Oxford News
Notorious 22,705 ton illegal Kidlington waste dump cleared
The 150-metre-long trail of waste was deposited in a field by the A34 last year, prompting widespread outrage, a criminal investigation and the Environment Agency (EA) declaring it a critical incident in November.
The watchdog has since co-ordinated the clean-up operation, with contractors starting to remove up to 30 lorry loads of rubbish each day in April.
Over five months, teams from Acumen Waste Service removed around 22,705 tonnes of rubbish, with the operation costing an estimated £6 million.
They dug up and shifted waste including tyres, shredded plastic and household waste from an 8,000sq metre area, which is bigger than Wembley Stadium.
Concrete blocks have been placed at the entrance, and the main gate has been securely padlocked to prevent access to the site, officials said.
Oxfordshire County Council described the clearing as “a great relief”. It said: “The news that this huge pile of illegal waste has been removed will come as a great relief to the residents of the Kidlington area and Oxfordshire as a whole.
“Our officers and fire and rescue crews worked closely with the Environment Agency throughout this process, and we would like to thank them for their incredible efforts in cleaning up the site. We believe it was the right decision to fast-track this operation because of the size, scale, and location of the site – next to a river and the A34 – and the dangers and disruption a potential fire there would have created.
“We are also pleased that the government is looking at more effective ways to tackle the organised crime gangs carrying out this illegal waste dumping on an industrial scale.”
The operation comes as part of a wider Government crackdown on illegal tips after a surge in organised waste crime across the country in recent years.
Rogue actors who dump waste illegally or fail to treat it correctly set to face fines of up to £5,000, up from the current maximum of £300. Those responsible for serious offences can already face much tougher sanctions, including prosecution and imprisonment.
Through the EA’s 10 Point Plan on Waste Crime, they will act earlier to address illegal activity and deliver more consistent enforcement action. This includes suspending or revoking permits, making greater use of restriction notices, and naming and shaming illegal waste operators.
Environment Secretary Dame Angela Eagle said: “Communities deserve to be free from the blight of illegal waste dumping, and this clean-up shows we will bring hope back to local residents.
“After years of waste crime being allowed to fester, we are taking decisive action through our crackdown, and cleaning up sites like Kidlington is just one part.
“By putting more officers on the frontline and using drones to catch offenders in the act, we’re putting the criminal gangs on notice that there is nowhere left to hide.”
The EA shut down the Kidlington site in October 2025, with a decision taken on December 11 to clear the rubbish amid the risk of fire breaking out.
There had also been concerns that pollution from the tip could spill into the nearby River Cherwell, prompting officials to install barriers to protect the waterway.
Water quality sampling was regularly taken at the site but found no evidence of a significant impact on the local environment, officials said.
The EA’s criminal investigation has seen four people arrested, although officials said they will pursue those responsible for the money as its investigation develops.
Philip Duffy, chief executive of the regulator, said: “We are very pleased that the clearance of this site has now been completed, and the EA has made a number of arrests as we pursue those responsible for this abhorrent offending.
“Dumping like this needs to be stopped in the first place.
“To do that we are going upstream, removing criminals and corruption from the waste system; improving the exchange of intelligence between agencies; and revoking the permits of those who do not take adequate care.”
Anyone with information on this crime, which may assist the investigation, is being encouraged to call the 24-hour hotline on 0800 807060 or report it anonymously via Crimestoppers on 0800 555111 or their website.
On Wednesday, September 2, it was the Concours judging and private viewings to dominate the agenda for the day.
Twelve Concours classes were held across almost a century of motoring, including The Golden Age of Motoring, 100 Years of Carrrozzeria Touring, La Dolce Vita, 60 Years of the Lamborghini Miura and Passione Ferrari.
Two new classes also made their debut for 2026, Rare Breeds of the Digital Age and Hypercar Heaven, which recognise the growing importance of contemporary performance cars within the international collector market.
Judging will take place across Wednesday and Thursday, with the show field bringing together a 70-strong collection of classics, supercars and hypercars from around the world.
Some of the cars include Aa Maserati 8C 3000, Alfa Romeo Sprint Berlinetta, a one-off Maserati 3500GT Spyder Prototipo by Vignale, a very early Porsche 356 Split Window Coupé, Aston Martin DB3S, Lamborghini Miura P400S, Bizzarrini 5300GT, Ferrari 250 GT Series 1 Cabriolet, Bugatti EB110 Prototype, Aston Martin Valiant Prototype and the extraordinary Bugatti Bolide, one of just 40 produced worldwide.
Helen Pike has decided to step down as Master of Magdalen College School at the end of the 2026/27 academic year, the school in east Oxford announced in March.
MCS is one of the top performing schools in the country, ranking in the top 20 independent secondary schools in The Sunday Times Parent Power Schools Guide 2026.
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The new academic year will start next week, with Ms Pike preparing for one more year in charge before she hands over to her successor, who will take over in September 2027.
The first female Master at MCS, Ms Pike guided the board of governors to one of the most significant decisions in the school’s history, to become fully co-educational from 2027.
While there has been a co-educational sixth form at the school for 15 years, the school last month announced it will become fully co-educational over the coming decade.
Ms Pike said earlier: “I love MCS, and it is a perennial privilege to lead this remarkable school.
“Being Master of MCS is a brilliant job, and I am declaring my intention early in order to give MCS the very best opportunity to find the right Master for September 2027. I shall continue to do all in my power to further the fortunes of this wonderful school until then.
“I look forward to a new phase in my own professional life, one that builds on all that I have enjoyed and achieved in my career during the past 30 years.
“Having encouraged many cohorts of pupils to take sensible risks and to do something creative and different when the time feels right, I am doing just that.”
During Ms Pike’s tenure, MCS has been recognised as a Top 20 Independent School and South East School of the Year by the Sunday Times and won Independent School of the Year for Social Mobility.
Thanking her in his letter to the school community, chair of governors, Bob Price, said earlier this year: “Helen is an outstanding leader and will go with our sincere gratitude and warm thanks for her exceptional headship.
“She will leave the school in excellent shape for her successor.”
Recruitment for a replacement for Ms Pike is now under way.
Last month, Ms Pike congratulated pupils on their “outstanding success” in this year’s A-Level exams, after more than a quarter of pupils (43) achieved three A*s or more and 25 secured all A*s.
In total, 39 pupils from the 2026 cohort are heading to Oxbridge, while 22 have secured places to study medicine.
As part of the school’s expansion plans, MCS is preparing to build a new Science, Library and Partnerships building.
A spokeswoman said the new building will offer an exciting opportunity to reimagine the senior school site as staff look ahead to full co-education.
She added earlier: “With a vision to create a sector-leading science building in the centre of Oxford, the development will enable us to support an ambitious and forward-looking science curriculum, expanding to the emerging and rapidly advancing areas of robotics, AI and Big Data.”
Holding banners which read ‘For f**k’s sake, just stop oil’, the demonstrators took to the road in Parliament Square at noon today (Wednesday, September 2).
This was as Andy Burnham faced his first Prime Minister’s Questions, and many of the protestors glued themselves to the road.
The group demanded that the UK government stop approving all further oil and gas developments, and sign a Fossil Fuel Treaty to stop oil and gas extraction.
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Just Stop Oil say that the police are expected to arrest all those blocking the road, and that one lane has been left free of glued-on action takers to permit access for emergency vehicles.
Andy Burnham is due to make a decision on whether to allow more drilling for oil and gas in the North Sea.
Reverend James Crote, a Baptist Minister and grandfather from Chesterton near Bicester, said: “Today is my grandson’s first birthday. I have to take action for the sake of his future.
The 69-year-old added: “The government has been dilly-dallying about whether to say yes or no to the Rosebank oil field but, if we want a future for our children, there is no choice – it has to say ‘no’.
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“I am here as a Christian Minister because the Church has to speak out and demand that the government stops approving further oil and gas developments now. It’s time for us all to say ‘For God’s sake, Just Stop Oil’.”
Data from the Met Office indicates that 2026 was the hottest summer in UK recorded history, beating 2025, which was the previous hottest summer on record.
2026 was also one of the driest summers on record, delivering record-low food harvests.
Climbing temperatures have triggered wildfires across the country, and national fire chiefs said the wildfire risk facing the UK is “like nothing we have seen before”.
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Taking action, grandmother Victoria Ann Lynch-Staunton from Leamington Spa, said: “What is happening is beyond a tragedy.”
The 71-year-old added: “I beg everyone to join Just Stop Oil or governments will continue to prioritise endless growth and corporate profit over billions of lives – yours and your children.
“Wake up and smell the coffin. It is the responsibility of all of us to act now!”
A Just Stop Oil spokesperson said today: “We are all Just Stop Oil.
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“Every single person who fears deadly wildfires, devastating droughts, and spiralling food shortages is Just Stop Oil.
“The first duty of government is to keep the public safe – but by greenlighting oil and gas drilling, they endanger our survival while corporates and billionaires laugh their way to the bank.
“Every one of us feels alone and powerless in the face of this insanity, but we know there is massive political and public support for our demand.
“So we’re inviting everyone to join us at an online call on 3rd October 2026 – because it’s when we work together that we are powerful and win.”
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