Bury Knowle Park needs Friends!

Would you like to:

  • help improve the park’s appearance?
  • have a say in the park’s facilities?
  • improve the local conservation value?
  • increase the park’s safety?

Why not help us start up a Friends of Bury Knowle Park group?

There are lots of benefits:

  • the groups are a great way to meet new people
  • you can make a positive contribution to your local area
  • it’s a great way to get exercise, improve your health and wellbeing
  • you can have a say in tackling vandalism and crime in the parks
  • you can influence future improvements to the park
  • Friends Groups can apply for funding to improve parks
  • Groups can organise community events
  • you can access training
  • you can enhance your skills

Come to the Headington Festival on Sunday 7 June and find our stall!  We shall have an informal meeting at 3 o’clock and everyone is welcome

Dorset House latest

The campaign to save Dorset House from demolition was mentioned briefly in yesterday’s Oxford Mail , click here for the link.

Five residents from Latimer Grange and McMaster Court attended yesterday’s site meeting with the demolition company, along with the Latimer Grange manager and Ruth.

The project supervisor’s name is Eric and he will be present on the site at all times during demolition. The work is scheduled to start on Monday 8 June and the hours of work will be between 8.00 and 18.00 Monday to Friday, and 08.00-13.00 Saturdays, this was agreed with approval of residents.  It is scheduled to take 8 weeks and all access will be from London Road.

The dismantled materials will be recycled as much as possible – bricks, roof tiles, timber. In the unlikely event that contractors’ machines will damage the pavement outside (making it difficult for the elderly with buggies), the demolition firm will make good the damage.  Asbestos is present on the site but appropriate safety precautions are being taken. Some of the trees have a protection order on them and ‘crowd barrier’ style fencing will be placed around them with signs to warn demolition staff to keep clear of them.  A map was produced which shows which trees have TPOs and which not (the majority along the London Road boundary). There will be no burning on site.  Dust will be damped down as much as possible.   The site will be locked up as now during the project, and the side gate to Latimer Road may need to be strengthened.  Contractor parking will be on site.

Representatives from Quintain arrived towards the end of the meeting.  They said that they would shortly be approaching Oxford City Council for pre-application advice regarding development of the site but they didn’t know what would be in the application. (They withdrew their previous application four years ago which was for student accommodation)  One person from Quintain said that in his view there was only one tree on site worth keeping and that was a copper beech at the rear of the site opposite Latimer Grange, but that was diseased.  It also turned out that this particular tree is in the way of the demolition.  I rang the Tree Officer immediately to ask him to do checks on this, and also the Head of Planning Control and Development at the City Council. To be frank, I am concerned that trees may be lost, although there is no evidence to back this up, and I have already arranged that an enforcement officer keeps a close watch on the project

The local residents have been invited to visit the site at any time and raise any issues they may have with Eric the supervisor.  If any resident from Latimer Grange needs Eric’s contact number I suggest they contact Andrew the manager, and I have it too.

Site meeting at Dorset House

Details as follows for meeting re demolition of Dorset House

Site meeting: Dorset House
11.00
Led by project manager Terry Hawken tel 07973 210677

Andrew Galloway from Latimer Grange  has kindly agreed to raise the
issue of the preservation order on the trees on my behalf, and is
going to alert the Latimer Grange residents to the change of date and
time. Neighbourhood police have also been asked to attend.

The following issues will be covered:

ask when work is at its noisiest and limit noise to specified hours of the day
clarify the number of times heavy traffic will need access/egress
to/from the site and ensure contractor parking is on site
explain method of demolition (not the trees!!)
give information re dispersal of dust or any burning
make sure the site is left secure at all times
explain timescale of work

The demolition will start first thing on Monday morning June 8, but for the first week there will be no heavy machinery as work will be surface stripping. 

Residents’ meeting re the White Horse pub

Do you have concerns about the application to extend the licensing hours at the White Horse Pub on the corner of Headley Way and London Road?  Do you want to come to a meeting to speak up about your worries and understand more about the process of making your views known?

There is a public meeting planned in the Victoria Court conservatory at 7 pm next Monday 8 June, do come along if this issue concerns you.  David will be on hand to explain how licensing applications are dealt with by the City Council

Dorset House destined for demolition

A demolition notice has been sent in by contractors on behalf of Quintain, the owners of the Dorset House site, to demolish all buildings on the site except for the three nearest the corner of Latimer Road and London Road. The demolition work is scheduled to take place week beginning 8 June. This came as a complete surprise to local residents.

This means that Dorset House itself is set to be demolished, along with 1A Latimer Road, and the newer buildings to the rear of the site facing Latimer Grange.

Residents are perplexed about how the owners can simply announce demolition when the City Council has previously recommended the retention of the old buildings as being of local interest. In fact, five years ago, David and Stephen Tall called for extra protection for the House and the buildings were put on what’s called ‘the Local List’. But that’s not the same as a nationally listed building and the site is not within a Conservation Area. In legal terms, when there are no other safeguards, an owner has a right to demolish their own property. That means that the Planning Department, to everyone’s frustration, can’t just stop the demolition happening.

There are, though, other aspects to the issue. We have also found out that there are various trees on the site that have preservation orders on them, and we have requested the planning enforcement officer to contact the demolition project manager to make this clear to him

There are also parts of the site which would not be a loss, in particular the newer buildings at the back of the site. We know that Latimer Grange residents are keen that the demolition of those buildings takes place as soon as possible, to stop the chance of anti-social behaviour on the site. We are setting up a meeting between them and the project manager to discuss issues around dust, noise, parking, access and egress, and, most importantly, security.

Latest on London Road

We are informed by the County that the contractor is looking to complete the current phase of the redevelopment scheme by the 1st week in June. There are a number of works to be completed throughout the site and a list is being compiled by county planning staff to aid the contractor.

We have followed up residents’ concerns about the disappearance of the wooden seat next to the Sandford Road/London Road bus shelter – this seat was taken away by the contractor and will be re-sited in its original location

We have chased the County for the re-instatement of the bus stop at Sandford Road/London Road.  There is a bus shelter, but no bus stop! Currently Arriva buses are not stopping there or picking up passengers and this is greatly inconveniencing our elderly residents in nearby homes. We have had an assurance from County this morning that

flag posts are on the way.

We’ll keep pressing for action.

Licensing application for the White Horse

A licensing application has been made for the White Horse (Hungry Horse) in Headley Way and the deadline for representations is 4 June 2009.  If you wish to know more about this application, please click Licensing Applications on the central orange toolbar.

David is willing to hold a meeting with local residents to explain the procedures if you think this would be helpful?  Please comment here or email either David or me if you would like us to organise this

Survey: cycling on pavements

The police in Headington North have received a number of complaints from residents who say that too many cyclists are riding on pavements, and they are keen to find out how often this happens, where it happens, and what time it happens. They are producing a leaflet to give to cyclists that will explain to them the consequences of cycling on pavements, the safety hazards this causes for pedestrians, and some information on safer routes to take.

If you see a cyclist riding on the pavement rather than on the cycle track, please report it to Headington North neighbourhood team, giving the date, time and place.  This will help them identify the areas they need to focus on.

Illegal parking in Dunstan Road

dunstan-road-parish-hall-small.JPG

David and I are working hard to address the problem of illegal parking on the grass verge outside the parish hall in Dunstan Road.  It is wrong to park on this grass verge because:

  • it ruins the grass in a beautiful conservation area
  • there are yellow lines on the road at that point, and the verge forms part of the highway so parking here is illegal
  • parking on a bend like this obstructs the line of sight of oncoming motorists

The Principal at Ruskin College is assisting us by ensuring that Ruskin users are aware of the regulations, and David and I are in touch with enforcement officers.  If you recognise anyone who parks their car on the grass verge please let them know that they are likely to be served fixed penalty notices. I will raise this issue with neighbourhood police at this morning’s Neighbourhood Action Team meeting in Old High Street

 UPDATE 8/5/09

There is some confusion over who owns this land and I am following this up with officers and with the Land Registry. In the meantime, the neighbourhood police team from Headington North has undertaken to patrol this area on a regular basis