Crime & Safety
Public Notice Portal adds consultation and archive services
The new PNP consultation function enables members of the public to have their say by providing feedback on individual public notices, which can be accessed by local authorities through a bespoke PNP account dashboard, designed to boost the consultation process.
The dashboard will also give the local authorities and other businesses the means to add data – maps, images, and other information which may be useful to the public – to consultations, strengthening the process still further.
Conducted over the past 18 months by Reach plc, the development was funded by a six-figure grant from the Google News Initiative and continuing support from local publishers.
A fully searchable archive of all the public notices on the PNP has also been created.
Newsquest chief executive Henry Faure Walker said: “We are pleased that the recent Local Media Action Plan from the government explicitly referenced the PNP as a key platform for communities to access public notices, leveraging local publishers’ huge audiences.
“With new funding from the Google News Initiative, we have worked hard over the past 18 months to develop new services for the PNP, which will deepen public engagement with the notices and make consultation easier for local authorities and other organisations.
“All this work depends upon a strong statutory link between public notices and local news media environments.
“It is vital that this link is maintained and strengthened going forward, for the benefit of local communities.”
To promote the new PNP consultation and archive services to local communities, a major advertising campaign funded by local publishers launches today in local news titles across the UK.
Hayley Cochrane, Director of News Partnerships for Google UK and Northern Europe, said: “We are very pleased to support the development of new features for the PNP, which will strengthen local democratic engagement.
“PNP is a fantastic example of innovation from the local news sector, which is finding new ways to serve audiences with local news and information.
“The Google News Initiative is very pleased to support this important work.”
The PNP is an online database for all public notices which appear in printed local newspapers. It harnesses local news media’s massive online audiences – 42 million people every month in print and digital – to deepen engagement with public notices.
News Media Association chief executive Theo Bamber said: “Local news media serve communities by protecting the public’s right to know.
“These titles ensure that vital information about local decisions remains transparent, visible, and open to scrutiny by professional journalists and the public alike.
“The new features on the PNP make the workings of local government more accessible than ever, upholding critical elements of the UK’s social and democratic fabric at a time when this kind of transparency is under threat.”
The number of PNP registered users – who have signed up for alerts about particular types of planning notices, notices relating to a specific geographic area, or to search the site directly – has nearly doubled over the past year and now stands at 43,000.
In addition to creating the PNP, the local news media sector has also boosted public notices by adopting new guidelines to better publicise public notices, including regular editorial coverage in print and digital, and clear signposting in paper.
Crime & Safety
Jeremy Clarkson ‘ignored’ doctor’s advice amid health scare
Lisa Hogan, the partner of the former Top Gear host, commented that he did not follow medical advice after an emergency that saw him taken to hospital.
Towards the end of 2024, the 66-year-old revealed that he underwent emergency heart surgery at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford after suffering pains.
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It would result in him having a stent fitted, says The Mirror, with the medical episode covered in the upcoming fifth series of hit Amazon Prime show Clarkson’s Farm.
Commenting on it to the national title, Ms Hogan said that her partner did not take the advice to rest and recuperate.
Clarkson’s Farm series five. (Image: Prime Video / PA)
She said: “Jeremy was advised to rest for a couple of weeks, and that lasted about a day and a half.”
In the trailer for the new Clarkson’s Farm series, Mr Clarkson is seen in hospital after which he explains his condition to Kaleb Cooper.
He said: “You’ve got three arteries that feed your heart to keep it pumping. My heart wasn’t getting any blood.”
Lisa Hogan. (Image: Ellis O’Brien / Prime Video)
A woman then tells him: “To be fair, my mother dropped dead of a heart attack at 67.”
“Cheery news,” replied Mr Clarkson.
Initially debuting back in 2021, the 66-year-old’s farming documentary has found global success.
Set at his own Diddly Squat Farm in Oxfordshire, the series also covers his Cotswolds pub, The Farmer’s Dog, which opened in Asthall back in 2024.
Clarkson’s Farm series five. (Image: Prime Video / PA)
An official date for the new season was confirmed earlier this month by Prime Video, with the first episodes set to be released on Wednesday, June 3.
Appearing recently on the Heart Radio Breakfast show, Mr Clarkson spoke to his Cotswolds celebrity neighbour Amanda Holden about the new episodes.
READ MORE: Iconic BBC show’s legendary £45m Oxfordshire lakeside mansion up for sale
“It’s the most dramatic of the shows we have done so far, and it gets more and more and more dramatic towards the end,” said the 66-year-old.
“Yeah, I’ll say no more than that because we’re not actually doing any PR for this series at all.”
The new season will follow its predecessors in that it comes with a staggered release, as episodes are set to roll out weekly until June 17.
Crime & Safety
Oxford congestion charge fines include ‘deceased’ drivers
There have been 13 penalty charge notices (PCNs) cancelled due to vehicle owners being dead, as the number of fines issued under the traffic schemes exceeds 250,000.
The figures obtained by a Freedom of Information request do not show the circumstances under which a vehicle or vehicles belonging to “deceased” people had been driven into Oxford’s LTNs or congestion charge zones, but give a variety of reasons why PCNs were voided.
It also reveals the number of fines issued for the duration of the congestion charge, which started on October 29, 2025 (205,691), and LTNs, which began on May 17, 2024 (51,209), up to April 30.
The dataset lists 64 causes for close to 14,000 fines being scrapped by Oxfordshire County Council.
Two PCNs were cancelled as the vehicle owner was in prison, and one as it was a diplomatic vehicle.
Ambulances had 36 fines revoked, the police had 16, two for the fire brigade, four due to the driver being a doctor on call, along with over 1,000 for taxis, and over 4,000 vehicles without a registered keeper.
Disabled drivers, people with medical reasons, untraceable and foreign vehicle owners received cancellations.
More than 5,000 PCNs were voided for a range of permit errors and for motorists who had paid for entry.
Since their introduction, there have been close to 257,000 fines handed out to motorists who did not pay Oxford’s £5 congestion charge fee or entered LTNs.
Over 205,000 of these were for congestion charge, meaning that in the last four-and-a-half months, 175,000 fines have been given.
Protesters opposing the congestion charge outside County Hall when it was first introduced (Image: Esme Kenney)
On January 7, the county council stated it had issued 31,588 fines since it began on October 29 2025.
This comes as estimates for the total surplus cash expected to be raised by the scheme rise sharply, by £2 million compared to initial forecasts.
The council is now set to rake in over £5 million from the charge over 10 months.
The figures also show the locations where drivers have most commonly entered charge zones and been issued a PCN:
- Thames Street – 81,493
- Hythe Bridge Street – 48, 309
- St Clements Street- 31,614
- St Cross Road – 22,001
- Hollow Way – 11,680
- Marston Ferry Road – 10,594
Thames Street, which has the highest number of fines, has also seen the most PCN cancellations, with more than 5,000 – six per cent of the total fines.
The four highest-grossing roads for PCNs issued are also those with the longest hours of charge in action.
The traffic measure is in place from 7am to 7pm Monday to Sunday, for drivers passing Thames Street, Hythe Bridge Street, St Clement’s Street and St Cross Road.
Hollow Way and Marston Ferry Road charge points run from 7am to 9am and 3pm to 6pm, Monday to Saturday.
The county council approved introducing the charge last September, and it was introduced on October 29.
It is set to end in August when the Botley Road reopens, and traffic filters are introduced.
The cameras will remain in place, and the traffic filters will operate at the same locations and times.
If you do not pay the daily charge, you will receive a £70 fine which is reduced to £35 if paid within 14 days.
If the fine is not paid within 28 days, it increases to £105.
Crime & Safety
Oxford MP backs Andy Burnham ahead of Makerfield by-election
Anneliese Dodds, Labour MP for Oxford East, has endorsed the Mayor of Greater Manchester’s stake in the Makerfield by-election.
In a statement, the MP said: “Great reception in Makerfield for Andy Burnham.
“Thanks to all the residents who opened their doors to us. Many underlined how Andy keeps speaking up for people like them.”
Following Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s devastation loss in councils across the counties, many Labour MP’s are supporting Mr Burnham as the party’s best chance of recovery.
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Andy Burnham makes a speech surrounded by supporters at the launch of his campaign as Labour’s candidate for the Makerfield by-election (Image: Peter Byrne)
The MP for Makerfield is open after Josh Simons resigned on Monday, May 18 in order for Mr Burnham to take his seat.
The Makerfield by-election will take place on Thursday, June 18.
Ms Dodds resigned in February last year as Sir Keir’s International Development Minister following aid cuts.
In a letter to the Prime Minister at the time she said cuts to international aid to fund an increase in defence spending would “remove food and healthcare from desperate people – deeply harming the UK’s reputation”.
Mr Burnham could be in with a chance of taking the seat in the upcoming by-election, however, Reform only came second by 5,399 votes in the last elections.
The politician has previously run to become the party’s leader after Gordon Brown resigned, losing to Ed Miliband, and in 2015, where he was beaten by Jeremy Corbyn.
Mr Burnham was MP for Leigh in Greater Manchester, during his time as an MP he was a member of the Health Select Committee, and a Parliamentary Private Secretary.
He has also served as Mayor of Greater Manchester.
Mr Burnham was blocked from running in the recent February Gorton and Denton by-election, which Green candidate Hannah Spencer won.
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