A new premises licence application was submitted to Oxford City Council for the shop at 15-16 Broad Street in the heart of the city.

The site is currently the headquarters for Footprints Tours, a popular walking tour group which operates the shop as a ‘tourist information’ centre in the city.

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The named business of the applicant for the premises licence is Footprints Tours itself, which is based in Henley.

It proposes opening a business called Roll and Bowl cafe in the Broad Street shop.

The premises licence indicates opening hours of 9am to 7pm Monday to Saturday, and 10am until 6pm on Sundays.

It requests a licence for the supply of alcohol between 10am and 7pm every day of the week.

The licence application is open for consultation on the Oxford City Council website until May 13.

James Edwards, originally from Carmarthen, is taking on the London Marathon to raise awareness and funds for Cure DHDDS, a charity supporting families affected by a rare neurological disorder.

Cure DHDDS supports those living with a mutation in the DHDDS gene—affecting fewer than 70 people in the world and causing progressive neurological decline from infancy.

Professor Edwards, who works at the University of Oxford’s Nuffield Department of Orthopaedics, Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Sciences, said: “This marathon place is a rare opportunity for the charity, and I wanted to do everything I can to make it count for them.”

Affectionately nicknamed the Plodding Professor, Professor Edwards has turned his preparation into a series of increasingly ambitious challenges that always ends with a pudding. He said: “Some traditions must be preserved.”

His efforts began with a 6km Inklings Challenge, connecting the graves of authors J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis in Oxford.

He added: “Running between the tombstones of literary giants felt like a good way to add a bit of narrative tension to my training. If Frodo could walk 1,800 miles, I felt I could at least manage a bit of Oxford.”

Professor Edwards joined Instagram to share his journey and raise awareness—something he describes as nearly as challenging as running itself. Despite the humour in his posts, he is clear that the struggles faced by families living with DHDDS are far more serious.

The charity, Cure DHDDS, was founded by a London family after two of their children were diagnosed with the condition. Due to its rarity, there is limited research and few resources available to affected families.

Professor Edwards said: “DHDDS families have felt abandoned by the system. Many feel incredibly isolated and frightened for their loved ones’ future.”

His training has included a variety of themed runs, such as the College to College Plod through all 44 Oxford colleges, a riverside Top of the Thames run, and a 15-mile Plod to Blenheim Palace—his version of the marathon’s Buckingham Palace finish.

He quipped: “Fewer crowds, more sheep. Felt a bit like home.”

He has also taken on a four-minute mile challenge on the track where Roger Bannister broke the record in 1954. He continued: “Simply finishing without being overtaken by a brisk walker would count as progress.”

Professor Edwards’ journey is part of a larger effort to raise awareness for the rare disorder. Supporters can follow his marathon preparations online as he runs across Oxford and beyond.

The incident occurred on Friday, April 10, in Goose Green park in Wolvercote, Oxford, at about 7pm.

Thames Valley Police said the man was seen lying on a bench in the park while ‘touching himself inappropriately’.

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The force has now launched an investigation into the indecent exposure and is asking for any witnesses to come forward.

The man is described as approximately 5ft8ins tall with black hair and black facial hair, and was wearing black tracksuit bottoms and a black rain jacket at the time.

Police are asking witnesses to the incident to come forward (Image: Newsquest)

PC Holly Field said: “I am appealing to anyone who witnessed this incident or may have information that could assist our investigation to contact Thames Valley Police.

“Anyone with information can call 101 or make a report via our website, quoting reference number 43260174816.”

It comes as the second appeal for an incident of indecent exposure in Oxford this week and the third in the county.

READ MORE: Cyclist ‘exposes himself’ to Oxfordshire child and mother

Thames Valley Police launched a separate appeal for witnesses into an incident in Longford Way, in Oxford, when a man exposed himself after cycling past a woman and her young child.

The same offender then exposed himself to a victim on a cycle path near Didcot later in the day.

Just this morning, police released a statement on an investigation into an indecent exposure incident in Banbury, in which a man exposed himself near a children’s nursery.

All three investigations are ongoing.