A North Hinksey man has issued another urgent appeal in his bid to secure public rights of way status for two paths on the floodplain between North Hinksey and South Hinksey and near The Fishes pub.

‘Bulstake Path’ and ‘Cable Road’ in Hinksey were previously permissive paths between 2000 and 2011 which means they are private land but the landowner voluntarily allows it for public use.

But the landowner reportedly issued a declaration that unless the path can be shown to be public, it will no longer be accessible for anyone.

In 2024 campaigners collected 63 evidence statements from people who used the path for 20 years.

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The group collected an additional 11 evidence forms, seven of which showed the person had used the path for the full period of 1980 to 2000.

In March the council’s draft decision revealed the path would not be a right of way despite 36 people using the path before 1999.

Now, campaigners are trying to reach more residents to gather more evidence the path has been well used over the years.

If successful, the paths would be legally protected so landowners could not block or build across them, joining existing rights of way such as Willow Walk and another route from The Fishes pub towards Osney Mead Industrial Estate.

However, if the bid fails and people don’t come forward to say they used to walk on the path decades ago, the community would lose a pathway that is frequently used.

Olly Glover, MP for Didcot and Wantage (Lib Dem), is set to present a petition on Monday, May 18, calling on the government to “restore” the Post Office.

The branch, located about a mile south of Didcot, was thrown into the lurch after a decision to close it was made “without informing” the volunteer-run community shop where it was based.

Residents were made aware in March.

In a situation previously described as “farcical”, by Sally Barksfield, chair of the East Hagbourne Community Shop Committee, the operation of the branch was advertised in the village to be run under a ‘local model’.

MP Olly Glover with post office campaigners (Image: Olly Glover)

Sally said: “This meant we lost the community grant, which supported a dedicated Postmaster.”

It would mean the non-profit community shop would have to take on the management and up to 70 per cent of the staffing costs for the Post Office.

The community shop is the only retailer in the village other than a pub.

The Post Office branch previously ran under a ‘community model’, where about half of the costs were covered by a government grant.

On advertising the ‘local model’, Blair McDougall, minister for small business and economic transformation, said: “I recognise how important a local Post Office can be for a community, especially for elderly and vulnerable customers.

“I am also aware of the strength of feeling locally, not least given the Post Office’s relationship with the community‑run shop and the role both play in village life.”

For Mr Glover, this solution does not resolve the situation.

He stated: “Over the last week, East Hagbourne Community Shop and I have been working hard to collect signatures for my parliamentary petition.

He added: “You can still sign the petition at the community shop this weekend.”

MP Olly Glover in the community shop (Image: Olly Glover)

The MP’s petition has around 70 handwritten signatures, a requirement for parliamentary petitions is for them to have wet signatures or handwritten signatures.

There is also an online petition on the issue being run by the community shop volunteers, which over 1,000 people have signed.

The community shop also shared a message about the parliamentary petition on social media.

It said: “Even if you have already signed the Shop’s own petition, Olly could use every one of our signatures to show our support in front of Parliament!

“Thank you for your support for our fight to restore local access to this critical service!”

BBC Studios, the corporation’s commercial production arm, is understood to be drawing up plans for a revival.

The long-running motoring series is expected to make a comeback in 2028 after being shelved in 2022.

Filming was suspended following a crash in which presenter Mr Freddie Flintoff sustained serious injuries.

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Mr Clarkson starred on the show for several years, forming a famed trio alongside Richard Hammond and James May, before all three presenters exited the show in 2015.

The Clarkson’s Farm star has now spoken on the upcoming remake for the first time since the news broke, with quotes published this afternoon (Friday, May 15) in The Times.

A relaunch could attract viewers if handled in the right way, according to the TV host, but he suggested he would not be among those watching.

Mr Clarkson said: “It will work if they do it right. There is an opening for someone to review electrical cars because no one really understands them.

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“I’m not going to watch it, but there are lots of people who do want to know about all these Chinese cars because it’s all completely changing.”

The 66-year-old added that it would be a bold decision for the broadcaster to return Top Gear to its original format.

This being a review-based programme, before Mr Clarkson played a key role in turning it into a major entertainment show.

He added: “They should do it as a consumer programme, which would be quite a ballsy thing to do because no one wants to go back to the Seventies. Like What Car magazine on television.”