Latest news with #Banbury
Yahoo
13 hours ago
- Yahoo
Man who exposed himself to drivers on M40 overbridge wanted by police
A manhunt has been launched for a man who exposed himself to drivers on an overbridge of the M40 in Oxfordshire. The incident occurred at on the M40 junction 11 at Banbury on June 18, at about 5.45pm, in which a male was standing on the overbridge exposing himself. Thames Valley Police for Cherwell have today (June 20) launched an appeal for anyone who witnessed the exposure incident to come forward. READ MORE: Reports of fire at Oxfordshire M40 major crash A spokesperson for the force said: "Were you travelling on the M40 at junction 11 on June 18 at 5.45pm? Experience the pulse of Oxford at your fingertips 🗞️ With our flash sale, Oxford Mail keeps you updated for less: only £4 for 4 months or save 40 per cent on an annual subscription. Don't miss out on what's happening locally #DigitalDeal #LocalJournalismhttps:// — Oxford Mail (@TheOxfordMail) June 16, 2025 "If you were you may be able to help us with an investigation of exposure we are currently looking into. "If you saw the male or have any Dashcam footage that may help us to identify who they are please can you make contact." Anyone with information relating to this incident should contact police by calling 101 or making a report online quoting reference number 43250302938.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Oxfordshire sewing centre closes final shop as business shuts down
A sewing business in Oxfordshire will close the last of its stores by the end of the month as the company shuts down for good. Cotswolds Sewing Centre is an independent family business, which had stores in Banbury and Witney and popular online shopping site. The company announced it would be closing its shop in Parsons Street, Banbury, in January earlier this year after more than 40 years as a staple of the craft industry in the old town. READ MORE: Amber heat-health alert issued for Oxfordshire amid heatwave At the time, Amy Brennan, who took over the business after he mother died in 2020, said the business' other shop in Witney and its online retail store would remain open. Amy Brennan of Cotswold Sewing Centres (Image: Banbury Sewing Centre) Now, however, the owner has announced the closure of both. Experience the pulse of Oxford at your fingertips 🗞️ With our flash sale, Oxford Mail keeps you updated for less: only £4 for 4 months or save 40 per cent on an annual subscription. Don't miss out on what's happening locally #DigitalDeal #LocalJournalismhttps:// — Oxford Mail (@TheOxfordMail) June 16, 2025 Ms Brennan said in a notice to customers: "With a heavy heart I'm announcing the closing of Cotswold Sewing Centres. "Our Witney store and website will close in June 2025. Unfortunately the April increases for businesses has forced this decision. "Thank you for all the support over the years." READ MORE: Award-winning Cotswolds pub sold to family-run pub company The shop has an "everything must go" sale on in its Witney store and online site to get rid of the last of the stock before it shuts its doors on Tuesday, June 24. When she closed the Banbury store, Ms Brennan said: "As many will know, I took over the shop after the death of my lovely mum in order to continue with her dream of what the business could become. 'I took a leap of faith five years ago during Covid and decided to take the shop on, and turn it around. I feel I've honoured my mum the best I can.'
BBC News
3 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
'Everybody benefitted' from Banbury coffee factory set to close
Former employees of a six-decade-old coffee factory have told the BBC that it will be "sad to see it go", after its closure was announced earlier this coffee-making giant Jacob Douwe Egberts (JDE) said it would be closing its plant in Banbury - which employs about 160 people - next MP for Banbury Sean Woodcock, whose grandmother worked at the factory, said it was a "sad day" for the town that "really stings".JDE said closing the site - which first opened as a General Foods (GF) plant in the 1960s and employed thousands at its peak - was "not an easy decision to take". "Unfortunately, it seems clear that JDE gave up on Banbury long ago," Mr Woodcock said."This will be a very anxious and worrying time for employees and their families - I would urge them to contact me if they have need of any assistance," he added. The then GF Factory opened in 1964, producing food and drink - including Bird's Tuesday a group of former employees gathered at the GF Social Club in Banbury - which was established more than 50 years ago as a place for the factory's workers to let off some Marshall, who worked at the factory for 38 years, said it had been a "lovely place to work"."It was a very homely place and it was really good for you - they really looked after you."He said the news of its closure was "terrible", adding: "If we don't look at the way things are going now - once they're gone, the town is going to die." Echoing a similar sentiment, Annmarie Rutland said: "Its all just disappearing, and its a shame because General Foods was Banbury.""For some people it went down from fathers to sons and daughters - it was a family business," Ms Rutland, who stopped working at the factory two decades ago, said."A lot of people have come and gone now, and everyone has to move on - it's a shame."Her mother Jean Rutland, who previously worked at the GF Club, added: "Banbury has changed such a lot now - it's all gone, everything's disappearing."Basil Wallock, who worked at the plant until 1989, said the closure was "not good for the area", adding that it would be "sad to see it go"."Everybody [in the town] has benefitted from it - it was good for the community for a whole," he said."I never worked anywhere else, and I had a good life through it." Coffee production at the plant ended in 2023, with hundreds losing their jobs and only the site's packing facilities left a further review, JDE said the costs involved in maintaining the decades-old infrastructure in Banbury was "not financially viable", and the site would be completely closed."We are proud to have manufactured and packed coffee in Banbury for almost 60 years and would like to thank the local community for their valued support," JDE said."Most importantly, we want to acknowledge and thank everyone who has worked at the factory over the past six decades."A consultation into the planned closure in 2026 would be launched soon, the company added. You can follow BBC Oxfordshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
BBC News
3 days ago
- Lifestyle
- BBC News
Cherwell sports centres to undergo eco-friendly improvements
Four leisure centres and sports pavilions are set to undergo eco-friendly enhancement works worth a combined £ funding will be used to help decarbonise Spiceball and Woodgreen leisure centres and North Oxfordshire Academy sports pavilion, all in Banbury, as well as Stratfield Brake pavilion, in District Council said it secured money for the improvements through the government's Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS).The authority said the works would save 234 tonnes of carbon dioxide each year – the equivalent of driving a car for more than 820,000 miles (1.3m km). Improvements will include replacing fossil fuel-based heating systems with low-carbon alternatives, such as heat upgrades, including insulation improvements, will also be carried Beckett, the council's greener communities chief, said the authority was "committed to addressing climate change head-on"."While we've invested before in decarbonisation measures at our leisure centres, there's still more to be done to reach our carbon net zero ambitions," he said."This [funding] will allow residents' trips to the gym or swimming pool to feel both good for personal health and planetary health."The majority of the works are expected to be completed by March 2026, in line with the council's goal of achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2030. You can follow BBC Oxfordshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
BBC News
3 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Banbury's JDE coffee factory to close after six decades
Dutch coffee-making giants Jacob Douwe Egberts (JDE) has announced plans to close a factory that employs about 160 company said its plant in Banbury - which first opened as a General Foods (GF) factory in the 1960s - would shut next move was "not an easy decision to take", JDE said, but that a review found the costs involved in maintaining the decades-old infrastructure was "not financially viable".Coffee production at the plant ended in 2023, with hundreds losing their jobs and only the site's packing facilities left running. "We have today announced a proposal to close our entire site in Banbury," JDE said in a statement earlier. "This was not an easy decision to take, and our priority now is with our associates and supporting them throughout the consultation process."It said that following a "comprehensive review into what it would take for Banbury to operate as a best-in-class packing facility", it found that "significantly more investment" was needed than "previously anticipated". The then GF Factory opened in 1964, producing food and drink - including Bird's been taken over by US food giant Kraft in the ensuing years, it was bought by JDE in faced widespread strike action in 2020 and 2021 at the plant when it put forward plans to fire and rehire much of the workforce on less favourable contract terms. Workers later agreed a deal to avoid the proposal."We are proud to have manufactured and packed coffee in Banbury for almost 60 years and would like to thank the local community for their valued support," JDE said."Most importantly, we want to acknowledge and thank everyone who has worked at the factory over the past six decades."A consultation into the planned closure in 2026 would be launched soon, the company added. You can follow BBC Oxfordshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
