In the last two weeks Headington Liveable Streets has been e-mailing as many candidates as we could find addresses for in Headington, Churchill and Quarry & Risinghurst Wards to ask their views on some of the key traffic-related issues affecting Headington. They shared their diagnoses of the problems and the solutions that they will pursue if voted into office. These responses are published unedited below. We were not able to find contact details for the Reform Candidates, and Conservative Candidates were approached via the main Oxfordshire Conservatives email address. All other potential candidates were contacted through emails listed on the “Who Can I Vote For?” website.

If there are remaining candidates out there who would like their responses to be included, please send them to hello@headingtonliveablestreets.org.uk.

Chris Smowton

Liberal Democrat Candidate for Headington Ward

What in your opinion are the main issues affecting your future constituency?

Top three issues in my view:

Housing affordability. I think we need to ensure adequate supply of homes of all tenure types (social, intermediate, open market) and ensure that that supply outpaces new demand due to commercial development and similar. The best places to deliver new homes are on our existing built footprint, e.g. by gentle densification around district centres-- these locations are in walking distance of amenities and key public transport routes. The second-best location is immediately on the city's existing built fringe, since these locations are in the main cyclable and existing commuter buses can easily be extended to reach them — for example, land south of Grenoble Road is set for this sort of development. So-called "green belt hopping" — that is, meeting the city's housing requirement by building 5-10 miles away — should be avoided since this is highly likely to foster more car commuting. All of the above is subject to protecting valuable green spaces (e.g. parks and nature reserves) within our existing built area.

Transport that works for everyone. Ensuring safe, quiet cycle routes that are clearly waymarked and a clear best choice for anyone physically able to use them as their primary way to work, school and daily necessities. Ensuring bus services are frequent, reliable, affordable and available in all areas of the city, including ensuring they are given sufficient priority that service reliability does not suffer at the busiest times of day. Ensuring practical options remain available where a car, van or other private motor vehicle journey is required, such as for people with mobility difficulties, those with an operational need to move heavy loads, and for routes that are currently poorly-served by public transport.

Maintenance of the public sphere. From potholes to battered street furniture to run-down public lavatories, the consequences of grinding austerity budgets are still with us. We need to pressure central government to ensure that as local government is reorganised, the new councils are put in a strong financial position, so they can both deliver their core services and invest in recovery from this legacy of skimping on repairs that may not be strictly necessary, but all of which contribute to a depressing, decrepit atmosphere to too many of our public spaces.

Is reducing traffic / encouraging active transport a priority for you?

Yes. The benefits of enabling people to reduce their daily dependency on car journeys are many, from reduced danger to pedestrians, particularly children, reduced congestion, reduced emissions, and the health benefits of active travel. There is also a strong potential for a virtuous circle; for example, more cyclists travelling a particular route positively influencing the norms and expectations for car drivers, or increased patronage of a bus route encouraging an increase in the service frequency. I support measures to improve bus reliability and introduce more routes and upgrades to active travel infrastructure that can encourage more car-free journeys.

What are your views on the non-NHS staff parking spaces included in the planning application for the Warneford Hospital Development?

I wouldn't specifically divide spaces up by employer affiliation (i.e. NHS or not-NHS), but I would take into account the expected number of people expected to be working antisocial hours at the site. Subject to this constraint, I would want to see parking "kept to the minimum necessary to ensure the successful functioning of the development" as required by the Oxford Local Plan. To the maximum extent practicable, I would want to see shuttle schemes utilised to enable people unable to directly use public transport or active travel to switch to a shuttle at a suitable site (most likely a Park and Ride site) so as to reduce vehicle traffic on Headington's local roads, particularly Old Road and Windmill Road / The Slade. I note such shuttle service would require investment to make it frequent and timely, such that employees are confident they can use it without substantially lengthening their commute. Otherwise attracting employees will become a substantial challenge.

What are your thoughts on how we encourage employers to Headington developments without increasing the already high levels of traffic?

Similar to the above, there is an opportunity to deliver park-and-ride shuttle or express bus services — particularly city-crossing ones, such that a person arriving to a different Park and Ride site such as Redbridge or Peartree could catch a fast and reliable onward service to key employment sites in Headington — such that this approach to commuting could become an embedded norm, fostering confidence that commuting this way is dependable, and indeed perhaps more so than driving in, taking advantage of bus priority schemes. Stronger cycle infrastructure could also further encourage the "park and cycle" approach for commuters, especially now that the increased popularity of folding e-bikes means a park-and-cycle that goes up Headington Hill is no longer the fitness challenge it once was!

Many of your future constituents will have children who attend Windmill Primary School. The Windmill School street has experienced the most penalty violations by far compared to other Oxfordshire School Streets. Acknowledging that Highways is currently a county responsibility, what can be done to make routes to school safer for children at Headington schools?

To make the School Street itself safer: we need to (1) enhance visibility of the school street restrictions, which is beneficial to both school parents and children, and to drivers avoiding an accidental penalty charge. I have previously written to ministers requesting authority to use the eye-catching flashing-light temporary-closure signs which are currently legal in Scotland but not England — their response was lukewarm. I will persist in lobbying them to make this simple legislative change. Meanwhile we need to improve conditions on the immediate fringe of the school street closure, where most parents making car drop-offs currently do so. A small minority increase danger here by parking thoughtlessly, either blocking pavements and sight-lines or inducing dangerous motorist behaviour by obstructing their sight-lines or creating a hazardous blockage. Regular spot enforcement by traffic wardens, or where necessary the police, could dissuade such problem parking. I would also work with the school to back up their already excellent communication with parents, to encourage parking just a little further away and walking just a little further to reduce local pressure. Or, better yet, to encourage more parents to transition to a car-free drop-off by providing more walking or cycling groups for children.

Ines Wilhelm

Green Candidate for Churchill Ward

What in your opinion are the main issues affecting your future constituency?

Housing:

More than 60% of Churchill residents are renters, about half of those on social rent. Tenants in Oxford often face insecure rent terms, unaffordable rents and badly maintained housing. We need fairer conditions for renters.

It is great to have a large NHS employer in the ward, but a lot of the staff cannot afford to live in Oxford and have to commute from nearby towns. We need more affordable housing to enable local workers to live locally.

Traffic:

According to the 2021 census, 38.1% of households in Churchill have no access to a car or van – higher than the Oxford average, and in fact, Churchill has the highest proportion of carless households in Headington (30.2% households with no access to a car/van).

We all pay for congestion, road traffic pollution and road danger, no matter if we (can afford to) drive or not.

The hospitals attract a huge volume of traffic every day, be it patients, visitors or workers. Residents in Churchill should not be subjected to more and more traffic, e.g. from increased parking with the redevelopment of Warneford Park. We all deserve to be able to move around our neighbourhoods safely, no matter the age and mobility.

Spaces, community spaces, parks and playgrounds:

Churchill contains or is near to some of the most beautiful natural spaces in our city. Magdalen Wood, Shotover on the other side of the Ring Road, and the Lye Valley nature reserve are valuable recreational spaces for residents, and habitats for wildlife and plants. These spaces need to be preserved and protected.

However, there is also a need to ensure that residents with no access to green spaces or community spaces on their doorstep have access to high quality spaces to enjoy the outdoors, meet, relax and play - which is something I will actively push for.

Is reducing traffic / encouraging active transport a priority for you?

Absolutely. Grassroots road safety campaigning was my stepping stone into my community activism journey in Oxford – having grown up on the continent, I was baffled at how much less safe our roads and pavements felt for people walking and cycling here in Oxford.

I believe we must rebalance the public realm to give more space to people, and less space to cars. I want to see an Oxford where all children can walk, wheel or cycle to school and their playdates safely, where visually impaired people and wheelchair users don’t have to navigate around cars parked on the pavements, and where Vision Zero is not just a concept, but a lived reality.

What are your views on the non-NHS staff parking spaces included in the planning application for the Warneford Hospital Development?

Parking creates traffic. I was disappointed to see this unimaginative, motonormative proposal. Headington and Oxford residents should not have to be subject to hundreds of additional car journeys a day. I have responded to both the consultation and the petition accordingly.

(FYI: The Warneford application (with the parking) passed planning on Tuesday evening. Only the Green cllrs voted against it.)

What are your thoughts on how we encourage employers to Headington developments without increasing the already high levels of traffic?

We need a more joined up network of alternatives to the car. What if Oxford had a much better well connected bus network, with a simplified and affordable ticketing system? What if it had a truly connected cycling network, with links to commuter towns nearby? Car sharing incentives? Shuttles?

There are many places in Europe and elsewhere where it is understood that there is no need to be car centric to be a desirable place for employers, and we are Oxford after all, which famously, is a desireable place for employers, and that's distinctly not because it is so great to drive in/through!

Many of your future constituents will have children who attend Windmill Primary School. The Windmill School street has experienced the most penalty violations by far compared to other Oxfordshire School Streets. Acknowledging that Highways is currently a county responsibility, what can be done to make routes to school safer for children at Headington schools?

ANPR controlled school streets are not supposed to be a revenue generator, if they do, they have failed their objective. If ANPR penalties don’t do the trick, the built environment will have to be changed. (*cough, cough: “Headington LTNs”)

Alison Kahn

Independent Oxford Alliance Candidate for Quarry and Risinghurst

What are the main issues affecting your future constituency?

Restoring trust and acting on what I hear is my priority. On the doorstep, I'm hearing serious concern about traffic restrictions that push congestion onto residential roads rather than solving the traffic problems. School Streets worry parents. They say children cannot be dropped off safely near school gates, yet traffic worsens on adjacent streets. Bus services are too infrequent to be a real alternative, and people tell me they now shop outside Oxford, threatening local retailers. Underlying everything is a loss of trust: residents feel councillors don't listen.

Is reducing traffic / encouraging active travel a priority for you?

Absolutely! Headington's roads are already under serious strain, and solutions that simply displace congestion elsewhere are not solutions at all. Active travel is good for health, and I support investment in genuinely safe cycling and walking routes. But I also recognise it is not feasible for everyone in all circumstances. The priority must be balanced, honest planning: better bus frequency, reliable public transport, and low-traffic principles where residents actually want them, not imposed regardless of local impact.

Pavements must be repaired so that our elderly residents can use scooters and walking aids safely. Some are frightened to go out in their cars as they do not want to be pushed onto the ring road. Big changes harm the mental health of residents if they do not understand how to negotiate new road layouts, and they end up staying at home. We must consider how change affects daily routines.

What are your views on non-NHS staff parking in the Warneford Hospital development?

I have serious concerns. Additional non-NHS parking spaces are likely to generate hundreds of extra car trips daily into an already stressed junction network. The argument that electric vehicles make this acceptable ignores particulate pollution and the affordability barriers for lower-paid staff. More cars, however powered, block the junction redesigns Headington urgently needs. I will seek full details of the planning application, but my starting position is that parking here should be reduced, not expanded.

How do we attract employers to Headington without increasing traffic?

Planning conditions must require robust, independently monitored travel plans from day one, not as an afterthought. Employers should subsidise bus passes, provide secure cycling facilities, and support flexible working. I would push for targeted park-and-ride services specifically timed for major employment sites. But I would also raise a harder question: continuous employment growth must be weighed against its impact on housing, infrastructure, and community wellbeing. How many residents are benefiting from the employment offered in these institutions, or are they being priced out of their neighbourhoods? There must be alternatives for this new or expanded development: residents deserve honest, transparent and consultative planning that reflects those choices.

What can be done to make school routes safer for children at Headington schools?

The Windmill School Street shows that car-free zones outside schools genuinely may improve safety outside the school, but not necessarily in the streets around the zone. The high rate of penalty violations reveals an enforcement gap. As a councillor, I would lobby the County to work with schools and police on community awareness, and advocate for clearly marked alternative routes for cars that do not cause frustration and speeding on other roads. A better cycling infrastructure around Headington requires thoughtful planning and discussions with residents who will be directly affected by the results. Several roads around Risinghurst and Quarry would benefit from clear signage that children are crossing, and community support officers to enforce adherence to road safety. If people see there is no one to enforce penalties, they will continue to disregard safety. We need more than cameras outside one school. We need a council that knows where to target help for residents. That means asking people how we can help make their lives easier and find solutions together.

Kai Zolleis

Liberal Democrat Candidate for Quarry & Risinghurst

What in your opinion are the main issues affecting your future constituency?

In my view, key issues affecting Quarry & Risinghurst and the wider Headington area include: pressure on local infrastructure from traffic congestion, road safety concerns, and the goal for safe and reliable travel to school and work. Alongside this, residents are also rightly see the wish to housing, the protection of local green spaces, and ensuring that our community keeps pace with population needs.

A long backlog of issues in Oxford needs to be addressed, such as potholes, affordable, reliable & frequent buses, a post office branch, cycling opportunities, speeding, poor parking, inappropriate behaviour, living costs, and many more.

We Liberal Democrat’s have discussed and agreed on a manifesto, addressing the areas affected by City Council. Please, refer to the manifesto.

The work of City Council will also cover areas such as Recycling & Waste, Council tax, Parking & Travel, Jobs, Housing, Transportation planning & Building Control, Business & Economy, Environment & Health, Cost of Living, Benefits & Support, People & Communities, Leisure, Parks & Culture, Climate Change, Council & Democracy, Our Approach, and Oxford’s Future.

Is reducing traffic / encouraging active transport a priority for you?

Yes – supporting safer walking, cycling, and public transport is clearly important for me. This must be done in a way that is practical and works for residents. I support transport solutions that reduce congestion while also improving safety, accessibility, healthy lifestyle and air quality. In particular, I will continue to push for safe routes to school and in other areas alongside measures that address dangerous driving and parking.

What are your views on the non-NHS staff parking spaces included in the planning application for the Warneford Hospital Development?

Regarding the development at Warneford Hospital site, outside Quarry & Risinghurst, I would like to refer to our policy on that matter to the Lib Dem City Council group leader Chris Smowton.

What are your thoughts on how we encourage employers to Headington developments without increasing the already high levels of traffic?

We need to support local employers while managing traffic growth responsibly. This includes encouraging workplace travel plans, improving bus reliability and frequency, advocating safe cycling infrastructure, and supporting flexible and hybrid working where possible. We should also ensure that new developments are designed with sustainable transport in mind from the outset. The cycling racks installed in Headington, Quarry & Risinghurst are one of many examples.

Many of your future constituents will have children who attend Windmill Primary School. The Windmill School street has experienced the most penalty violations by far compared to other Oxfordshire School Streets. Acknowledging that Highways is currently a county responsibility, what can be done to make routes to school safer for children at Headington schools?

Safer routes to school are essential, including Windmill Primary, Quarry Nursery School, the Old Road area, and the Eastern-Bypass Road / London Road. I recognise the concerns around enforcement and traffic violations in school streets, and I support stronger measures to improve compliance where schemes are already in place.

Although highways responsibility sits with the County Council, local councillors can and should play a strong role in pressing for improvements. This includes safer crossings, better enforcement where appropriate, traffic calming near schools, and coordinated work with police to address speeding and dangerous parking. I will continue to advocate for safer travel to school for all children and all others in the area.

When I was treasurer of the Quarry Nursery School PTA at the time, we all addressed ongoing parking issues during the COVID period. At Windmill, many other parents and I have achieved significant improvements over the past five years and are continuing to work towards further progress in the future.