As the year comes to a close, we are looking back on some of the biggest news stories of the year.
This is the final part of our four-part review of 2022 in Oxford.
Here we are looking at what happened in the last quarter of the year between October and December.
October
The month began with the sad news that a person died on railway tracks near Oxford.
Emergency services were called to the line near Yarnton on October 3, where the person was pronounced dead at the scene.
READ MORE: Person found dead on railway tracks near Oxford
On October 4, a burst water main at Heyford Hill roundabout caused chaos for drivers.
The roundabout as well as cycle and footpaths were closed due to the flooding, while the issue caused major delays in the city.
On October 11, another train related tragedy rocked the county.
On this day, the British Transport Police (BTP) have confirmed a person was pronounced dead after being hit by a train near Didcot.
Emergency services were on the scene and National Rail closed all lines between Didcot Parkway and Swindon.
On October 15, we reported that some electric Mini production is to move from Oxford to China.
However, parent company BMW has insisted Oxford will "remain at the heart of Mini production" despite it moving the manufacture of some of its electric models.
The controversy around Oxford’s LTNs continued as a group of residents came together to act as ‘human bollards’ after the bollards were vandalised by opponents of the scheme.
READ MORE: Oxford residents become LTN ‘human bollards’
A video posted by pro-LTN pressure group Oxfordshire Liveable Streets showed a group of people on October 19 standing in the road to prevent cars passing through an LTN traffic filter, where a bollard had been removed.
On the final day of October 31, we reported that Botley Road was planned to be closed for a year for as part of a multi-million pound project.
November
On November 9, police said woman was “lucky to be alive” after crashing at 100mph on the A34 while high on cannabis.
The city was shocked on November 13 after news broke that a man had been stabbed to death in Jericho.
25-year-old Alex Innes was stabbed in Walton Street in the early hours of the morning.
Several people were arrested in connection to Mr Innes death and four men were charged.
Another divisive initiative was announced by the county council when we reported on November 19 that £100,000 would be spent on changing the LTN bollards from plastic to steel.
Between November 21 and 25, work took place to improve The Plain roundabout, following the death of cyclist Ling Felce in March.
The changes The Plain included:
• amendments to road markings and traffic signs
• installation of road studs, bollards and cycle stands
• installing light cycle lane segregation units
• vegetation clearance
National attention was drawn to Oxford’s Cowley Road on November 26 when Clinton Pugh, father of Hollywood actress Florence Pugh and owner of Café Coco, Kazbar and Café Tarifa, unveiled an anti-LTN billboard on the side of Café Coco.
The restaurateur’s billboard states that 95 per cent of businesses in the area have seen footfall and turnover drop due to the traffic filter scheme.
“They cannot survive without customers coming from other parts of the city and county,” the sign reads.
Controversial plans to introduce six traffic filters in Oxford were approved by Oxfordshire County Council on November 29.
Members of the council's cabinet approved the plans at an extraordinary cabinet meeting.
The filters will be located on St Cross Road, Thames Street, St Clements and Hythe Bridge Street and would operate seven days a week from 7am to 7pm.
Two more filters would also be located on Marston Ferry Road and Hollow Way and would operate from Monday to Saturday.
December
A new home for Oxford United was proposed on December 5.
A site at Stratfield Brake, on the edge of Kidlington had initially been proposed by the club, but the council now says there were "considerable challenges", with officers now proposing a location south of Kidlington roundabout, west of Banbury Road and east of Frieze Way – close to Oxford Parkway railway station.
Staff and councillors were hit with a bombardment of abuse following the circulation of false information online about traffic filters.
Both Oxfordshire County Council and Oxford City Council were forced to release a joint statement on December 7 after an article published on 'Watts Up With That', which suggested the city would go into a ‘climate lockdown’ went viral.
The councils said staff and councillors have been subjected to abuse and the misinformation has resulted in both councils receiving numerous calls and social media messages from worried residents.
On December 9 the Oxford Mail brought you exclusive news that Network Rail scrapped its planned start date for the year-long closure of Botley Road.
The city became a winter wonderland as snow fell across the weekend of December 10.
The white stuff fell as the country was in the grip of a cold snap which saw freezing temperatures.
Clarkson’s Farm star Jeremy Clarkson came under fire after a column he published in The Sun about Meghan Markle on December 16.
The former-journalist was slammed for saying he “hated” the Duchess of Sussex on a “cellular level” and would like to see her “paraded” through the streets while people threw “excrement” at her.
The article was eventually pulled from the website but not before tens of thousands complaints were made to the press regulator and 60 MPs signed an open letter calling for the newspaper to apologise.
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Read more from this author
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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