SCHOOLS across Oxfordshire are being offered airport-style metal detectors to screen pupils for blades after an increase in knife crime.

Thames Valley Police has used knife arches at schools across the region - especially Reading and Milton Keynes - but so far no school in Oxford has been willing to take part.

Latest figures show knife crime in Oxfordshire has risen from 270 to 286 incidents in two years.

Insp John Fox, who is running Operation Blunt, an initiative to counter knife crime across the region, said he wanted to introduce arches at schools across the county to test children who might be carrying knives or sharp objects.

He said: "We have done an awful lot in schools with presentations and in groups to get across the message that it is not cool to carry a knife.

"A lot of youngsters think it is fashionable to carry a knife, but a knife can be turned on you.

"There are knife incidents, but compared to other places Oxfordshire does not appear to have a knife culture.

"That said, incidents are growing. And it is something we continually need to look at to get this message across.

"The fact it has gone up is obviously something we need to concentrate on.

"Many schools in Berkshire, Reading and Milton Keynes have taken part, but I am not aware of any in Oxfordshire.

"I certainly hope schools in Oxfordshire are looking at this.

"If any are interested we would like them to get involved and we would be happy to bring a knife arch to their school."

Police have been taking part in the New Destiny Trust, which raises awareness of knife crime through education sessions in schools.

It was set up after 11-year-old Damilola Taylor was stabbed to death in Peckham, south London, in 2000.

Figures released this week showed knife crime in Oxfordshire had increased from 270 incidents in 2004/05 to 286 in 2006/07.

Elsewhere across Thames Valley Police region the increase was much higher.

A MAJOR £44.4m project to completely replace the Wolvercote Viaduct on the A34 near Oxford starts next Wednesday.

Wolvercote Viaduct carries the A34 Oxford Western Bypass) over the River Thames floodplain, the Oxford to Birmingham main line railway, the Oxford Canal and the A40 Oxford to Cheltenham road.

Tom Harris, Roads Minister, said: "It's good news for drivers that the Highways Agency will be able to completely replace this viaduct while keeping the road open to vehicles.

"The A34 is a key route between the Midlands and the south coast and while this improvement work is important, it's essential that any delays to drivers are limited."

In the first phase of work, a temporary southbound bridge deck will be built to the east of the existing viaduct so traffic can be diverted on to this whilst the new viaduct is built.

During this first phase, the Highways Agency said other than some overnight closures, two narrower lanes for 500m in both directions, would be kept open during the day on the A34 for the duration of the scheme.

A 40mph speed limit, enforced by average speed safety cameras, will be in place. The A40 that runs under the viaduct will have a narrower lane running in each direction with a 30mph speed limit and off peak temporary traffic lights at times. There will also be a temporary diversion of footpath and cycleway.

An agency spokesman said: "The work will be completed in a number of phases. This first phase is planned to finish in spring 2009. The new viaduct is planned to be completed in 2010.

"Although the scheme is designed to limit any delays there will be some impact on traffic flows during peak travel times and we ask drivers to look out for warning signs and drive carefully near the roadworks.

"Rail passengers using the main Oxford to Birmingham railway line will be unaffected by the works."

The Highways Agency is holding another public exhibition in Wolvercote on May 30 and 31, when the project team will be available to answer any questions. The exhibition will be held at Wolvercote Young People's Club, St Peters Road, Wolvercote on Friday, May 30, from 3pm to 9pm, and Saturday, May 31, from 10am to 4pm.

Details can also be found on the project pages on the Highways Agency's website at: http://www.highways.gov.uk/roads/projects/14397.aspx 

Source: Witney Gazette

ROYAL Mail staff could go on strike in a bid to prevent the Oxford Mail Centre from closing, union bosses warned last night.

The Communication Workers' Union said about 430 postal workers received final confirmation that the city's main sorting office would close when the company shifts the operation to Swindon.

Staff at the office in Cowley were briefed by senior Royal Mail bosses about the closure on Friday, more than seven months after the move to the £20m facility was suggested.

Building work at the new site is expected to be finished this summer, with the full transfer from Oxford completed by summer 2009.

But Bob Cullen, a spokesman for the Oxfordshire branch of the CWU, said: "Staff are angry and upset by this decision because it will mean job losses for Oxfordshire - very few staff will want to transfer to Swindon.

"It will also mean the quality of the mail service is reduced because if you post a letter from Headington to East Oxford, it will have to go to Swindon first to be sorted and then come back to Oxford and that is a nonsense.

"The decision to close the mail centre is a way of lashing out at the CWU nationally and locally, and we will do everything we can to get Royal Mail bosses to change their minds - that could include strike action."

Mr Cullen said the CWU Oxfordshire branch would meet on June 1 to discuss how to contest the closure.

He added: "Going on strike would be a last resort, but it's always an option.

A powerful earthquake has killed at least 8,500 people in China's south-western Sichuan province, up to 5,000 of them in just one county.

Many more are feared killed and injured in other parts of the country after the 7.8-magnitude quake struck at 1428 local time (0628 GMT).

At least 50 bodies have been recovered from the rubble of a school where an estimated 900 students were buried.

President Hu Jintao has urged "all-out" efforts to rescue victims.

The epicentre of the earthquake was about 92km (57 miles) from Chengdu, Sichuan's provincial capital.

Because the earthquake struck in the middle of the day, it is feared that many schoolchildren may be among the victims.

'Major disaster'

One of the worst-hit areas appears to be Beichuan county, part of the Mianyang city municipal area, about 50km from the epicentre.

Some 80% of buildings there were reported to have been destroyed, leaving between 3,000 and 5,000 people dead and up to 10,000 injured.

Meanwhile hundreds of people were reported to have been buried in two collapsed chemical plants in Shifang in Sichuan, and at least five other schools were reported to have collapsed.

The death toll could turn out to be much higher once the damage in Wenchuan county - the epicentre - is assessed, says BBC China analyst Shirong Chen.

The area is very rugged, full of mountains and valleys and a number of roads are connected with bridges from one mountain top to the next, he says.

Nine hours after the quake, Xinhua reported, a rescue team had still not been able to get to Wenchuan.

"We are doing everything we can, but the roads are blanketed with rocks and boulders," said top Sichuan official Li Chongxi.

There were fears that China's programme to save the endangered giant panda may have been affected.

A NEW flag has been hoisted above Witney's town hall.

It carries the motif of the town's coat of arms, a lamb and flag, and will be flown on special days marking events in the local calendar.

Ex-town mayor Chrissie Curry has invited suggestions from residents about special days, and ones already put forward include May Day dancing on Church Green, a Witney feast, Witney Carnival, and the switching on of the town's Christmas Lights.

It is the first time a dedicated Witney flag, paid for by an anonymous sponsor, has been hoisted. The Union Jack and St George's flags will still be flown.

Source: Witney Gazette

POST Office Ltd has announced the closure of 22 post office branches across Oxfordshire.

The closure announcement - which was made at 10am - confirmed all 22 branches on the hit-list would close.

The closures came despite a campaign to save the branches, which included a 6,000-signature petition handed into Downing Street.

During a six-week local public consultation, Post Office Ltd received about 3,700 responses and attended 35 meetings with customers and their representatives.

The branches on the list are:

Ardington Stores, High Street, Ardington
Woodstock Road East, Begbroke
Childrey, High Street, Childrey
Park Road, Combe
The Street, Crowmarsh Gifford
The Amigo Shop, Cholswell Road, Abingdon
Oxford Road, Farmoor
Main Road, Fyfield, Abingdon
Abingdon Road, Oxford
Middleton Road, Grimsbury, Banbury
Church Way, Iffley, Oxford
Villiers Road, Bicester
High Street, Long Wittenham
Orchard Way, Banbury
Stanmore Crescent, Carterton
Middle Road, Stanton St John
Stream Road, Upton
West End, Witney
Godstow Road, Wolvercote
Wootton Road, Abingdon
Woodstock
Wytham.

MOTORISTS across Oxfordshire are paying an average of £5 a gallon for petrol for the first time as the price of oil continues to soar.

A litre of unleaded averages £1.10 on forecourts in the city - almost 20 per cent more than a year ago when the average price was 92.7p per litre - and motoring organisations could not predict when it would peak.

Diesel has risen to an average of 119.5p per litre.

The price increases mean a driver with a typical 50-litre (11 gallon) tank now has to spend £55 to fill up - £8.65 more than they did a year ago - while the AA said families are spending an extra £38 per month on petrol when compared to 2007.

The increases have forced families such as Gemma Barrett's to ration their use of their car.

Mrs Barrett, a mother-of-three from Lambourn Road, Rose Hill, Oxford, said: "The price of petrol is disgusting.

"It is a real struggle for families to run their cars. We only really use our car for essential journeys now.

"It's ridiculous. The price of petrol keeps going up but our budget can't stretch enough to meet it."

The 24-year-old, whose husband, Jamie, 27, is a delivery driver for Parcelforce in Kidlington, added: "This is penalising people on low incomes. I know two people who've sold their cars now because they can't afford to keep running them.

"My husband only uses our 1.8-litre Vauxhall Vectra to go to work and for food shopping.

WITNEY is a town with too much development and not enough facilities to match, and where people are worried about vandalism, anti-social behaviour, poor facilities for teenagers . . . and the prospect of more flooding.

That is a snapshot of concerns coming up on the doorsteps, as candidates for tomorrow's elections seek votes to give them a say in trying to change things.

Turnout at local council polls is never as good as General Elections, but this week the Gazette asked six candidates, all standing in Witney, why people should bother to vote.

Their responses, from canvassing in the run-up to tomorrow, show that local issues are very much alive and on people's minds.

We spoke to candidates from each of the five parties - Conservative, Labour, Liberal Democrat, Green and United Kingdom Independence - as well as an Independent to find out what local voters are telling them.

A common theme is Witney's continued growth, with new housing estates, and even more planned, but slowness in providing community facilities and infrastructure.

The Madley Park estate is almost completed, but it won't be until next year before there is a community centre for the several thousand new residents. On Deer Park, there is a sports field, but no separate changing rooms for girls.

And at the Gordon Way astro-turf centre, there is no access to free drinking water, just machine bottled water, which has to be paid for.

The candidates we spoke to are: Roger Curry, Richard Dossett-Davies, David Phipps, Duncan Enright, Peter Green, and Brenda Churchill.

SMALL shops in Witney are forming their own network to fight the threat from multi-national stores.

Ten independent businesses in the town have already agreed to be part of the new group, the Witney Independent Retailers' Association.

Its first official meeting is next month at Hacketts restaurant, in Wesley Walk, and they are ultimately hoping to expand to represent all 40-plus independents in the town centre.

The catalyst for the shopkeepers banding together is the Marriotts Close development, now under way, and expected to open next year.

Jeanne Chattoe, who instigated the new group, told the Gazette this week: "With the forthcoming influx of multi-nationals at Marriotts Close, many independent retailers are most concerned about how this is going to affect their business."

Stores such as Monsoon, Accessorise, Debenhams, and Marks & Spencer have already signed up to become part of the new development.

Mrs Chattoe added: "This will affect a whole spectrum of shops, some of whom are already struggling due to the retail slump, summer flooding, and high business rents and rates.

High street chains will be the next victims of cyber terrorism, some of the world's elite hackers have warned.

They claim it is only a "matter of time" before the likes of Tesco and Marks & Spencer are targeted.

Criminals could use the kind of tactics which crippled Estonia's government and some firms last year, they warned.

The experts were members of the infamous "Hackers Panel" which convened in London this week at the InfoSecurity Europe conference.

The panel includes penetration testers and so-called "white hat" hackers, who help companies tighten up their digital security by searching for flaws in their defences.

Previous panellists include Gary McKinnon, known as Solo, alleged by the US government to have hacked into dozens of US Army, Navy, Air Force, and Department of Defense computers.

The "hackers" usually remain anonymous, "for security reasons", but this year's panellists agreed to break cover.

Common cause

First up was Roberto Preatoni, the founder of the cyber crime monitoring site, Zone-H, and WabSabiLabi, a trading site for security researchers.

His appearance came just a few months after he was arrested by Italian authorities on charges of hacking and wiretapping, as part of the ongoing investigation into the Telecom Italia scandal.

Mr Preatoni told the audience that the attacks in Estonia were a harbinger for a new era of cyber warfare.

"I'm afraid we will have to get used to this," said Mr Preatoni, also known as SyS64738. "We had all been waiting for this kind of attack to happen.

"Estonia was just unfortunate to be the first country to experience it. But very soon, our own [western] companies and countries will be getting attacked for political and religious reasons.

"This kind of attack can happen at any time. And it will happen."

During the two week "cyber war" against Estonia, hackers shut down the websites of banks, governments and political parties using "denial-of-service" (DoS) attacks, which knock websites offline by swamping servers with page requests.

As many of the attacks originated from Russia, the Estonian government pointed the finger at the Kremlin. But Mr Preatoni said that, having spoken to contacts in the hacking community, he was clear that "Putin was not involved".

"In my opinion, this was a collection of private individuals who spontaneously gathered under the same flag.

"Even though Estonia is one of the world's most advanced countries in IT technology, the whole economy was brought to its knees.

A NEW era of co-operation between Oxford city and Oxfordshire county councils was ushered in today after the authorities agreed a £2.5m deal over the running of park-and-ride sites.

At a date yet to be decided, County Hall will take over the running of Oxford city's three park-and-ride sites.

Currently, the city runs and maintains the Redbridge, Seacourt and Pear Tree sites with the county running the Thornhill and Water Eaton facilities.

Parking at the city-run sites costs £1 - in addition to a bus fare into the city, whereas parking is free at county-run facilities.

The agreement, which was taken at a meeting of the Town Hall's decision-making executive, means County Hall will take over the operation of all five sites for ten years and pay the city £250,000 a year for the privilege.

After ten years, Redbridge, Seacourt and Pear Tree will all revert back to city council control.

As part of negotiations between the two councils, a new "liaison committee" has been set up with the expressed aim of avoiding embarrassing, public disputes over areas of disagreement.

The two councils have been at loggerheads recently, disagreeing vocally on a range of issues, notably paid-for parking permits for city residents.

City council leader John Goddard said: "This is a good deal.

"We will discuss things with each other - we intend to work more consensually together."

Source: Witney Gazette

THE number of schools in Oxfordshire affected by tomorrow's teachers' strike has risen to 52.

Of the 232 primary schools, 33 secondary schools and one academy in the county, 31 have confirmed they will close and another 21 only have lessons for some pupils.

Listed below are schools expected to either close or be affected, according to Oxfordshire County Council or the NUT:

Banbury School, Ruskin Road, Banbury (Yr 13 languages oral exams and business case study exam will continue)
Bardwell Special School, Sunderland Drive, Bicester
Blessed George Napier Catholic School, Addison Road, Banbury (Yrs 7-9 closed)
Bloxham C of E Primary School, Tadmarton Road, Bloxham
Carterton Primary School, Burford Road, Carterton
Chiltern Edge School, Reades Lane, Sonning Common
Chipping Norton School, Burford Road, Chipping Norton (Yrs 7-9. Open Yrs 10-13)
Church Cowley St James Church of England Primary School, Bartholomew Road, Oxford
Cumnor Church of England School, Oxford Road, Cumnor
Cutteslowe Primary School, Wren Road, Oxford
Edward Feild Primary School, Bicester Road, Kidlington (except nursery)
Fitzharrys School, Northcourt Road, Abingdon
Fritwell Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School, East Street, Fritwell, Bicester (three out of six classrooms closed)
Grove Church of England School, North Drive, Grove (all classes open except one)
Harriers Ground Community Primary School, Bloxham Road, Banbury (Yrs 5 and 6 open)
Hook Norton Church of England Primary School, Sibford Road, Hook Norton
Icknield Community College, Love Lane, Watlington (Yrs 7-9 closed)
Iffley Mead School, Iffley Turn, Oxford
John Blandy Voluntary Controlled Primary School, Laurel Drive, Southmoor
John Mason School, Wootton Road, Abingdon (Yr 11 exam students can work with teachers)
Larkmead School, Faringdon Road, Abingdon
Larkrise Primary School, Boundary Brook Road, Oxford (foundation unit open)
Millbrook Primary School, School Lane, Grove (Yr 6 open)
New Hinksey Church of England Primary School, Vicarage Road, Oxford 9Yrs 5 and 6 and foundation stage open)
Northbourne Church of England Primary School, Didcot (only pink, grey and brown classes open
Northfield School, Knights Road, Blackbird Leys
Orchard Fields Community School, Prescott Close, Banbury Orchard Meadow Primary School, Wesley Close, Oxford Our Lady's Catholic Primary School, Oxford Road, Cowley
Oxford Community School, Glanville Road, East Oxford
Peers School, Sandy Lane West, Littlemore, Oxford
SS Mary and John Church of England Primary School, Meadow Lane, Oxford (KS1 at Hertford Street open)
St Aloysius' Catholic Primary School, Woodstock Road, Oxford
St Andrew's Church of England Primary School, Station Road, Chinnor (all classes open except Yrs 1 & 2)
St Christopher's Church of England Primary School, Langford, Lechlade
St Ebbe's School, Whitehouse Road, Oxford
St Francis Church of England Primary School, Horspath Road, Cowley
St Gregory the Great Catholic School, Cricket Road, Oxford (Yrs 7-10 closed)
St John's Primary School, St Johns Road, Wallingford
St Joseph's Catholic Primary SChool, Thame (Yrs 1-3 closed)
St Nicholas C of E Primary School, East Challow, Wantage
St Swithun's Church of England Primary School, Kennington
Stanford-in-the-Vale C of E Primary School, High Street, Stanford in the Vale
Stephen Freeman Community School, Freeman Road, Didcot (two classrooms closed)
Stockham Primary School, Stockham Way, Wantage
Stoke Row Church of England Primary School, Henley-on-Thames (KS2 classes closed)
Stonesfield Primary School, High Street, Stonesfield, Witney (KS2 classes closed for Yrs 3-6 only)
Tetsworth Primary School, Tetsworth, Thame
Thameside Primary School, Cotman Close, Abingdon
The Blake Church of England (Aided) Primary School, Cogges Hill Road, Witney
The Henry Box School, Church Green, Witney (open except for Yrs 8 & 9)
The Marlborough School, Shipton Road, Woodstock (Yrs 12 & 13 open)
Watchfield Primary School, North Street, Watchfield

Source: Witney Gazette

MORE than 20 Oxfordshire schools are set to close on Thursday as teachers walk out of classrooms on strike in their fight for better pay.

The strike - by the National Union of Teachers (NUT) - is the first for 21 years and it is not yet known exactly how many of the 2,750 Oxfordshire NUT members will be taking part in the industrial action.

So far it has been announced 25 schools across the county will be closed but that is not a final tally.

Among the largest secondary schools which have confirmed they will be closing are Oxford Community School, in Glanville Road, East Oxford, and Fitzharrys School in Abingdon.

Henry Box School in Witney will be closed to year eight and nine pupils. The Marlborough Church of England School in Woodstock will be closed to pupils in years seven to 11.

John Mason School in Abingdon will also be closed but students in year 11 and the sixth form will be able to go into school to work with teachers not in the NUT.

A number of primary schools will be affected including Cumnor C of E School, Cutteslowe Primary School, Edward Feild Primary School in Kidlington and St Ebbe's Primary School in Oxford.

Brenda Williams, secretary of the Oxfordshire branch of the NUT, said: "We don't want children to lose a day's education but in the grand scheme of things there has to be a point at which we identify what is happening to the teaching profession."

Members of the NUT voted three to one in favour of the strike over the Government's offer of a 2.45 per cent pay rise. The union leadership says any pay increase should at least match the retail prices index inflation rate, which was 3.8 per cent last month.

Here is the list of schools so far who are set to close due to the teachers' strike on Thursday:

Bardwell School
Carterton Primary School
Chiltern Edge School
Chipping Norton School
Church Cowley St James Church of England Primary School
Cumnor Church of England School
Cutteslowe Primary School
Edward Feild Primary School
Fitzharrys School
Fritwell Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School
Harriers Ground Community Primary School
Hook Norton Church of England Primary School
Iffley Mead School
John Mason School
Millbrook Primary School
New Hinksey Church of England Primary School
Northfield School
Orchard Meadow Primary School
Our Lady's Catholic Primary School
Oxford Community School
SS Mary and John Church of England Primary School
St Christopher's Church of England Primary School
St Francis Church of England Primary School
St John's Primary School
Stephen Freeman Community School
Tetsworth Primary School
Thameside Primary School
The Blake Church of England (Aided) Primary School
The Henry Box School
The Marlborough School

Source: Witney Gazette

Confidence in the UK housing market fell in March to its lowest point in 30 years, according to a closely watched survey of property surveyors.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors' (Rics) said that 78.5% more surveyors reported a fall than a rise in house prices in March.

This was the gloomiest reading since Rics began the survey in 1978.

The government's own house price figures confirmed a fall in prices in February by 1.6%.

The results come after leading mortgage lenders have offered similarly downbeat views on property prices.

Rics said the next six months would be crucial for homeowners and would-be buyers in the UK.

Historical low

The Rics house price balance dropped for the eighth consecutive month. It exceeded the previously lowest reading in June 1990.

Jeremy Leaf, Rics spokesman, said the gloom was the result of the credit crunch and its effect in stopping mortgage providers lending to each other.

LOSS-MAKING Cogges Manor Farm Museum, in Witney, cannot live on the past, and needs a new vision for the future.

That is the message from one of the country's leading museum experts, Roy Brigden, keeper of the Museum of English Rural Life.

As the owners, Oxfordshire County Council, look for new ways to turn the facility around from its annual £250,000 running losses, Mr Brigden said it needed to embrace a new outlook to get more people through the gates.

He said: "They have gone off the boil and fallen slightly out of favour. The costs remain the same, but the income has been diminishing.

"But it is happening with many of the 50 members of the Rural Museums Network.

"Many of them were formed between the late 1960s and early 1980s, and the motive for establishing them might be described as an attempt to remember a traditional rural way of life . . . to keep its memory alive.

"As original audiences have died out, the original motive for the museums may no longer be sufficient.

"The challenge to museums in this position is to find ways to become more relevant to modern audiences.

"We recognise the challenge for Cogges is now more heightened, and more immediate than elsewhere."

UK interest rates have been cut to 5% from 5.25% by the Bank of England in an attempt to spur the economy in the face of the global credit crunch.

It is the central bank's third cut in interest rates since early December.

The Bank said that disruption in financial markets and tighter credit conditions could lead to a slowdown in the wider economy.

The largest mortgage lenders say they will pass on the cut to their mortgage customers who pay variable rates.

Decision welcomed

Business groups welcomed the decision and called for further cuts to shore up growth.

"It is vitally important to ensure that problems in the financial sector and in the housing market do not damage wealth-creating businesses," said David Kern, economic adviser to the British Chambers of Commerce.

A WASTE recycling scheme, collecting from shops and businesses in West Oxfordshire, is to be extended.

Since it was launched last June, the scheme has diverted 130 tonnes of cardboard and glass away from landfill and into recycling.

Although so far only 120 customers have signed up, West Oxfordshire District Council is expecting to recruit more by putting a freeze on costs and collect more waste materials.

Customers, including pubs, restaurants, factories, and other commercial premises, have the choice of four different sizes of waste collection bins, which are emptied on Saturdays.

Satisfied customers include the Usborne Publishing archive store, at Stanton Harcourt. Zoe Wright, manager, said: "All our waste cardboard used to go in with the rubbish for landfill, and we were feeling very guilty about it.

"The recycling service is just the job, as it helps us honour our commitment to be as green as we can."

The council trialed a glass scheme for pubs, where brewers are reluctant to take back empty bottles.

Tom Gee, of the Clanfield Tavern, said: "I'm glad we now have an alternative to throwing empty bottles into our wheelie bin."

The council brought in the scheme following a survey that showed that 93 per cent of the firms contacted would rather recycle their waste than send it to landfill.

Weekly costs are to stay the same for the coming year, ranging from £3.15 for a 240 litre bin to £8.90 for 1,100 litres. Normal waste collection charges cost more.

In addition, cardboard recycling for traders at Witney Market was introduced last October, with collections every Thursday. They could also be extended to other West Oxfordshire markets in due course.

David Harvey, cabinet member for the environment, said: "The overall viability of our commercial waste collection service will be reviewed in spring 2009.

"In the meantime, we are exploring opportunities to offer commercial customers an enhanced service to collect a wider variety of waste materials for recycling."

Source: Witney Gazette

Snow has fallen across much of the UK overnight, with forecasters warning that there is likely to be more later.

Overnight snow descended in north-east England, Manchester and north Wales and headed down towards the Midlands, with similar conditions in southern England.

With wintry conditions in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, the Met Office has issued a number of flash warnings of severe or extreme weather.

BBC Weather warned driving would be "treacherous" in many areas.

Snow has also started to fall in central London.

Up to 8cm (3in) of snow is likely to fall in parts of southern England, according to BBC weather forecaster Chris Fawkes.

Icy roads

He also predicted heavy snow in all parts of Wales, with Scotland and Northern Ireland also likely to be hit by wintry conditions.

Where driving is concerned, the forecaster added: "The mix of snow and ice has created treacherous conditions in some parts of the country."

However, he said the snow was likely to clear in southern England later in the morning.

The Met Office said there was at least an 80% chance of heavy snow and widespread icy roads across Northern Ireland, north Wales and north-west England.

It also said there was a strong possibility of heavy snow in the West Midlands and southern England.

Aircraft search

The M56 has been closed in both directions in Cheshire, and there have been accidents on the M40.

A Thames Valley Police spokesman said Bicester, Aylesbury and Oxfordshire had all seen heavy snowfall, with several reports of cars struggling to continue their journeys and minor accidents.

Snow in Scotland and parts of northern England on Saturday hampered the search for a missing aircraft in the Highlands.

The light aircraft disappeared off radar as it was crossing the Cairngorms, south east of Glenmore Forest, in poor weather on Saturday morning.

Temperatures have dropped significantly over the weekend after a warm week that had included the hottest day of the year on Thursday.

You can send us your snowy pictures. Email:

Source: BBC News

THE planned new road to bring relief to traffic congestion in Witney town centre would be a single lane, two-way road with a 40mph speed limit.

Provision would also be made in the Cogges Link for a three metre-wide footpath and cycle way between Witan Way and the Stanton Harcourt Road.

Oxfordshire County Council's decision making cabinet has formally lodged its application for the road, which is just over a mile long and crosses the River Windrush.

The project, which is estimated to cost £16.4m, will go to West Oxfordshire District Council planners and is expected to receive the go-ahead in the next month or so, but is almost certain to result in a public inquiry over compulsory purchase of land. Earliest opening would be in 2011.

Ian Hudspeth, cabinet member for transport, said: "This has been a real saga and I know that many local people are keen to see action to relieve traffic in Witney.

"I hope that a renewed planning permission will be a step in the right direction in terms of reaching solutions."

The Link Road was one of two options - the other an improved Shores Green junction on the A40 Witney bypass, to ease congestion, particularly in Bridge Street which is used by about 30,000 vehicles a day.

The area affected by the new road is mostly open land to the south and east of Cogges, mainly agricultural with some public open space made up of the country park between the two branches of the Windrush and a smaller area immediately to the east of the Stanton Harcourt Road between Cogges and the A40.

The county council said a replacement area for the lost public open space would be provided to the north east between the Cogges estate and the new road. Provisions to mitigate the loss of country park are also included in the scheme proposals. The county council said that a recent detailed flood risk assessment indicated that the chosen route did not impact on the floodplain of the River Windrush.

Source: Witney Gazette

A CASH boost of almost £25m has been awarded to Abingdon and Witney College to help it build eco-friendly buildings.

As reported in the Gazette last month, the £24.8m grant from the Learning and Skills Council is equivalent to 87 per cent of the cost of a £30.5m project to rebuild Abingdon and Witney College's Witney campus.

Most college building projects get just 40 to 50 per cent from the Government, and are expected to raise the rest themselves through selling off land and moving to new sites.

Steve Billcliffe, the college's development director, said: "It is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for West Oxfordshire." Plans for the new college, which was formed in 2001, are on display around Witney, and people are being invited to comment through the planning process.

If approval is gained, planning work on the site could start as early as June. Mr Billcliffe added: "We are going to have to borrow the rest from the bank on a mortgage, but this level of grant means we will be able to stay where we are. It is an expensive build and it is going to take three years to complete, but at the end of it we will have a state-of-the-art campus."

When the campus is built, new catering and hairdressing courses will be on offer in addition to updated computer, media, film and music technology facilities.

The development will include new student accommodation across almost 7,500 square metres, including almost 500 square metres of specialist accommodation for students with higher-level learning support needs.

As part of the development, the redundant Welch Way ambulance station - which has already been purchased by the college - will be bulldozed to open up a walkway into the campus.

Witney has 600 full-time students, aged 16 to 18, and about 2,000 adult and part-time learners, with a staff of about 200.

Source: Witney Gazette