You may have read in the local press recently about a new project looking at providing a Hindu Temple for the county’s Hindu community, possibly in Oxford and possibly in the Headington area. I met last week two of the organisers of this new project to learn from them what their community wants and to see how we can work together in future.

It should be said that this project is at a very early stage, at the moment gathering support in the Hindu community across the county. In the first instance, the intention is to hold regular prayer meetings at an accessible location — the first occasion is in Kennington on 14th September where I hope to be to watch and learn about the ceremonies. In the longer term, there will be a fund-raising campaign looking to support a building and a priest. At that stage, they will be looking for a suitable site, which is in large part dependent on the location of those wanting to attend.

The Headington area, in its widest sense, already serves a range of faith groups, with a variety of Christain churches and, in Marston, the Sikh community represented. I am on record praising the cosmopolitan and open nature of Oxford and I would see a Hindu Temple as a further addition to that positive tradition. Equally, the help I’m giving to the project does not mean I want to tie them solely to my part of the city; I appreciate that there may well be other locations better suited to them than our area of Headington. My hope is that, in the fullness of time, they will find a site, in or near the city, best suited to them. I hope you join me in wishing them good fortune in their endeavours.

A series of public meetings will take place in Oxford for people to attend and register their point of view with the county council. Please see the County Council’s website for details of public meetings on this issue, and how to send in your views and comments electronically.

Local organisations will be contacted for their comments by the County. If you wish to air your views on this issue, then please come to the next North east Area Committee meeting on Tuesday 16 September at St. Andrew’s Primary School at 6 p.m.

Residents have asked about the extended bus service to Cherwell School which was expected to start in September. I have received confirmation from the County that this is going ahead and will start on Monday. Here is the email:

I can confirm the minor change to 700 that has been agreed with R H Transport, will take place as from Monday 1st September 2008

The existing 700 journey that currently leaves the J.R. Hospital at 08.05 and operates via Marsh Lane and the Northern By-Pass (i.e. the peak hour anti-flow route) will instead, from Monday, operate via Cherwell Drive and Marston Ferry Road (i.e. the normal daytime route). This will be just this one journey via this route at this time; the next Marston Ferry Road and Summertown routed journey is not then scheduled until 09.05.

Separate discussions are ongoing about a further extension of 700 to/from Churchill Hospital via Headington (London Road) and I suspect that the company was confused by this reference - hence the negative reply. The diverted 08.05 bus will, of course, still start from the J. R. Hospital bus terminus as now.

The company do offer a 10 jny multi-ride card (12 trips for the price of 10). Journeys are then cancelled as a when undertaken. The last 700 in the afternoon calls at the school at about 15.20 so later children will have to return on the Stagecoach 14 service in any case.

Following on from a number of enquiries from residents and via the eForum, I have received the following comments from the regional External Relations Executive that I though I would share with you. Please hit the comments button to register your views.

1. Inaccessibility to Ledgers’ Lane by public transport from Headington to
collect undelivered parcels.

I fully understand that for customers who do not have access to a car they
may find it difficult to travel to the new location. However, our
understanding is that there are bus stops (for the number 1, 5 & 5a bus
services) in the locale of Ledgers Close.

Perhaps it would help if I explained that there are various options
available to customers to avoid the need to travel to our East Oxford
Delivery Office to collect their undeliverable mail.

The options that are then available to the customer are:

Have the item re-delivered to their address or any other local address
free of charge at a mutually convenient date & time.
Local Collect Service - for 50p the item can be taken to their local
Post Office branch for collection.
Another person can collect the item on their behalf from the delivery
office upon producing the card and suitable ID for the named addressee.

The first two options can be arranged by telephone or via the Royal Mail
website.

Also some mail order companies will allow customers, at the point of
purchase, to nominate an alternative delivery address.

2. Concerns over the resourcing and management of the Delivery Office at
Ledgers’ Lane as there are often queues. Someone has been informed that
there is a shortfall of 17 staff there.

Following the move of Headington to East Oxford the weekday opening hours
of the Callers Office were extended to cope with the increase in customer
numbers, the opening hours are now: 07:00 – 17:00 Monday – Friday and 07:00
– 12:30 Saturdays. These extended hours have helped to spread the workload
on the staff working in the office and enabled them to offer a far improved
service to customers who have a need to visit or make contact with them.

We would like to apologise to our customers for the length of the queues on
occasions that is due to the extremely high number of packages at certain
times of the year e.g. Easter, Valentines day, Christmas etc. Our staff
always working very hard to serve people as quickly as possible. Again it
is worth referring to the other options available to customers that I
detailed in my response to point 1.

There are a number of vacancies in the office, however, the callers office
is always fully manned.

3. The popular suggestion that undelivered parcels could be collected from
Headington Post Office (I believe that this service used to be available in
Headington before a building was disposed of, so expectations are still
high that this service can be replaced).

There are several Post Office branches in the area, which we believe
includes the Headington branch, where customers can request for their item
to be taken to their local Post Office branch for collection for a nominal
charge of for 50p (Local Collect Service).

4. There are also concerns that there isn’t always a daily postal delivery
service to homes in the area - it would be useful if you could provide some
statistics on this!

As part of The Licence issued by the Postal Services Commission (Postcomm)
Royal Mail is obliged to provide a delivery service to all addresses within
the UK Monday to Saturdays, unless the receiving address has been
classified as a Universal Service Obligation (USO) exception. Any failures
have to be reported to Postcomm on a monthly basis.

The Delivery sector Manager has confirmed that deliveries are being made
daily to every house in Headington that receives mail that day.

I trust I have allayed your concerns regarding the issues above and we are
confident that East Oxford Delivery Office will continue to strive to
provide an exceptional service to all their customers.

However, if you feel it would still be beneficial for you to meet with both
the Delivery Sector Manager and local Delivery Manager please let me know.

Many thanks to all who came along to our street surgery on the corner of Margaret Road and St Anne’s Road on Thursday. Many issues were raised, including the need for a local Residents’ Association, the need for a Wooldridge Court street sign, the proposed mast on Rock Edge, residents’ parking zones, lack of progress on the Manor Ground development, bus routes and waiting areas, light pollution, street clutter, postal services, near misses caused by on-pavement cycle tracks, and cycling routes down Old Road. The sequencing of traffic lights at the Windmill Road/London Road junction was of high concern as two near misses had been seen last week, and a silver Mercedes car was seen speeding across the lights from Old High Street down Windmill Road which was highly dangerous (this has been reported to us previously by Old Headington residents). Lots of casework for us to be getting on with!

Residents in York Road would like to raise issues with us, and we shall try to fix a date for this so that a county councillor can attend as well

We valued all your comments, and are especially pleased that there is so much support for a new residents’ association to be set up in this part of the ward. If you live in the area bounded by Windmill Road, Langley Close, Margaret Road, York Road, and Old Road, including Gathorne Road, Rock Edge, Wooldridge Court and St. Anne’s Road, and you would like to be kept informed about the setting up of a new residents’ association, please let us have your contact details - we shall update you with developments!

There is one current licensing application in the Headington Ward being processed by the Licensing Authority week ending 29 August 2008

08/00734/PREM White Hart Public House, 12 St Andrew’s Rd.

Please click on Licensing applications on the left hand tool bar for details

The signals have gone down at Gipsy Lane and there is currently no pedestrian crossing signal in operation near the junction of Latimer Road and London Road because of damage to an underground cable.

The County Council has called in the signals company to investigate the fault, and unfortunately repairs cannot be carried out until next Wednesday 3 September.

David and I have asked that this work is given highest priority.

The Department for Transport’s annual road statistics have been published this month. They show that traffic has increased by 14% and that there are now 7,000 more roads since Labour came to power.

The statistics also show that HGVs have increased by 9.4% since 1997, and that 82% of them break the 50 mph speed limit on non built-up dual carriageways.

In the last fortnight, Ruth Kelly announced yet another £6bn to widen motorways.

Speaking in 1997, John Prescott said: “I will have failed if in five years’ time there are not many more people using public transport and far fewer journeys by car. It’s a tall order but I urge you to hold me to it.”

David and I have received quite a few enquiries lately about licensing applications concerning premises in the Headington area.  If you want to find out more, please click on the Council’s licensing application search link

I shall make a link to this search site from the left hand toolbar so that you can reach it quickly at any time 

First it was thought to be a green box, and then it grew into a phone stand. Next to the junction of London Road with Old High Street, and next to the existing phone boxes, a new stand has been erected at right angles to the existing boxes.

The new stand — it can hardly be called a box or a booth — did not need planning permission, though its advertising did (07/02672/ADV, for those with a desire for detail). But the question now is: why are there three phones at that point, blocking up the pavement?

The answer is that, when they made their advertising application, BT said that the new stand is a replacement and that the others will be removed. But they didn’t say when. So, Ruth and I have chased to find out when the pavement will be freed up again. We are told that BT are waiting for the electricity to the old boxes to be switched off, which Southern Electric will do on the 19th September. The boxes will be removed soon after that point.

This is the title of an interesting article in this week’s “Total politics” magazine about the importance of the Green Belt. Some figures are quoted by the Chief Economist at Policy Exchange that are quite surprising.

Which of these would you agree with?

75% of England is developed

50% of England is developed

25% of England is developed

15% of England is developed

or less than the above?

The answer is that, although 54% of survey respondents thought half of England was developed, the real answer (including garden space in cities) is 9.8%.

Sites of Special Scientific Interest, Special Protection Areas, Special Areas of Conservation, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and National Parks account for 55.2% of England’s land.

More than 1.6m hectares in England (12.9% of land) is classed as Green Belt.

It’s important that we discuss the issues around the Green Belt in a measured, non-emotive and rational way. Local residents are best placed to consider housing and other economic needs in our communities, not national government. We need to keep up pressure on central government to give us greater powers of decision-making in any future review of the County’s Green Belt.

Fed up with litter? Like to make where you live a better place? Well now’s your big chance. Keep Britain Tidy is launching the Big Tidy Up, the country’s biggest ever litter tidy up!   Oxford City Council and Oxforshire Waste Partnership are supporting the Big Tidy Up and we are encouraging people to have their tidy up in September 2008, however tidy ups can happen anytime throughout the year.  Schools, groups, businesses, or even just you and your neighbours - lets all get together and have a great Big Tidy Up! 

Go to the Oxfordshire Waste Partnership website to register

All tidy up groups will be entered into the draw which takes place at the end of September with one lucky group winning £250

David and I helped the New Headington residents tidy up in Kennett Road last year, don’t forget to let us know the dates and times of your Big Tidy Up events! We’re keen to help.

Those brave enough to stay till the end of the North East Area Committee meeting on Tuesday will have noted that David and I pushed hard for action on the Manor Ground development scheme.  Beech Road residents have made it clear to us that they are disappointed that the promised affordable housing units have not yet been built and made available for use.

We have secured the Area Committee’s backing to call for a progress report from the Head of City Development.  Our Area Co-ordinator Angela Cristofoli is arranging a meeting between officers in Planning and City Housing/Development and David and myself to agree an action plan.  We will post up more news when we have it..watch this space!

Some residents have commented recently about the smell in the underpass. Ruth and I have asked the Council to get to grips with this problem and officers have responded by agreeing to a daily disinfecting of the underpass. So, hopefully, it will return to being a pleasant route avoiding the dodgems of London Road! If you have any other concerns about the underpass, do drop us a line.

Further to our earlier post about opening times of public conveniences, the Area Manager would find it helpful if details of early closures are reported to
the Contact Centre on 01865 252900 or by e-mail to
streetscene@oxford.gov.uk in order for remedial action to be taken.

I have been asked why the planning applications made by Starbuck’s are no longer on the Council’s planning website. This is the information I have been given by planning officers.

The original Starbuck’s planning applications have been made invalid.

The original applications were served on the owners of the building but
incorrect details were quoted.  When this was realised, Starbucks
withdrew the applications, and submitted new ones with the correct
details.  These are currently being processed by planning officers and will be added to this week’s list

This means that the applications get logged all over again  and won’t come up before North East Area Committee till November.  

Important notice for residents who have sent in comments about the original applications

You will need to send in new letters quoting the new applications. 

Letters quoting the old applications will not be considered with the new applications.
 

David and I have been invited to discuss local Stagecoach bus service issues with the managing director of Stagecoach in Oxfordshire.

Do get in touch with us with any issues, suggestions for improvements, or problems with bus services, and we will include these in the discussion.  Please add your comments to this post, or contact us directly - our contact details can be found by clicking the Contact us link on the left hand bar.

I am also contacting all residents’ associations in the ward to ask for their views.

The re-routing of the no. 10 service from Headley Way to Osler Road will be on our agenda.

At the Central and N Headington Residents’ Association meeting, a local resident asked me to investigate Stagecoach’s policy on family friendly fares. Here is their response.

 “We are very keen to attract families and therefore offer group/family fares on all our services.  An Oxford adult Dayrider ticket costs £3.50 for unlimited number of journeys for up to 24 hours.  The family version costs £6.50 for up two two adults and three children.   To put this into context at day return to the city centre from Blackbird Leys in £2.80 for an adult and £1.40 for a child.  We offer rduced rate passes for travel to.from schools and colleges and, to encourage wider use by young people, last summer we extended their validity to allow travel at weekends and duting school holidays.  On Oxford Tube, children travel free when accompanied by an adult.  We are mindful of the requirements of families and are working on a number of other ideas an initiatives to make our services as “family friendly” as possible. “

Further to our earlier post about the Oxford Bus Company bus routes through the City, I now have a response from Stagecoach to share with Headington residents, as follows:

“We split the direct service between Headington and Kidlington last in April last year, principally because it was impossible to run it reliably through the city centre. If delays occurred on one leg of the route, they would inevitably have an impact on the other. the effect of the Green Road roundabout reconstruction was disasterous for reliability, and, in the knowledge that other schemes were on the horizon, we decided that the only option was to split the service in two. Whilst I realise that this has caused inconvenience to many people and regret this, there is little prospect of restablishing the though service.

There are major road works schemes on both London Road and through Summertown at present together with work in St Aldates. The Westgate development, when it goes ahead, will cause further disruption to services. I regret to say that, whilst I would not rule out the prospect of a return to a through service at some point in the future, there is little prospect for one at present. “

At our recent street surgery, David and I were asked a very good question by a ward resident: does the Council know how many flats above shops in Headington are empty, and what steps are being taken to offer them to homeless people?

I have asked officers to investigate this, and this is underway. In the meantime, I have been sent a briefing note on empty dwellings across the City that contains some interesting figures that I thought you might like to see.

Unoccupied and Council Tax Exempt as from 1.07.08

Class Description No.
A Recently built or uninhabitable due to work (time limit of 12 months) 218
B Empty and owned by charities (up to 6 months) 122
C Vacant (empty and unfurnished) (up to 6 months) 434
D Left empty by persons in detention 1
E Left empty by patients in hospitals or care homes 61
F Left empty by deceased person (for up to 6 months after probate) 155
G Unfit for habitation (where occupation prohibited by law) 9
H Unoccupied pending use by a Minister of Religion 1
I Left empty by people receiving care 10
J Left empty by people providing care 6
K Left empty by students where the students remain liable 3
L Unoccupied where the mortgagee is in possession 16
Q Responsibility of a Bankrupt’s Trustees 0
R Unoccupied caravan pitch or house boat mooring 9
T Unoccupied Annexe not capable of separate occupation (e.g. ‘Granny Flat’) 2

All properties falling within the above Council Tax exemption classes would also be exempt from intervention by the Local Housing Authority under the Housing Act 2004 (empty dwellings)

Total empty dwellings 1724
Total exempt empty dwellings for purposes of empty dwelling legislation under Housing Act 2004 1047

Therefore, of the 1724 empty dwellings, 677 may not be exempt from intervention by the Local Housing Authority. However, that figure includes 44 dwellings owned by Oxford City Council which are empty pending demolition, disposal or refurbishment, at least 35 small Housing Association flats which are to be demolished and redeveloped as family accommodation, and numerous other properties which the owners intend to redevelop, remodel or re-let.

In a city of Oxford’s size, and with such a high proportion of transient residents (students, tourists, academics, medical personnel etc), it is inevitable that there will be a constantly shifting body of properties standing empty for various periods of time.

There is, however, a small number of properties (officers believe there are less than fifty) which are and have been empty for considerable periods of time, and where the owners, for one reason or another, have no intention of bringing the properties back into use. It is on these properties that the Council concentrates its efforts of persuasion & enforcement, through the work of the Empty Homes Officer, the Planning Enforcement Team, and officers of Environmental Development.

Here is a case study to show the sort of work that council officers undertake, acting on this data.

A landlord owned two properties in different parts of the city. Both were run down and in need of substantial works. One had suffered an arson attack. The owner had insufficient funds to commence work on either property, and could not sell either without making a substantial loss because of their condition. The Empty Homes Officer met the owner, and arranged for a Planning Officer to visit the burnt-out property. The Planning Officer gave the owner an informal view that the property was suitable for redevelopment into three flats. This enabled the owner to interest a developer, who eventually bought the property at a much better price than the owner had previously been able to ask. This, in turn allowed the owner to carry out remedial work on the second property. The redevelopment went ahead, and there are now four habitable properties where previously there were two pretty derelict buildings.

I recently received an email from Manager Stefan Soanes of the Oxford Bus Company concerning an issue raised by a Headington resident about the difficulties faced by elderly people and those with mild mobility problems who find it awkward to transfer buses in the City Centre when travelling from Headington to Summertown.

I’ll post this reply up because it explains the rationale behind the move to split the former no. 2 route, and because it is interesting to note the statistics that he quotes:

“Traditionally the service from Barton/Headington to Oxford was linked to
the service that operated between Oxford and Kidlington, which was
numbered 2 and provided a through service from the North to the
Headington/Barton area.

The pedestrianisation of Cornmarket Street meant this service no longer
had the direct path through Oxford city centre to get from the High
Street to St Giles. Instead, the service made it’s way around the bus
priority system to the south and west of the centre before heading
north. This added additional time and mileage into the service.

I am sure you do not need me to tell you about the traffic congestion
leaving Oxford along the London Road through Headington. This increased
to the point that we could no longer operate a reliable service between
Oxford and Headington/Barton. However, the knock on effect was that the
‘linked’ part of the service to the North of the city would also be
adversely affected.

The route from Kidlington to Barton traveled through many traffic
hotspots and we were faced with the need to add more resources to the
route just to stand still and combat such traffic congestion.

Therefore, in order to operate as reliable service as we possibly can to
both areas the decision was taken to curtail both services in the city
centre with no through facility. We did not take this decision lightly;
survey work prior to the change found only 6% of passengers made the
through journey.

The outcome of this is that the residents of both Headington and North
Oxford have a more reliable bus service as congestion on one leg does
not affect the other service. Indeed the service 7 was curtailed in the
same way due to a further worsening of congestion since our service 2
was split.

I think as with most things, changes will affect some more than others.
It could be said that the benefits of having a reliable bus service for
94% of our passengers outweigh the fact that there is no through service
for the other 6%. However if there is a social need for public
transport that cannot be provided by commercial operation, the County
Council is empowered under the 1986 Transport Act to offer a tender for
such a service. It may therefore be worth approaching Allan Field at
the County as to whether this could be viable. ”

All comments welcome, just press the Comment? button above….

It seems for ever that disabled access has been talked about at Bury Knowle House. It ic certainly needed for access to the library which, at the moment, is by the steep stairs facing onto the park. Now, at last, we can report some action or, at least, preparation for action. Plans are actually being drawn up, finally, to provide a lift to the left of the entrance (looking from the park). The plans are being drawn up by the agents of the County Council. They will be submitted as a planning application and probably discussed at a future Area Committee — if, by then, we are still allowed to make any decisions at Area Committees (read elsewhere about that scandal). In the meantime, don’t hold your breath but we may, at last, see action.

I have been liaising with Greene King, who own The Black Boy on Old High Street, following the departure of the last tenant. As you’ll know, it’s now under temporary management but Greene King have now told me that they have  found new permanent tenants and it is hoped that they will take over by the middle of September. I am also in contacting with the new tenants who are enthusiastic and highly able. We will post more when we  have discussed with them further but this could be really good news for Headington.

News just in: a few weeks ago, Highfield residents and myself defended a planning decision concerning 16, Stapleton Road. The issue at stake was whether parking permits should be allowed for the flats. The application had been rejected, against the advice of officers, because the original application had envisaged a car-free development and this would clearly undermine that. At the appeal, the developer’s agent not only argued vehemently against the decision but also caused for the Council to pay costs to the developer for having acted unfairly.

The inspector’s decision has come through today: no costs against the Council and, what’s more, the appeal has been dismissed.

In reality, this is a small issue but an important decision. If it had gone the other way, it would have made it all the harder to be able to ensure that future small developments were car-free and thus reduced the number of vehicles in our area. That’s not to say there are not problems with car-free developments, with tenants often not realising they are not supposed to have a car and getting understandably upset when they are belatedly told that. But that’s not a reason not to try to make such a system work — and it’s very good news to have the inspector agree with us. I’d like to thank the residents of Stapleton Road who worked with Stephen, Ruth and myself to get this result: well done!

The White Hart, the attractive pub on St. Andrew’s Road in Old Headington is applying for a change to its alcohol licence, in order to allow smokers to use the back garden after 11pm in the evening. The details are on the City Council’s website, under item 08/00734/PREM. If you live in the immediate vicinity and want to make a representation about this application, write to the Council ahead of the deadline on 26th August. If you want advice about how to make a representation, do drop Ruth or myself a line.

The Planning Inspector has allowed Headington School’s appeal against refusal for floodlighting for their new sports pitch bordering London Road. This will be a disappointment to the residents nearby who have been concerned about the possibility of light pollution as well as the ugliness of the lights. The North East Area Committee rejected the application when it was discussed and Cllr Chris Scanlan (LibDem, Barton and Sandhills Ward) represented the Council at the appeal.

The Labour administration on Oxford City Council has announced significant new budget for improving and maintaining Oxford’s play areas, but the Lib Dems are asking who will lose out.

Said David Rundle, Lib Dem leader on the City Council: It’s all too true that refurbishing Oxford’s play areas is massively overdue. Under previous Labour administrations, they were left to rot. It was the Lib Dems in 2006 who highlighted the problem and started a programme of refurbishment.

He added: “What Labour has announced may sound good, but it would be wise to ask a few questions. It is claimed that more money will be spent but who will pay for it? Even on the most optimistic forecasts, there’s going to be at least £500,000 to be found. We know that Mr Brown has put the thumbscrews on local council and there’s no money to spare, so what’s going to be cut to make up the shortfall?

Lib Dems want to know how the communities are going to be involved in the decisions. Labour say they will consult - but, as the Conservatives have shown repeatedly at County Hall, consulting is not the same as listening. Much better than consulting is actually making the decision in the local communities which are affected.

Many thanks to those who attended our street surgery this evening, we enjoyed meeting you and are taking up the issues you raised. Over 25 people attended and the event was very worth while. We shall be repeating our street surgeries in areas across the ward. Please watch out for details of our next surgery by clicking the box in the left hand margin

Some of the issues you raised included:  the future of the Dorset House site, uneven footpaths, the site of the old tree stump, the drains in Latimer Road, the delivery lorry at 4 am to St Luke’s Hospital, parking problems, rubbish problems at a site in Beech Road, RPZs for disabled constituents and their carers, green waste, replacement tree planting, cycling on pavements, affordable housing, and health and safety incidents involving buses in Osler Road

We are on the case!

One of the City planners has alerted me to a useful Government website which contains information on how to make planning applications, and gives guidance on regulations.  I have put up a link to it from the left hand toolbar.  It is called Planning Portal.

I am about to join a review panel on antisocial behaviour which will have a remit for scrutinising facts and figures on how “antisocial behaviour” or neighbourhood nuisance is tackled by the City officers and the agencies with they work in partnership.

The scope of this panel is being drawn up currently - if you have any ideas about what this should be, or if you have any comments about the way in which antisocial behaviour is tackled across the City, please let me know soon - by Thursday 7 August, or at the street surgery in Latimer Road on Thursday night from 6.00 pm-7.30 pm. I would welcome your comments on this.

I have proposed the following amendment to the core strategy for discussion at full Council tomorrow, and thought I should explain a little about why I’ve done it. The amendment is:

I would like to propose that the following paragraph is inserted into the document just above Policy CS16

“Some existing residential areas currently have poor or infrequent public transport accessibility to key local services (such as a District centre), relative to other parts of Oxford. The City Council will work with its partners to improve bus services to such areas, particularly where this will support regeneration or social inclusion.”

There is already some mention of improving bus links between the proposed district centres, and this will strengthen our case for improving bus links between Headington and Summertown. However, having served on the North East Area Committee and having canvassed across the North East of the city, I recognise that areas like Risinghurst get a poor deal when it comes to bus services in the evenings and at weekends.

Another reason for proposing this amendment is to make sure that areas like Iffley, with a high percentage of elderly residents, stand a chance of getting a regular bus service out of the village. It will also help estates like Rose Hill get a regular bus service to its local primary district centre Templars Square - the new district centres will offer employment, amenities and shops so it’s important that residents in outlying estates with high levels of socio-economic deprivation have public transport to these key local services.

If you want to read the latest opinion piece by Shadow Chancellor Vince Cable on the Lib Dems’ policy on fuel poverty, please click here.

There has recently been lots of email traffic between councillors about the times at which public toilets are closed, and in my experience this sometimes happens (at Bury Knowle Park) before the shops finish trading, which seems to me to be rather a disincintive for people to continue shopping in the late afternoon. I have received the following instruction from a Works Manager which may be of interest to Headington residents and users of the Bury Knowle toilets who come to Headington to work, shop or study.

All public conveniences should be open between 08.00 and 17.00 daily and the supervisory team at City Works have been instructed to ensure that this is complied with.

Gloucester Green conveniences are opened at 07.30 by the car parks security team and are closed by this team at 23.00

There are also 24 hour facilities at Gloucester Green, Westgate Car Park, Magdalen Street East (Ladies) and Market Street

I would be grateful if you would pass on our apologies to anyone that may have been inconvenienced by some early closures.

It seems to me that when Headington is enshrined as a district centre in the new core strategy, one of the minimum service level agreements should be that there is one 24 hour public toilet facility in each district centre. Do let me have your views on this!

If you would like email alerts each time news is added to this site, please click the orange RSS feed button on the right hand side of the address bar

There will be a meeting of Full Council next Tuesday 5 August to discuss “Oxford 2026: the Oxford core strategy”. This is a very important document as it outlines the planning vision for Oxford over the next 18 years, and discusses, among other things, the proposed development of Headington and its infrastructure. If you would like to see this document, please click on the website link and select the section you want to view under item 4.1.

The document will be formally published on 5 September 2008 and there is still time to contact either Cllr David Rundle or myself if you want us to raise any associated issue at full Council. Any planning policy changes in the future are likely to refer back to this document, so we need to make sure it reflects the views of our Group and our residents. Please let us know if you have concerns about anything in this document.

I have been contacted by residents to ask about the degree to which public consultation has taken place with regard to the prospective application to install a mast at Rock Edge. Please click on the planning application website to view this application and quote planning reference 08/01162/CPU. This is the reply from Planning Officers.

There are three types of proposal for telecommunications:

1. Permitted development notifications
2. 56 day proposals ( up to 15 metres)
3. Full applications.

For all three we notify neighbours within 100 m and schools within 200m,
although blocks of flats will get just a notice put up in the foyer.

In addition for those:
For category 1 above the letter advises that this is permitted
development and neighbours should write to the company not us.

For category 2 we also put up 4-5 site notices on community notice
boards and other strategic sites in the area

For category 3 as well as the site notices we also put a formal notice
in the local press.

This application falls under permitted development. It
appears from the system that the 100m ruling was applied in this
instance.

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If you are a resident living close by this development (i.e. within 100 metres) and you feel you should have been consulted about the application but this has not happened, please get in touch with me via phone or email or via this website and I will investigate this further.

The planning officers have been working on a consultation guide outlining the extent to
which they should consult on all types of applications received by Oxford City Council’s Planning Dept. A copy will be posted on the Council’s website as soon as it has been signed off, and I will post a link to it from this website as soon as this has been actioned