The Friends of Quarry

A journey through the history of the Quarry led by a retired history lecturer from Oxford Brookes University has been organised for 14 May 2016.

The walk will start at Quarry School Place at 1415 and end, for tea, at the Village Hall.

If you would like to join the walk, please book your place in advance by calling 01865 762416.

We hope you will be able to join us.

For the past few weeks a car has been parked in an unusual position on Beaumont Road. It has received a lot of publicity, especially on 1 April when the car was wrapped in cling film with a message ‘Worst parking ever’ attached to it. This was not an April Fools’ Day joke!

The car was parked there by a Quarry resident who wanted to try to slow down the speed of traffic on Beaumont Road by creating a ‘chicane’. The idea is that drivers are forced to wait for oncoming traffic.

It has divided opinion. Friends of Quarry would like to know what you think about it. Has this parked car affected you in some way? Do you think it would be a good idea to have a ‘build out’ on Beaumont Road to create a chicane, or is it an unnecessary hindrance to the flow of traffic?

Let us know what you think – phone 07802 215517 or email friendsofquarry@gmail.com

This is a reminder that you are invited to an informal meeting of the Friends of Quarry to be held at 1930 on 6 April in the Mason’s Function Room.

We need your help!

For over 50 years Friends of Quarry (FoQ) has been active in the Quarry campaigning to maintain and

improve the character of this historic area and promoting community events.

But times change, people move on. The present Committee is small and we do not feel able to carry on

without more support and ideas from you – we need more people to join the Committee. We meet six

times a year and tackle local issues such as planning, traffic, social events and improving our quality of life.

We want your ideas!

We would like to invite you to an informal event at 7.30pm on Wed 6th April in the Function Room of

the Masons Arms to hear what we do, to hear your ideas and hopefully, recruit more Committee members.

We want to re-invigorate FoQ and reach out to the community.

Please come along on Wednesday 6th April

If you can’t make the meeting but would like to help, please contact any of the following:

Richard Bradley: 762418

Jenifer Carpenter: 762416

Allan Goodchild: 451093

Carole Hathaway: 750778

Dorothy Jacobs: 768669

Lawrence Kelly: 762365

Phil Siswick: 762713

To members/supporters of Friends of Quarry

You are probably aware that the City Council intends to demolish the old sports pavilion at Quarry recreation ground, and build a new one. Details of the plans can be seen on the Council’s websitehttp://public.oxford.gov.uk/online-applications/   reference 16/00002/CT3. The website has a facility for you to comment on the plans, should you wish to do so. The deadline for comments is 13 March. Note, however, the website is out of action, for maintenance, until Monday 7 March.

You may also be interested to know that a local resident has organised a petition against car parking spaces at the new pavilion. See https://www.change.org/p/oxford-city-council-no-car-park-at-margaret-road-recreation-ground  The Friends of Quarry committee has sympathy with this view: it is not clear that there is a need for parking, there are traffic safety issues and it would be good to have an attractive public space in front of the pavilion. On the other hand the provision of two disabled parking spaces would be beneficial (provided not just for pavilion users but park users generally).

Many thanks

There are a number of free or discounted energy efficiency measures being offered by Oxford City Council. This offer runs until 31 March.

Please look at the attached poster and use the contacts below for more information.

Oxford Council and NEF have worked hard to access funding for Oxford residents (not just those on benefits or in deprived areas) for a range of energy efficiency measures from free (or discounted) boilers to small repairs such as draught proofing.  All these are accessible until March 31^st via the AWN number 0800 107 0044.  

Debbie Haynes; dhaynes@oxford.gov.uk   01865 252566

FINAL OCCAffWarmad

Once again, Friends of Quarry is organising a two hour Litter Pick of the Quarry as part of the annual OXClean Spring Clean.

Please join us for some or all of the time (families and children are very welcome) and help to keep the Quarry clean. Equipment will be provided.

We will be carrying out the cleaning between 1400 and 1600 on Saturday 5 March. The meeting place is Quarry Hollow Park.

For more information and to let us know whether you want to take part, please contact us at 07970 209045 or at friendsofquarry@gmail.com.

Many thanks

From Thames Water:

At Thames Water we’re offering to fit free water and money-saving gadgets in Oxford homes and provide help that could save a family of four as much as £180 a year on bills.

We’re also offering to fix customers’ leaky loos for free. A leaky loo may appear as a small, constant trickle of water at the back of the pan, but can waste five bathtubs of water each day and add £300 to metered customers’ annual bills.

We want to spread the word of this free offer as widely as possible among Oxford residents and groups and would be very grateful if you could forward this message to your mailing lists or networks. If you have any questions or queries about Smarter Home Visits, or would like to discuss other ways we may be able to work in partnership, please do not hesitate to contact me using the details at the bottom of this email.

We have teamed up with environmental charity Groundwork to offer this service, as using less water potentially means there is more in the local rivers to support the environment and river wildlife.

One visit of 30 to 60 minutes from our professional advisors will involve:

Fitting the latest water-saving technology around your home

This includes replacing your old showerhead with a new efficient one, which won’t affect performance. We can also fit devices to taps and toilets to help you save up to £180 per year on metered water and energy bills.

A home water efficiency audit

We’ll check for leaks on taps and toilets, which we can fix free of charge, and provide tailored water and energy-saving advice.

Who can receive this offer?

Any of our supply customers in Oxford.

 How do I arrange my free Smarter Home Visit?

Email smarterhomevisits@groundwork.org.uk with your address and contact details or call us on0800 043 3277 and we will be in touch to book an appointment.

Over the next few weeks we will also be knocking on doors and calling customers in your area to offer this service, so you can book an appointment then.

To find out more information, please visit thameswater.co.uk/smarter

As we mentioned at the recent AGM, there will be a joint Village Hall & Friends of Quarry  Carols, Friendship & Blessing event on Tuesday 22nd December.

The Village Hall will be open from 1800, with the carols starting at 1815. Refreshments will be available. Food will be ‘bring and share’, so please bring some mince pies or other Christmas treats.

We hope you will be able to join us.

Hi All,

The AGM for the Friends of Quarry will take place at 1930 on 4 November 2015 in the Headington Quarry Village Hall.

Annual Memberships, at £2 per person, will be collected at the beginning of the meeting. We will be opening the doors at 1900.

The Agenda is:

• Annual report and accounts
• Committee membership
• Expansion of Holy Trinity cemetery
• Traffic issues and residents parking
• Village Hall update

The Newsletter containing the annual report is attached.

We hope to see you there.

Newsletter No 24 oct 2015