January

Peeling off Green Belt.

Opponents to development on Oxford’s Green Belt offered stark warnings of its potential impact on the county after a key development plan was approved.

The plan approved involved the large scale development of seven sites until 2034 with six of them lying within the Green Belt.

February

Get in there tackle fire get woman out.

Two police heroes, PC Harper and PC Caleb Smith, stormed into a burning building to save a barely conscious woman and were commended for their bravery.

Armed with only a small fire extinguisher the officers ran into the inferno to drag out the resident to safety.

March

The inn thing.

The pub and restaurant trade was given a boost with re-openings of some establishments, bucking the trend for closures across the south of the county.

We saw the reopening of The Bell in Faringdon, the Extraordinary Hare in West Hendred and the restaurant in the Swan in Tetsworth, near Thame.

April

Ex-boss made club into tip.

Abingdon Town FC site was used to store and burn rubbish, leaving the football club to pick up the pieces.

Jayson Lyon, of Milton, near Abingdon admitted before magistrates in December to running an illegal waste operation at Abingdon Town Football Club.

The 33-year-old pleaded guilty and was sentenced to a six-month jail term suspended for 12 months.

May

Colourful Coalition.

Southern Oxfordshire was set to be run by a colourful coalition of Lib Dems, Greens and Independent councillors after the Conservatives were kicked out of power.

South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse district councils were taken over by a slew of minority parties at the dramatic local elections.

June

Like living in a disaster zone.

The residents of the new Wantage estate, Bovis Homes, spoke out over unfinished work comparing the build quality to like living in the Chernobyl disaster zone.

Residents spoke out calling the developer a ‘nightmare’ and criticising the ‘enormous effort’ needed to spur its customer service team into action over issues such as drainage.

July

Out of Advice.

The vital service, Citizens Advice was forced to close its headquarters. The service was concerned that hundreds of people with complex needs could miss out if it cannot find a home.

However, while the service was set to temporarily offer one session a week, fellow Rec Room users Rainbow pre-school and Wallingford Food Bank are now more certain of their futures.

August

Locked deal.

The kingfisher Canoe club, which feared it would have to close after 40 years was saved after planners approved a new riverside base.

The club has 140 members aged from 11 to 70 and it was forced out of its home on Wilsham Road since 2017.

The new plot is owned by the Environment Agency which has agreed to lease it to Kingfisher, and Mr Surman said Abingdon lock keeper Richard Hawkins had been a part of moving the project forward.

September

Carrying on Camping.

Travellers moved in at one of Oxfordshire’s biggest housing estates.

Caravans set up camp at Great Western Park with four caravans close to the under-construction new builds.

October

Students get room to thrive.

A new sixth form centre opened at King Alfred’s academy in Wantage.

The centre provides a study space and classrooms for 330 A-Level and AS students at the school.

The new build also has a large common room area, a lecture hall-style assembly room and computer suits.

November

Here come the quarries.

The County Council approved a document that stated the brunt of minerals needed for local construction projects will come from land across Southern Oxfordshire.

In the local aggregate assessment agreed by the council, Susan Halliwell, the Council’s director for planning and place said the current rate of sharp sand and gravel extraction is considered to be enough for 2019, but the amount of crushed rock and soft sand being dug out of the ground needs to be increased for next year.

December

Sad confused and let down.

The Didcot youth charity, TRAIN was left homeless at Christmas after the building it called home was deemed unsafe.

The charity was handed a lifeline after being given the opportunity to run programmes at the Methodist Church, but it is still looking for a permanent home.