Oxford News
Judge rules ‘no success’ for fight against congestion charge
In October, Open Roads for Oxford Ltd said it would challenge Oxfordshire County Council‘s congestion charge in Oxford by way of judicial review.
But by January, High Court judge Mr Justice Johnson refused permission for the judicial review to go ahead.
Open Roads for Oxford Ltd then asked for that decision to be reconsidered at a short oral hearing, known as a renewal hearing.
This hearing took place on March 24 before Mr Justice Fordham.
He too has thrown out Open Roads for Oxford Ltd’s application and again refused permission for judicial review.
In his reasoning, Judge Johnson said that there is “not a viable claim for judicial review, on any of the grounds put forward” and added: “None of them has a realistic prospect of success.”
Open Roads for Oxford Ltd argued that the council’s decision to introduce the congestion charge was unlawful. The judge considered whether the challenge should be allowed to proceed to a full hearing.
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The judge refused permission for the case to proceed. This means the legal challenge did not succeed at this stage, and the congestion charge remains in place.
Open Roads for Oxford Ltd alleged that the decision to introduce a congestion charge by Oxfordshire County Council was illegal.
It alleged that the consultation was unlawful and that the equality impacts assessment had breached the public sector equality duty.
Judges Johnson and Fordham disagreed with this, both throwing out taking the case further.
Robin Tucker, of active travel group CoHSAT, said: “We are pleased that Justice Fordham has rejected Open Roads for Oxford Ltd request for a judicial review and the people of Oxford can continue to benefit from quicker travel and less polluted streets.
“Open Roads for Oxford Ltd has wasted over £40,000 pounds of its supporters’ money on a case that the judge described as having no realistic prospect of success.
“But more than that, they were promoting a return to congestion and chaos, and ignoring the benefits of congestion and pollution reductions for the 90 per cent of people who visit Oxford’s centre without using a private car.”
Open Roads for Oxford Ltd has been ordered to pay the costs incurred by the council defending this claim, capped at £10,000.
Open Roads for Oxford Ltd said in a statement: We are obviously hugely disappointed that the High Court refused permission, but we are pleased to have brought the case this far, and grateful to all those who supported us.
“We must be clear: the Court did not say the scheme is fair, or popular, or well evidenced.
“What it said – and all it said – is that the Council met the minimum legal threshold required to proceed.
“It has become clear through this challenge that this is a very low bar.
“Most strikingly, the Court recognised that 66% of respondents said there should be no charges at all, and it acknowledged “identifiable weaknesses” in the Council’s own Equality Impact Assessment (EIA).
“It has effectively confirmed that, in law, a council can consult, receive overwhelming opposition, and still press ahead – so long as it has ticked the required procedural boxes.
“That may be lawful, but it is not democratic accountability.
“And, with regard to the EIA, the Court’s conclusion is telling: flawed does not mean unlawful.
“Through this process we have forced greater transparency and clarified, beyond doubt, the limits of the law in holding a council to account.
“In light of that, we now move our focus elsewhere. The fight is not over.
“We will continue to challenge this – publicly, politically, and relentlessly – because Oxford deserves better than policies imposed in defiance of its residents.
“Change will come through the ‘court’ of public opinion, and, ultimately, at the ballot box.
“We encourage all eligible residents to vote in the city council election on May 7th. Though it is the County Council responsible for the decision to press ahead with this scheme, the City Council has allowed this to happen, and we must use every opportunity to voice our discontent with the status quo. The deadline to register to vote is April 20th.
14 pupils from Aureus School in Didcot, Oxfordshire, travelled to Southampton’s Utilita Bowl to watch two ICC Women’s T20 World Cup matches.
They saw New Zealand take on Sri Lanka and England face Ireland.
Rob Hayden, head of PE at Aureus School, said: “The first match was really close, with Sri Lanka hitting a four to win the match in the final over.
“There was a rain delay which delayed the England match by one hour and 30 minutes, but this allowed the group to watch the cricket match under the floodlights, which was a really good experience.
“Having England play well and win, created a special atmosphere at the ground.”
The trip is part of a yearly tradition at Aureus School, which has strong ties to the women’s game through a visiting coach, Queentor Abel of the Kenya Women’s Team.
Mr Hayden said: “We have currently got a coach who comes into school who is a current cricket player for the Kenya Women’s Team, Queentor Abel.
“This showed the students they have a great coach to help them improve.
“We took the group as a trip to inspire the students to play cricket outside of school.”
Aureus School is part of the GLF Schools multi-academy trust.
GK Barry and Reverend Richard Coles appeared on the 24th series of I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here in 2024.
GK and Rev Coles “struck up the best of friendships” while on the ITV reality show, one they have continued outside the jungle.
ITV axes GK Barry and Rev Richard Coles series
The pair had begun work on a new ITV series themed around life and death.
Speaking to Attitude Magazine, GK said: “We are exploring walks of life from two different generations — one from a gay godly man and a gay ungodly woman.
“There are some depressing bits in there, but one thing about me is that I will make a joke about it.”
A pilot episode for the series was filmed last year.
However, the new series has now been axed by ITV, according to The Sun.
An insider said: “There were high hopes for the project because producers were excited by the dynamic between GK and Richard, not least because it seemed to amuse viewers.
“They enjoyed the idea of the wise older man interacting with the streetwise millennial as they explored some pretty deep subjects.
“But after provisional filming took place, it was decided not to proceed with it as a series — much to the disappointment of everyone involved.”
GK had previously said it had been a “dream” working with Rev Coles on the series.
On Instagram, she said: “Working with you has opened my eyes to worlds I’d never heard of or dreamt of before.
“Some of them have been nightmares, but some of them have been dreams — and today has been a dream.”
ITV has been contacted for comment.
Freeview channel axed 2 years after relaunch
Meanwhile, News UK’s live streaming opinion channel, Talk, has been axed as part of the latest Freeview update.
Talk originally broadcast as TalkTV on channel 237 from April 2022, with 24-hour news and opinion programming.
Its most high-profile programme was Piers Morgan Uncensored, which later moved to YouTube, though Channel 5 continues to broadcast highlight segments.
TalkTV was eventually relaunched as Talk, a visual radio stream, on Freeview channel 280 in April 2024.
The change came after the channel struggled to attract viewers and ran up losses for News UK, according to RXTV.
News UK still operates similar visual streams for TalkSport and Times Radio.
Were you looking forward to GK Barry and Rev Richard Coles’ new ITV series? Let us know in the poll above or in the comments below.
The 41-year-old pop icon was due to perform at Werchter Boutique festival in Belgium last night, Saturday, June 28, when the event was unexpectedly cut short.
The festival’s committee decided to end the day’s performances early, at 9pm just after a set from Pitbull, due to a weather forecast of ‘severe thunderstorms from midnight onwards at the earliest’ and a government warning.
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Perry wrote on Instagram: “Sadly my set at Werchter Boutique tonight can’t happen due to a government mandated cancellation because of the incoming inclement weather and crowd safety concerns.
“I was backstage at the show in the middle of hair and makeup when this news was delivered, and they gave me no choice.
“I am just as unhappy as you are. Unfortunately this is beyond my control, but the safety of all 55,000 of you always comes first and foremost.”
The performance was due to mark the popstar’s return to the one-day event held in Belgium’s Festivalpark for the first time in more than 15 years.
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Perry added: “I am sorry I can’t change the weather, and even sorrier that all of us can’t be together tonight. I was looking forward to being back after 17 years, I was even gonna wear the same outfit from that 2009 show again. I love you all, and please get home safe.”
It comes just a week before the star’s next scheduled festival appearance, at the brand-new Blenheim Festival in Wodostock, Oxfordshire, where she is due to perform on July 4.
The current forecast for that date is sunny skies and temperatures in the mid-20s.
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