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Volunteers are needed to help run the sessions on Monday to Fridays from 3-5pm during term time and during the summer holidays for a four week play scheme.

Sue Price from BLAP said: “We will train all volunteers. We hope to offer training in February and March and all volunteers will be CRB checked so we know all are safe to work with children.

“No qualifications are necessary only a willingness to help children aged from eight to 13 as they play and learn new skills. BLAP will have a gardening and cooking area, an arts and craft centre, outdoor play and organised games. We could even offer music sessions as we have steel drums and guitars. Grandparents might also like to help the young people build dens, mend bikes, garden or cook, and we hope that parents might like to spend one session a week with us.”

Sue added: “People currently looking for employment might also find the training helpful as an addition to their CV, and we aim to work on Olympic and Jubilee themes during the summer.”

Find out more by phoning Sue Price as soon as possible on 01865 429036 or 07773848998
]]> General xml-rss2.php?itemid=7 Fri, 27 Jan 2012 12:36:57 +0100 xml-rss2.php?itemid=6 Local gardening legend Reg Curnock from the Kestrel Crescent Allotment Association in Blackbird Leys was the winner of the Challenge Trophy, the overall award for allotment holders.
Cliff Thomkins also from Kestrel Crescent took the over 70s Senior Award.
The competition, now in its third year, celebrates the achievement of Oxford’s allotment gardeners, and is organised jointly by the Oxford and District Federation of Allotment Associations and the Parks Department of the Oxford City Council.
The judges John Alcock and Mike Kent looked for plots that grow a wide range of vegetables all year round, together with seasonal soft fruit. The emphasis is strongly on the quality of the crops and the overall productivity of the plot, and not on having immaculate, manicured plots, although most of the winners do have very few weeds!...


]]> General xml-rss2.php?itemid=6 Thu, 27 Oct 2011 15:57:28 +0200 xml-rss2.php?itemid=5 Sahota, 25, from Blackbird Leys, has won backing from
the Prince’s Trust Enterprise Scheme to launch a new
magazine for London students.

Called The Book, the magazine will launch this week.
Since graduating fromUniversity College London,Kohinoor has interned for a dozen prestigious publications
including the Financial Times and Vogue, worked for Time
Out London, and written freelance articles for The Times, The Guardian and City AM.

Kohinoor said: “Despite all my work experience, with so many graduates looking for work I still couldn’t find
a full time job, so I have created a role for myself, and potentially many other young people by launching a glossy entertainment and lifestyle bi-monthly called The Book. Eighteen–25 year olds often get a negative representation
in popular media, but The Book is written by young people, for young people. It engages with the good and bad, and is not afraid to feature an ethnic minority on the cover and address provocative issues.

“It also embraces the new digitally minded generation with reviews on music videos and downloads rather than albums, blogs as well as books, and street art more than exhibitions.”

In addition to 20 pages of reviews on music, film, stage, art, gadgets, and blogs, highlights of the first issue include stories such as Our wild poker weekend...with X-Factor judge Kelly Rowland, NUS President Liam Burns asks: at up to £135 a lecture, is university still worth it? Hoodies, the history behind the hysteria: how they went from medieval monks to grime star Chimpunk, and a photo-story on the Cosplay craze, in which young fans dress up as their favourite comic-book characters.]]> General xml-rss2.php?itemid=5 Thu, 29 Sep 2011 12:55:16 +0200 xml-rss2.php?itemid=3
If the Town Green application had not been made Oxford City Council would now be starting work on the pool and it would open just after the 2012 London Olympics.

A spokesman for the city council said: “If the Town Green application goes ahead and is successful, Oxford City Council would be unable to enforce its by-laws. This includes restricting activities such as golf, and preventing vehicles such as motorbikes riding on the park.

“There would be no development on the site and the £150,000 development of the play area on Pegasus Road which is due to open early next year would not be able to happen. This is anticipated to be one of our biggest and best play areas in the city. Our ability to offer organised sport such as football would be greatly compromised as people would have the right to roam over the pitches.”Councillor Van Coulter, Board Member for Leisure Services, added: “While our legal advice gives us confidence that we will defeat the Town Green application on the grounds that the area is already a park, it will result in a delay to starting the scheme.

“The impacts of the delays are that we have increased the project contingency by £350,000 which is to cover the rising cost of materials such as steel, increased professional fees and legal advice. We also risk losing key members of the professional team to other projects as we are unable to confirm a start date. We contend that this is not a village green or some scrub land on the edge of a village over which people have established through time rights of access.

“Blackbird Leys Park is a park for everyone’s enjoyment including sport and leisure pastimes. It needs to develop reflecting the needs of the city and the local community and not be frozen in time and therefore doomed to degenerate.

“The timing and nature of the application makes us suspicious that the application is a spoiling tactic to slow down or prevent the development.”

The city council spokesman said that there is evidence of such tactics across the country.

“The Government is so concerned about the impact of such approaches that it has issued a consultation document which proposes curbing the ability to thwart development through using town green legislation. Oxford City Council supports the proposals made which includes excluding any development with planning permission from such applications. The competition standard swimming pool in Blackbird Leys will provide a high quality, sustainable facility for now and for future generations. The scheme includes a 25 metre, eight lane pool, teaching pool, toddler fun pool, sauna, soft play area, additional car parking, landscaping and has very good low carbon credentials.”

Once the pool opens, both Temple Cowley and Blackbird Leys Pools, which are at the end of their life will close. The spokesman added: “The new pool has planning permission and is fully funded. We have a contractor ready and waiting to start work. The construction of the pool will provide employment opportunities with up to 100 workers on site; create four apprenticeships, and student workshops throughout the build. It will result in around £2.65m of the works being undertaken by local companies and we estimate that for every pound spent locally that it generates a further £4 of local spend.

“Meanwhile, the condition of Temple Cowley Pools is worsening. In recent weeks, the air conditioning and poolside air handling have both failed. We are in the process of trying to rectify these issues, but such failures are happening with an increasing frequency. The risk of an unplanned closures increase as the condition of the two pools continues to deteriorate.”

If the Town Green is successful we could be left with both Temple Cowley and Blackbird Leys Pools closing with no replacement as despite the protestations of the campaign group a refurbishment plan is not affordable.”

What do YOU think about the application for Town Green Status? Contact us and let us know at editor@leysnew.co.uk
]]> General xml-rss2.php?itemid=3 Thu, 15 Sep 2011 14:33:12 +0200