Your guide for your
GROUP
Witney, Carterton and villages Thursday, May 24 - Wednesday, May 30, 2018
Out& About
around Oxfordsh
ire
Is it the final curtain for Sherlock Holmes? Super sleuth at Oxford Playhouse
Free
oxfordshireguardian.co.uk
Declutter and help Helen & Douglas House
Clubs celebrate at sports awards ceremony
Weekly leisure guide for in and around Oxford
leisure time in &
United’s year: New boss in to steady ship
Page 16
Page 5
Sport
Campaign to save ‘beating EVERY TRADE SECRET PRICE heart’ ofTRADE townSECRET music Rscene EDU
T, I E K I L , T SEE I T, TAKE YI BUWelch By George AYdelivery IT AarW range A ‘NONSENSE’ plan to convert the ‘beating heart’ e caofn Witney’s music r wsix sceneointo luxury apartments must be thrown out, campaigners have warned. The Rock Barn, in Market Square, has entertained music lovers since 2009 and is occupied by popular educational charity Muzo Akademy. But the music school faces imminent eviction after developers Keble Homes submitted plans for six flats at the site behind the Steamer Trading Cookshop and Joules. Supporters of the Rock Barn, which has six employees and 10 volunteers, believe the popular arts venue, which offers music lessons, provides a ‘much-needed’ service for the community. District councillor Rosa Bolger described it as one of the ‘hidden jewels in Witney’s crown’. She said: “I’ve lost count of the residents I’ve spoken to who have either been there or know someone who’s been there. To lose all of that just for a developer to build six luxury flats is simply nonsense.” The Muzo Akademy has had more than 1,500 members, including many older people, people diagnosed with autism, ADHD and dementia, as well as NEETs, those ‘not in education employment or training’.
OUTLET FURNITURE WAREHOUSE
OUTLET FURNITURE WAREHOUSE OUTLET FURNITURE WAREHOUSE
A petition has been launched to highlight the risk of demolition, and the Save the Rock Barn campaign is calling on planning chiefs to reject plans and fi nd an ‘innovative’ way to keep the service in place. Witney Community Primary School governor Trevor License said there are ‘lots’ of options open to West Oxfordshire District Council, such as buying the land or relocating the Rock Barn. Teen musician Ben Chesterman said attending sessions there has helped progress his writing and performing, adding the community ‘must do everything it can to protect it’. Poet Owen Collins, who has compered several events at the venue, described it as the ‘beating heart’ of Witney’s music scene. Witney Town Council objects on the grounds of overdevelopment and insufficient parking. Edgars, agents acting on behalf of Keble Homes, said the application should be granted without delay because it will provide a “more affordable form of development which is much needed within the area”. In a report, Anderson Architects said the development would ‘bring the site back to life’ and ‘transform’ the area. Visit tinyurl.com/ya9ywmpw to view the application and tinyurl.com/ ycyhgzel to sign the petition.
CED
OUR ʻMERRYTurning MONTH OFforMAYʼ the town blue a good cause SALE EVENT MUST END 5PM BANK TH HOLIDAY MONDAY - 28 MAY WITNEY turned blue for dementia on Monday as a mobile unit rolled into town offering people the chance to find out what it’s really like living with the condition. The Virtual Dementia Tour arrived in Richmond Village Witney on Monday as part of the
Turn Witney Blue campaign. The unit held two sessions to help people understand what it’s like living with the disease. Suzi Morgan, chair of the Witney Dementia Action Alliance, said: “The VDT is unlike any training course and actually gives
everyone an insight into the world of dementia and allows you to walk in the shoes of someone living with it.” Richmond Witney provides dementia care at its care home with this event forming part of the educational programme.
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