179 Kingston Road building works update

The redevelopment of 179 Kingston Road is now underway. The contractors, Wooldridge & Simpson are providing us with weekly updates which you can find on the front page of our website (in the left hand column).

Our resident WMRA Historian, Brian recently found this old photograph showing the appearance of the area back in around 1906. You can see the ironmongers at 179 on the right where the current development is ongoing, with buckets outside, and also Hewletts' cake/sweet shop at 1 Kingston Road, plus the tramlines and horse and cart.

Canal Redevelopment

Oxford City Council has voted for decisive action on the Jericho Wharf site. The Council will now seek out a development partner with whom they can work to ensure progress on the site. And failing that, they will make a compulsory purchase.

At the meeting on March 18, the Cabinet of Oxford City Council unanimously adopted a recommendation from the planning officers for the City to intervene in the long-running saga of Jericho Wharf.

The people and groups such as the Jericho Wharf Trust who have voluntarily given huge amounts of time, in some cases for 20 years, on this issue were thanked.

The Council Cabinet then voted unanimously in support of the officers’ recommendation. This means that they have delegated to officers the task of seeking a development partner with a viable business plan, to try to acquire the Jericho Wharf site by agreement. Failing that, as a last resort, they will embark on a compulsory purchase.

For a fuller report of this meeting, please click here

EV Charging Point upgrade

Responsibility for the management of public on‑street electric vehicle (EV) charging on the public Highway in Oxford will shortly transfer to from Oxford City Council to Oxfordshire County Council and their newly appointed chargepoint operator, Connected Kerb.

The most immediate impact of this is that between March and April, the existing estate of c.50 public chargers around Oxford will be transferred over to Connected Kerb. The majority of these chargepoints are fully functioning and well-used and will transfer without significant disruption in service for residents. However, a small number of EV chargers in the current estate have practical or technical issues. In these cases, there will be a minor disruption in service whilst they are replaced in the next few weeks, or where alternative EV chargers will need to be installed nearby in the summer. For a list of sites affected please see the Council notification on our website.

Going forward, Oxfordshire County Council will be working with Connected Kerb to install a further c.300 public EV chargers on-street in Oxford under the Local EV Infrastructure (LEVI) programme, in order to help residents without private off-street parking to be able to switch to EV. The City Council will be also rolling out LEVI-funded EV chargepoints across many Council‑owned car parks, expanding affordable and reliable public charging as part of a wider citywide network.

Road Works - Leckford Place

The County Council have issued a Temporary Traffic Order in order to carry out footway and kerbside works. The order temporarily prohibits any vehicle proceeding or waiting along the whole length of Leckford Place. It is expected to come into force on 25th May 2026 and last for 18 days. For further information contact Dave Tidball on 01865252956.

Wishing all residents a sun filled Easter break,

WMRA Committee