Latest news with #SouthOxfordshire
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Thousands of music fans flock to farm to enjoy Truck Festival
Thousands of music lovers descended on a South Oxfordshire farm over the weekend for Truck Festival. The festival has been held at Hill Farm in Steventon, near Didcot, since 1998 and has been a fixture for music lovers since 1998. This year saw the likes of Kasabian, Courteeners, Nothing But Thieves and Franz Ferdinand grace the stage. It was estimated that around 20,000 people attended Tim Hughes, who attended the festival for this newspaper, said: "It has been amazing. The weather has been great and it has been a really good vibe. "Kasabian was brilliant and the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra was absolutely amazing. They had an opera singer with them. READ MORE: Blackbird Leys Adventure Playground at risk of closure "There has been crowdsurfing and all sorts. The crowd has been loving it." The festival started on Thursday with limited entry for Bloc Party. Kasabian were on Saturday night and Last Dinner Party put on a Gaza live medical aid appeal while on stage. Started by musician brothers Robin and Joe Bennett – of the bands Goldrush and The Dreaming Spires – as a birthday bash for Robin, it has a proud history of pushing back against the commercialism of larger festivals and instead focusing on the music and upcoming talent. Their Veterans and Virgins stage remains a little corner of the old Truck Festival loved by generations of Oxfordshire festival-goers.
BBC News
16-07-2025
- Business
- BBC News
British Rowing wants to revamp training base near Caversham
A plan to revamp a facility used by the country's elite rowers has been submitted for Rowing wants to "improve and modernise" the Sherriff's Boathouse at the Redgrave Pinsent Rowing Lake in Caversham and build a new boathouse on the facility was built in 2006 and extended in 2013, but athletes' needs have "evolved" since then, it is used by about 60 world class rowers and 20 staff on a daily basis, mostly between October and July. An improved physiotherapy room and coaching offices, along with more accessible changing facilities for women, are offices in the boathouse are "fitted in and around other facilities within the building, limiting collaboration between different coaching teams".Approval would help improve that and also "provide areas for athlete privacy, which is currently lacking".The current boathouse is named after businessman David Sherriff, who came up with the idea of the British Rowing base, donated the land, and paid for the project to go through the planning process. The plan has been submitted to South Oxfordshire District Council for Borough Council has objected because of what it said was "insufficient information" about the proposal's impact on nearby Rowing said it expected no extra traffic to be generated by its Reading Council said it thought it was likely to cause more of it and "would adversely affect the safety and flow of users of the existing road network". You can follow BBC Oxfordshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
BBC News
10-07-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
HQ plans for South Oxfordshire and Vale councils to be scrapped
Plans to regenerate an area opposite Didcot's station and build new council offices are expected to be Oxfordshire District Council officers said the Didcot Gateway scheme is "no longer justified" because of government plans for council devolution and authority will have spent £2.2m on the regeneration project by the time it is saved by stopping the scheme will be used to purchase social housing. The proposals for new council offices were given planning permission earlier this four-storey complex opposite Didcot Parkway railway station was due to be used by both South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse District Council staff, with further office space rented to a third councillor, Conservative Ian Snowdon, said that the project should have been scrapped by South Oxfordshire District Council said: "Instead of accepting that they'd gone the wrong route, and doing a U-turn, they've doubled-down on it."The devolution thing has come out and they're using it as an excuse to finally draw a line under this awful scheme."The two authorities were based in Crowmarsh Gifford until 2015, when their building was gutted during an arson officers have said in a report that it would be "inappropriate" to continue on the plans for Didcot Gateway, because of the government's plans for devolution and local government reorganisation (LGR).The report added: "Whilst the final outcome of LGR for South will not be known until early in 2026, what is clear is that delivery of the proposed new office accommodation for South and Vale district councils' staff on the Didcot Gateway site is no longer justified. "This is because, based on the government's published timeline, the councils will cease operating in their current form no later than April 2028."The £10m that was set to be invested in Didcot Gateway will instead be used to purchase 30 homes for social Oxfordshire District Council's cabinet will decide on the future of the Didcot Gateway project on Thursday, before a final decision by the full council. In a statement South Oxfordshire District Council said "The regeneration of the Didcot Gateway site remains a priority for the council. "Continuing to secure planning permission was a common sense approach so that any future unitary council would have maximum flexibility for what to do at the site." You can follow BBC Oxfordshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
Yahoo
24-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Four-bedroom home in Caversham on the market for just over £1.1m
A four-bedroom Caversham home has gone on the market for just over £1.1 million. The detached house, located on Shepherds Lane, Caversham Heights, is up for sale for £1.125 million. The property is situated close to local amenities and the South Oxfordshire countryside, and falls within the catchment area for The Heights Primary School. Inside the four-bedroom house in Caversham (Image: Zoopla) Set back from the road, it boasts a large front garden with established plants, ample parking, and a double garage. The ground floor features a living room with solid wooden herringbone flooring, a fireplace, and wooden beams. This space opens into a conservatory, offering garden views, and French doors leading to the patio and garden. The property also includes a separate study, a dining room, and a kitchen with a separate utility room. Inside the four-bedroom house in Caversham (Image: Zoopla) On the first floor there are four double bedrooms, each with built-in storage. The main bedroom has two sets of double wardrobes and an ensuite with a bath. The rest of the bedrooms are served by a family bathroom featuring a shower. The house is near to a number of schools and train stations. The Heights Primary School, Highdown School and Sixth Form Centre, and Caversham Primary School are all within a mile radius. Tilehurst, Reading, and Reading West train stations are all around two miles from the house. Inside the four-bedroom house in Caversham (Image: Zoopla) Caversham Heights is a residential area within Caversham in the borough of Reading, located to the east of the centre of Caversham. Until 1911, Caversham was part of Oxfordshire, and it remains a part of the historic county. The name Caversham Heights traditionally refers to that part of Caversham situated on higher ground to the west of central Caversham, straddling Woodcote Road. Since 2022, Caversham Heights has also been the name of a local government ward that extends to the Thames in the south, and across Hemdean Bottom to St. Barnabas Road in the east. House prices in Caversham Heights are among the highest in Reading. Caversham Heights itself is one of the most expensive places to live in Reading. The four-bedroom house in Caversham (Image: Zoopla) According to 2020 Office for National Statistics data, Caversham Heights is Reading's most affluent neighbourhood. There are two recreation grounds in the area. The Albert Road Recreation Ground provides public tennis courts and is home to a bowling club and a croquet club, while Mapledurham Playing Fields also offers tennis courts, as well as several football pitches and a combined outdoor basketball and five-a-side football pitch. Two golf courses and a health club with a swimming pool lie just outside Caversham Heights in neighbouring South Oxfordshire.
BBC News
19-06-2025
- Climate
- BBC News
Residents near RAF Benson warned of overnight-flying Chinooks
Residents living near an RAF airbase are being warned helicopters will be flying into the early hours over the next few weeks as students complete their Benson said 28 (AC) Squadron would be flying Chinnocks away from the base near Wallingford, in South Oxfordshire as much as possible but they would also be flying local residents for their "cooperation and continued support" the base said it wanted to flag the night flights due to the hot weather and ongoing exam RAF said the helicopters were currently scheduled to fly until 02:00 and for four weeks from Monday 23 June until 18 July until 03:00. Night flying usually takes place Monday - Thursday. You can follow BBC Oxfordshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
