Abingdon’s Abbey Hall has been sold to the company that operates the Abbey Cinema in it. Husband and wife team Ian & Sue Wiper, whose family previously rescued the Regal in Evesham, have been running the cinema since 2018 – but they say short leases meant they could not invest in the building.

Reports are coming in that Ryan Bridge from Raise the Colours has been arrested while attending a ‘Unite the Kingdom’ rally in London. Bridge was arrested a month ago in Oxford on suspicion of causing racially and religiously aggravated harassment. He was released on bail.

Members of the public are invited to learn about mental health research at the Warneford Hospital. The psychiatric hospital, which is planning a major redevelopment, is hosting an open day on Wednesday, International Clinical Trials Day. oxfordhealthcrf.nihr.ac.uk/join-us-at-o...

Once more for the weekend long read crowd.

A footbridge across Oxford's ring road has closed at short notice. Oxfordshire County Council has closed the Cottesmore Road bridge, which links Rose Hill to Littlemore and Heyford Hill Sainsbury's, after a safety inspection. Diversions are in place. news.oxfordshire.gov.uk/diversion-in...

Your lively Clarion Weekend newsletter with events, reading and…: 🗳 Council leader changes explained 💰 Another £300m for Abingdon Reservoir 🚴‍♀️ Oxford cycle route (finally) opens 🪙 Throwing pennies at schoolchildren Join thousands of Oxfordshire readers (it’s free!): oxfordclarion.uk/clarion-week...

🎉 It’s happening! Direct Oxford–Bristol trains start on Monday, running every two hours from Monday to Saturday. Weekday Oxford departures are at 0700, 0903, 1103, 1303, 1504, 1904 and 2103: the journey takes ~1hr10.

Donors to Oxford University dominate the latest Sunday Times 'Rich List'. Reuben College, the Blavatnik School of Government, the Weston Library, and the Bukhman Centre for Diabetes all take their names from billionaires in the top ten. We looked at their history: oxfordclarion.uk/oxfords-new-...

TFP Fertility, founded in 2012 with the merger of Oxford Fertility (a spin-off from Oxford University Hospitals) and IVF Hammersmith, has been acquired by US private equity investor Amulet Capital. The Oxford-based company has a network of IVF clinics across the UK and Poland.

Cis women can row with men, but trans women may no longer row with other women, according to new rules introduced by Oxford University Rowing Clubs. The updated Rules of Racing are currently displayed on the clubs’ website against the background of a trans flag. ourcs.co.uk/organisation...

Oxford University says its staff are “entitled to participate in civic and political life in a personal capacity” after the head of its Staff Immigration Team, James Baker, stood as Reform UK’s candidate in Littlemore. Around 40% of Oxford’s research and teaching staff originate from outside the UK.

For the evening crowd, encouraging news on biodiversity in Oxfordshire. #natureemergency

For the evening crowd - some nature-based optimism…

Clarion night shift clocking on. Let’s see what news we need to share from the day , and what we need to repost for the evening crowd. Let’s go!!

Cis women can row with men, but trans women may no longer row with other women, according to new rules introduced by Oxford University Rowing Clubs. The updated Rules of Racing are currently displayed on the clubs’ website against the background of a trans flag. ourcs.co.uk/organisation...

In our second nature-focused long(ish) read of the day, we look at promising signs of rewilding and recovery in southern Oxfordshire - from chalk streams to village orchards. oxfordclarion.uk/voles-in-the...

Oxford University says its staff are “entitled to participate in civic and political life in a personal capacity” after the head of its Staff Immigration Team, James Baker, stood as Reform UK’s candidate in Littlemore. Around 40% of Oxford’s research and teaching staff originate from outside the UK.

Campaigners for jury trials will demonstrate outside Oxford Crown Court on Monday as part of a national day of action. The Courts & Tribunal Bill is intended to reduce a backlog of trials by allowing a judge to decide cases where the sentence is less than 3 years. thejuryalliance.uk/jury-support...

The Menopause Cafe at Cowley Library meets again on 19/05 (6.45 pm) and 27/06 (3.30 pm). Menopause cafes are discussion groups focused on breaking down the stigma around menopause and increasing awareness of its impact. www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/menopause-...

Cherwell District Council’s leader Cllr David Hingley is stepping down, after his Liberal Democrat party won four more seats at the local elections this month. Kidlington councillor Lesley McLean is the new leader of the council’s LibDem group, and will be put forward as council leader on 20 May.

🌿A new community food garden was created at Donnington Townsend Square, led by Earthwatch Europe and the Donnington Tenants and Residents Association. Members of the Donnington 50+ Group have committed to maintaining the planters, including a herb bed for the Community Café at Donnington Doorstep.🥦

Harwell’s Diamond Light Source is being used to research how drugs could target hand, foot and mouth disease (virus EV-A71). Oxford University researchers have released a dataset and AI model based on detailed X-ray images of 699 compounds binding to the virus protein. www.ox.ac.uk/news/2026-05...

Residents, community groups, parishes, businesses, landowners and energy developers are being asked their views on a proposed countywide approach to community benefit contributions and community shared ownership from some large-scale low-carbon energy projects.

Oxfordshire’s conservationists are quietly holding the line for Britain’s rarest orchids. We find out what’s involved to bring these wild flowers back… and exactly how a “military orchid” got its name. oxfordclarion.uk/an-orchid-or...

Oxford’s ‘Castle Quarter’ is being purchased by Oxfordshire County Council, after the lease was put up for sale in November for £31m. OCC, which owns the freehold, believes that the site has been underperforming and that regeneration in the west of Oxford offers a chance to turn this around.

Campaign group for voting reform 'Make Votes Matter' took part in Levellers’ Day celebrations in Burford. This annual event commemorates the execution of rebel members of Cromwell’s army, taking refuge in the Church and demanding the right for all citizens' voices to be heard through a fair vote.

Banbury’s Woodgreen pool has confirmed it is opening next week…. bsky.app/profile/cher...

All three of Oxford’s major political parties are now led by women. The city’s Liberal Democrat group last night elected Katherine Miles as its leader, joining Susan Brown (Labour) and Lois Muddiman (Green).

West Oxfordshire District Council will continue to be run by a rainbow coalition of Liberal Democrats, Labour and Greens. Council and LibDem group leader Andy Graham said “It is incredibly important to me that we maintain this partnership in leading the council.” news.westoxon.gov.uk/news/west-ox...

We didn’t realise our influence stretched so far….. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

A project to restore the Evenlode valley in West Oxfordshire, running past Kingham, Charlbury and Eynsham, has won £3m extra funding. By creating new woodlands, meadows and wetlands, it aims to reduce flood risk without “hard engineering solutions” like new embankments and pumping systems.

The Government has given Thames Water a further £298m for design work on its proposed Abingdon Reservoir. Paul Hickey from RAPID, a partnership including Ofwat and the Environment Agency, said: “This next step will allow essential preparatory work for this scheme to be construction ready by 2029.”

Happening tonight klaxon: Oxford Fair Trade Coalition's 2026 flagship event on unfair global supply chains brings together producers, academics and UK specialists to highlight unfair practices in global supply chains and to outline practical ways citizens and businesses can help drive change.

An improved cycle route to Meadow Lane and the Thames towpath in East Oxford has been completed after 2.5 years. The surfaced path, approved in October 2023, goes around the edge of Donnington Rec, replacing the diagonal route which cuts across football pitches. www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUQU...

Today's this is what we all hoped AI was going to be used for news: a multi discipline research collab developed an AI framework that can help predict how cells develop into specialised cell types. This research could help accelerate discoveries in developmental biology and regenerative medicine.

60 new homes are proposed for the edge of the South Oxfordshire village of Lower Shiplake, near Henley. 20 houses would be market-rate 4-bed homes, with 16 ‘affordable’ 2-beds. The plans include children’s play areas and footpath upgrades. An application is with South Oxfordshire District Council.

In quite the most fun planning application we’ve reported for some time, outdoor charity Adventure Plus wants to build a “lake for non motorised sports activities, construction of hill with caving system, and erection of coasteering wall” at their base in Clanfield, West Oxfordshire.

World Morris Dance Record Update: Duncan has reached Abingdon; he danced into the square accompanied by his wife and daughter. Full report and really lovely pictures on the ever excellent Abingdon Blog : abingdonblog.co.uk

Oxford University Hospitals (OUH) is among the most improved NHS trusts in England for urgent and emergency care performance in 2025/26. The Trust’s four-hour performance rose from 68.4% of patients being seen within four hours in March 2025 to 80.2% in March 2026. www.ouh.nhs.uk/news/article...

Oxford Swift City is looking for volunteers in their bird era to help survey swifts across the city this summer. Swifts are famous for their high-speed flights and distinctive “screaming parties” at dusk, but like many bird species, their numbers have declined rapidly in recent years.

Thames Valley Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Barber is hosting a roundtable discussion in Didcot today, to bring together councils and housing developers to tackle the growing problems caused by unadopted roads and housing estates, given Oxfordshire's homebuilding acceleration.

Oxfordshire has new councillors. Congratulations to all those newly elected. We're reposting this excellent article from former Labour councillor Damian Haywood, with some tips for newbies. While this was written for county councillors, much of the advice still stands. Good luck to you all!

The new leader for the council’s Liberal Democrat group is Councillor Tim Bearder. There will be an extraordinary general meeting of the council on a date to be set to elect a new leader. In the interim, the current Deputy Leader of Oxfordshire County Council, Cllr Neil Fawcett, leads the authority.

Oxfordshire County Council's chair for the 2026/7 year is Councillor Ted Fenton (Bampton and Carterton South). Cllr Fenton, 63, was voted in to the role at the Annual Meeting of the county council. His charities will be Oxfordshire Air Ambulance and Oxfordshire Royal British Legion.

All the Oxfordshire news you need (and some you might not) in today’s Clarion newsletter: 🗳️ Elections post-mortem 🔵 New Blue Plaque 🇪🇺 Europe Day 🔬 Quadsqueezing 🐑 It’s Shaun the Sheep! Plus politics, university news and more. Join thousands reading it twice a week: oxfordclarion.uk/the-clarion-...

Banbury MP Sean Woodcock has been appointed Parliamentary Private Secretary to the Cabinet Office. labourlist.org/2026/05/live...

Currently battling the word count on tomorrow's newsletter, with an analysis of the implications of Thursday's results. If you're not signed up, now would be a good time to do it. It's a good'un. Join thousands of others getting the Clarion to their inbox twice a week. Free. oxfordclarion.uk

Raise the Colours Oxfordshire have been reinstalling flags in Oxford. In a statement on their Facebook page, the group said "Green Road roundabout looking spectacular again. The public fund our flags and we have plenty more in reserve, you can take them down but we will put them straight back up!"

Consolidation in Oxfordshire’s independent schools market continues as Abingdon School has announced that it is to take over the Manor Prep School, on the edge of Abingdon. It already runs Abingdon Prep School in nearby Frilford. The group says it is “being created from a position of strength”.

Oxfordshire County Council’s LibDem administration has selected its new cabinet. New faces include Rebekah Fletcher at highways; Gareth Epps at environment and future transport; Laura Gordon at economy and innovation; and Judith Edwards at community safety.