As the year comes to a close, we are looking back on some of the biggest news stories of the year.
This is the third part of our four-part review of 2022 in Oxford, here we are looking at what happened in the third quarter of the year between July and September.
July
On July 5, Oxford became home to Europe’s most powerful vehicle charging hub.
Oxford City Council, along with Pivot Power, Fastned, Tesla Superchargers and Wenea, opened the charging hub at Redbridge Park and Ride which can charge 42 vehicles at any one time.
On July 9 we reported that Clarkson’s Farm star Jeremy Clarkson opened a restaurant on his Oxfordshire farm – despite plans being rejected by councillors.
Proposals for the Diddly Squat restaurant in Chadlington were thrown out by West Oxfordshire District Council (WODC) in January.
However, Mr Clarkson found a “delightful little loophole” which he used to open the restaurant.
The middle of July saw the entire country hit with a record breaking heatwave, with temperatures hitting 40°C in some places.
On July 19, temperatures reached 38.4 °C in Benson at 2pm – beating the previous record for the county, 36.5°C recorded by the Met Office in 2019.
The end of the month saw the city receive the tragic news that a Oxford Brookes student was killed by helicopter blades while on holiday with his family in Greece.
Jack Fenton, 22, did not know the propeller was still spinning, with local reports suggesting he was taking a selfie when getting out of the helicopter.
On July 29, Robert Whiting appeared before Oxford Crown Court to plead guilty to a single count of causing death by dangerous driving – in relation to the death of cyclist Ling Felce.
August
On August 8 we reported that Jeremy Clarkson’s “delightful little loophole” came back to haunt him.
West Oxfordshire District Council said they were investigating the restaurant after councillors rejected its initial planning application in January.
People were checking their pockets and the bottom of their bags after a winning lottery ticket remained unclaimed in Oxfordshire – almost three weeks after the draw was made.
The £120,000 winning ticket was bought in South Oxfordshire with the winner is set to receive £10,000 every month for a whole year, however the last date to claim the prize is January 17.
Following the long, hot summer, a drought was declared after the driest summer in 50 years, with Thames Water officially implementing a hosepipe ban in Oxfordshire and wider Thames Valley.
People caught watering their gardens were warned they would face a £1,000 fine and prosecution.
GCSE results day saw a schoolboy has stun by achieving straight 9 grades – the highest grades possible.
Louis Huxford told this newspaper doing his GCSEs in the shadow of the Covid-19 pandemic was “challenging” but believes his year group “tried our best” given the circumstances.
On August 28 shocking images revealed an “appalling” act of animal cruelty after a hedgehog was tapped to a lamppost.
The hedgehog was discovered stuck to a lamppost in Abingdon Road, Drayton.
The matter was reported to Thames Valley Police.
The same day, we reported that opponents of the controversial LTN scheme had launched a legal bid against the traffic measures.
The group needs £30,000 to mount a legal challenge against Oxfordshire County Council over the scheme.
On August 30 we reported the sad news that The Jam Factory was set to close its doors after trading in the city centre for nearly two decades.
At the time, co-owners, and siblings, Claire Gaskell and Andrew Norton have said they are “broken-hearted” to announce the impending closure.
September
The first weekend of September saw traffic chaos on Oxford’s ring road after a burst water main caused a sinkhole to appear on the A34.
The A34 was closed between the Botley and Hinksey roundabouts for the entire weekend, causing huge traffic disruptions and forcing Oxford United to issue a statement to fans travelling to its match against Burton Albion.
There were also reports of some homes in the Botley area losing their water supply.
September saw the biggest news story of the year, both locally, nationally and internationally: the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
Her Majesty passed away on September 8 and the country went into a state of national mourning, with residents, councillors, MPs and other public figures throughout Oxfordshire paying tribute to the Queen’s 70 years of service.
Also on September 8, Robert Whiting, 40, who was behind the wheel of a 32 tonne tipper truck was sentenced for killing Dr Ling Felce on The Plaine roundabout in March.
Whiting was found to be eight times above the limit for cocaine and was imprisoned for eight years. He was also banned driving for five years with an extension period of four years to cover the amount of time he is expected to serve behind bars. He must pass an extended retest before he can drive again.
A man was arrested at proclamation of Charles III as the new king on September 11, after shouting “who elected him”.
Symon Hill, 45, told the Oxford Mail he had been pushed by three security guards before being ‘dragged off’ to a police van and his hands cuffed behind his back.
“I appreciate people have different views on it, I fully respect the right of those with pro-monarchist views.
“But I consider a head of state imposed on us without our consent that’s really an affront to democracy in 2022,” he said.
A court report published on September 13 revealed the Duke of Marlborough’s top-of-the range Porsche would be seized – after a county court judge heard he had failed to keep up his repayments.
Porsche Financial Services, trading as Volkswagen Financial Services UK Ltd, took the Blenheim Palace owner to court, claiming he owed almost £64,500 on the £132k Porsche Cayenne.
On September 14 a campaigner warned that Oxford’s historic pub the Eagle and Child had been left to “rot”.
Dave Richardson, of the Oxford branch of real ale group Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA), called on owners St John's College to make a statement about the pub's future prospects.
He said it was the right time for an update on the Eagle and Child when the Lamb and Flag on the opposite side of St Giles was about to reopen.
News broke on September 27 that a man from the county had been arrested in Brighton, after a ten-year-old boy fell from a cliff.
A 52-year-old man from Oxfordshire was arrested on suspicion of allowing a child to come to serious physical harm after the child fell from cliffs at Ovingdean, near Brighton.
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This story was written by Sophie Perry. She joined the team in 2021 as a digital reporter.
You can get in touch with her by emailing: sophie.perry@newsquest.co.uk
Follow her on Twitter itssophieperry
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