Oxford as it Should Be

We know that Daily Info founder John Rose was a dreamer, and it's difficult to say now how many of these ideas may have originated with him, and how many with Mary Potter herself. John Rose made various suggestions to the council, including moving the council wholesale to the Thornhill Park and Ride site. While this was roundly dismissed at the time, it has since been put forward as a suggestion by the council itself.

Other ideas which must have sounded revolutionary when this cartoon was drawn must include the casino in the castle, and the schools of Witchcraft and Alchemy. But since the development of Oxford Castle Quarter and the city's Harry Potter and Philip Pullman connections they seem almost plausible! And while the railway may not be returning to the steam age, reopening the branch line to Cowley has reappeared on the drawing board, as it could connect up the Science Park between Sandford and Littlemore with the station and Headington.

In a city so full of wild-thinkers prepared to dream up the impossible, there's no saying where the city may be headed in another 30 years' time.