Oxford & district · Local news you can trust
Leslie Valentine flew a Boston bomber at 50 feet over the D-Day beaches. His DFC, Croix de Guerre and logbooks go to auction in Scarborough on Thursday.
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Oxford
Santa in Oxford 2026: Castle Grotto and Steam Train Dates
Where to meet Father Christmas near Oxford in 2026: Didcot's Steam Into Christmas from 5 December, Chinnor Santa trains from £24.50, the castle's bear workshop.
Oxford
Oxford Christmas Lights Switch-On 2026: 13 to 15 November
Oxford switches on its Christmas lights with the free Light Festival, 13 to 15 November 2026. First events listed, last year's programme and what is to come.
Oxford
Christ Church Oxford at Christmas 2026: Days It Is Closed
Christ Church shuts from midday on 24 December, all Christmas Day and from 11.30am on 17 December. Winter hours, ticket prices and the £10 residents' card.
Oxford University Press
Oxford English Dictionary Adds Mountweazel and 400 New Words
The OED's 23 September update adds more than 400 words, including mountweazel, a fake entry planted to catch copiers. Six come from Welsh English.
Travel
Botley Road reopens after 3 years: what has changed
Botley Road reopened on Sunday after almost three and a half years. The new bridge clears 4.4 metres, the cycleways under it run one way, and night works go on.
Business
Oxford Biomedica staff reach 1,017 as sales hit £79.8m
OXB employed 1,017 at the end of June, its highest in five years, and credits UK hiring. Half-year sales hit £79.8m, but just 1.5% came from UK clients.
Local Info
Oxford roadworks: A34 night closures, Botley Road open
The A34 southbound shuts 9pm to 6am from tonight to Friday, diverting through Abingdon. Botley Road reopened on Sunday, and Broad Street closes for filming.
Housing
Oxford house prices down £11,212 in a year, flats worst
The average Oxford sale price was £471,667 in July, down £11,212 on a year earlier. Flats fell 5.2%, and South Oxfordshire is now dearer for a second month.
Council
Oxford tourist tax: why the city still cannot charge one
Mayors get the power to tax hotel stays, but Oxford has no mayor and no strategic authority. The rules also bar a city-only rate. What has to happen first.
Education
Oxford Drops to Fifth in Times Good University Guide
Oxford is fifth in the Good University Guide 2027, down from joint fourth. Its own students rank it last in the Russell Group for being listened to.
Headington
Headington Post Office back after 8 months, on Windmill Road
Headington's Post Office is back at 12 Windmill Road with passports, banking and vehicle tax, after eight months shut. Plus two new counters in OX3 and OX4.
Flooding
Oxford Flood Scheme: Graham to Build It, No Start Date Yet
Graham will build Oxford's £220m flood scheme and the Treasury has approved the business case. But the Environment Agency has dropped its late 2026 start date.
The Oxford Post is written for the city people live in: Cowley and Headington, Jericho and Summertown, Marston, Iffley, Rose Hill, Blackbird Leys, Botley Road and East Oxford, as well as the centre and the two rivers. Oxford is a small city with an extremely tight housing market, a car plant at Cowley, two universities and a permanent argument about how traffic moves through it.
Two councils share the work. Oxford City Council handles planning, bins, licensing and housing; Oxfordshire County Council runs the roads, the schools and the traffic schemes, which is worth knowing before you complain to the wrong one. We name the responsible authority in every story and link to its own record.
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