The situation currently is that the energy pipe works cannot proceed until
consent has been given by the County Council as local highways authority for
Vital Energi to break open the highway surface (this takes the form of street
licences) and planning consent has been granted by the City Council as the
planning authority.

A small but informed group of residents and councillors attended the County’s
Planning and Regulations Committee meeting yesterday, raised issues that still
need resolving, and fought for improvements to conditions. There was a proposal
to defer the decision until after planning consent was given and to allow time
for further discussion of other issues to take place but that was voted down
7-5. On the second vote along the lines of the officer recommendation (with one
slight change to one condition which is covered in the Construction Traffic
Management Plan already) councillors voted 9-0 to permit the licences with
several abstentions.

Following that meeting, the small but informed group re-assembled at the Town
Hall to ask questions of City Council officers and Vital Energi about legal
issues. Vital Energi gave a presentation in which for the first time slides
were presented showing workings for costs and energy efficiency that are not
included in the documentation submitted with the application on the planning
website, but explained they cannot display this more widely as it is
commercially sensitive.

The issue of whether to grant planning consent will be discussed by East Area
Planning Committee at the Town Hall on Wednesday 7th at 18:00 and is the first
item on the agenda. Members of the public speaking for or against need to fill
in a speaker’s form ahead of the start of the meeting. The Chair has discretion
to allow longer speaking time but it is likely not to exceed 10 minutes in
total for all speakers put together.

Any decision taken by East Area Planning Committee is subject to a call-in
period of 48 weekday hours following publication of the minutes. If the
decision is not called in, it will stand.

If the application is agreed subject to a long list of conditions and
informatives, works could start as early as three weeks after the decision
notice is sent out by the planning authority. (required lead-in time for the
County Council to publicise street works/TTROs)

However there is another external factor. We have been advised that Access to
Headington works will start in Roosevelt Drive mid October (date to be
confirmed) so the timing and sequence of energy pipe works may be affected by
this. The County Council is giving priority to its own project with regard to
road closures so there are lots of meetings going on to work out the logistics
of it all.