

That everyday positioning is important for AI platforms trying to broaden practical use beyond writing, search and coding. It also gives cyber safety providers a route into daily consumer interactions at a time when phishing and impersonation fraud continue to evolve.

Norton’s anti-scam systems already support millions of people across products in the Gen portfolio. By moving Genie into Claude, Norton is widening access to that intelligence without requiring users to leave the assistant interface.

The launch adds to competition among security companies and AI platform providers to build trust features into consumer-facing services. As assistants are used more often to assess messages and links, integrations like this suggest scam screening may become a standard function rather than a separate security step.

In Claude, the service can review suspicious emails, texts, messages, images and links and provide “clear, easy-to-understand guidance directly in Claude, explaining why something may be risky and what steps to take next, such as avoiding a reply, not clicking a link, or deleting the message altogether.”