Latest news with #OxfordCity
BBC News
23-07-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Gossip: Boro eye promising non-league teen talent
Middlesbrough are set to sign Oxford City's 19-year-old striker Jayden Carbon following an impressive National League North campaign from the English teenager last season. (Football Insider), externalWant more transfer news from the EFL? Take a look at Wednesday's gossip column here.
Daily Mail
02-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Oxford plots £2-a-night 'tourist tax' for overnight visitors staying in a hotel or college room
Oxford is plotting a £2-a-night tax on overnight visitors staying in a hotel or college room in a bid to swell council coffers. Guests would be charged for each night they spend in the historic city under new plans that officials estimate could raise £2.5 million every year in tax receipts. Funds racked up by the levy would go towards 'improving' Oxford for both residents and tourists, councilors at a scrutiny committee meeting on Tuesday heard. Self-catering accommodation and AirBnbs would be exempt from collecting the tax as they are not included in the business rate database, the Telegraph reports. Diana Fawcett, Oxford council's city centre manager, said: 'It's not really just about our tourists – it's about anybody who uses the city. 'So whether you live here, whether you work here, whether you're a student here, as well as a tourist, we want to improve that experience.' Council bosses calculate that the ancient university city received 32 million visitors last year, fuelling 40,000 jobs. By introducing a 'tourist tax', Oxford would be following in the footsteps of Manchester, which has implemented an accommodation business improvement district charge of £1 a night. Liverpool, meanwhile, levies a similar tax of £2 a night. Oxford City Council has been approached for comment. It's the latest in a string of controversial policy ideas mooted in the area, following hot on the heels of proposals to impose a congestion charge - in the local authority's latest move in the 'war on motorists'. Such a levy would be the first of its kind intoduced in Britain for more than two decades. Under the proposed 'temporary' scheme, motorists would be slapped with a £5 fee every time they travel into the city centre. Locals have warned that the plans would cripple businesses in Oxford, which have already been hit by a controversial low traffic neighbourhood scheme in the city. If enforced, Oxford would be just the third city in the UK to introduce a congestion charge - after London and Durham in the early 2000s. The plans were proposed by Oxfordshire County Council in June and could be introduced as early as this autumn. The scheme would be enforced using automatic number plate recognition - with charging cameras placed on six major roads that lead into the city centre. Oxford residents with a permit would be exempt from the £5 charge but anyone travelling into the city for work, tourism or shopping would have to pay. Oxford City Council, a separate local authority, has also criticised the scheme. Council leader Susan Brown said she was concerned that the scheme would allow wealthier people 'to buy access to our streets'. Oxford, which has a historic centre made up of a number of narrow medieval streets, has previously been named one of the most congested cities in the UK.
The Independent
02-07-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Beloved city break destination mulls new tourist tax
Oxford City Council is exploring the introduction of an Accommodation Business Improvement District (ABID), often referred to as a " tourist tax", on overnight stays. The proposed scheme would add a surcharge to hotel and college room rates for guests in Oxford. City officials estimate that such a levy could raise up to £10m for additional projects, with a £2 nightly charge potentially funding city improvements. Funds generated by the ABID would be controlled by a dedicated board, independent of Oxford City Council or other government bodies. Similar visitor charges are already in place in other UK cities, including Manchester and Liverpool.
Telegraph
02-07-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Oxford plots ‘tourist tax' on visitors
Oxford city council is planning to introduce a £2-a-night 'tourist tax' for overnight visitors. Guests visiting the ancient university city would have to pay the charge if they stay in a hotel or college room. Officials claimed that the surcharge could generate £2.5 million a year in tax receipts. It is not the first UK city to be considering a tourist tax. Cambridge mulled a £2 nightly surcharge last year before it was forced to abandon the plans following a backlash from hoteliers. Elsewhere, an accommodation business improvement district (ABID) charge is set at £1 a night in Manchester and £2 a night in Liverpool. At a scrutiny committee meeting on Tuesday, councillors heard the tax would be used to 'improve' the city for locals and tourists. AirBnB and self-catering accommodation, which fall outside of the business rate database used under BID legislation, would not have to collect the levy. Diana Fawcett, Oxford council's city centre manager, said: 'It's not really just about our tourists, it's about anybody who uses the city. So whether you live here, whether you work here, whether you're a student here, as well as a tourist, we want to improve that experience.' The council estimates that 32 million people visited the city last year, supporting 40,000 jobs. The proposals follow a series of other controversial revenue-generating policies proposed for the city in recent years. Oxfordshire county council wants it to become the first in Britain to introduce a congestion charge in two decades under plans for a £5 daily charge to access parts of its historic centre. 'Chronic gridlock' Low traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs) in the east of the city have also been made permanent despite a report finding they caused 'chronic gridlock' and 'exasperatingly slow' bus journeys. The council also plans to introduce controversial climate zones, which will ban residents from travelling directly between suburbs at peak times next year. Six traffic filters, described as 'bus gates', will close off arterial roads to cars in an attempt to relieve congestion and promote cycling in a trial that has been postponed by overrunning roadworks near the railway station. Local drivers will be given 100-day annual permits to cross the boundaries – or 25-day permits if they live outside the city – and fined £70 on other days if they do not take a detour onto the ring road. There is also a zero emission zone (ZEZ) in place in the city centre, which charges drivers for using non-compliant vehicles.
Yahoo
28-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Hoops promotion winner makes return to club
OXFORD City have announced the return of midfielder Latrell Humphrey-Ewers ahead of the 2025/26 season. The 22-year-old was formerly part of the Reading academy and represented the England Under-16s alongside the likes of Liverpool attacker Harvey Elliott and Burnley goalkeeper James Trafford. After being released by the Royals, Humphrey-Ewers joined the Velocity Football programme at the Hoops, breaking into the first team during the 2022/23 campaign. READ ALSO: Youngest ever player signs first professional U's deal Humphrey-Ewers played his part as the Hoops won promotion to the Vanarama National League that season, and was then rewarded with his first professional contract in June 2023. The midfielder was offered a new deal to stay with the Hoops last summer, but moved to Bath City in National League South, spending the latter part of the campaign on loan at Taunton Town. Humphrey-Ewers told the Hoops website: 'I'm really happy to be back. I feel like it was the right time to come back, and I'm really happy to be here. 'I learnt a lot about my game whilst on loan with Taunton Town last season, and I'm ready to show that here under the gaffer and with the new players.' Hoops manager Ross Jenkins added: 'I'm delighted to see Latrell back in an Oxford City shirt. He's someone we as a club have worked with for a number of seasons, and he's a player who's worked his way through the Velocity programme and into first team football. I'm looking forward to seeing him step up again.'
