We’re often asked questions about the way in which trees are managed in our ward, and particularly in Bury Knowle Park, so I have asked for a copy of the City’s operational policy on managing trees under City control and posted it onto a page called Tree policy in the centre toolbar for your information. Hope you find it useful!
Are your ward councillors effective?
An interesting question! And we’d be curious to hear your answers!
Every four months, David and I analyse all the casework we have been doing in the ward, and we check off the work we have done against the roads in our ‘patch’. This confirms to us whether or not the work we do on your behalf is carried out principally in some areas of Headington, rather than in others.
When we analysed our casework for the months from May to August, we found that few residents from one area of the ward had contacted us for help or advice. We prioritised that area of the ward for an early street surgery which was very successful and led to a second walkabout in the locality. We are delighted that many of the people we spoke to in the St. Anne’s Road/Margaret Road/Rock Edge/Gathorne Road area have now volunteered to start up a new residents’ group, and we are helping them set this up.
In the last four months we have noticed an upturn in workload from the areas where we held street surgeries, so these events have been successful in raising people’s awareness of who we are and what we do. We intend to continue with these, and one area we would like to focus on in the forthcoming four months is New Headington.
If you would like a copy of our workload breakdown by roads in the ward, please contact us and we will send you a copy
Am I being watched?
A number of people have asked questions about the surveillance that is carried out by City Council Officers on members of the public under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act, and our Lib Dem colleague representing Barton, Chris Scanlan, has been pressing for a statement on this. I thought you might be interested in this response from the appropriate officer in the Legal and Democratic Services department:
For your information the Council has authorised directed surveillance on 24 occasions since the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (RIPA) came into force. The Act came into force in October 2000. Of those 24 authorisations 6 related to benefit fraud investigations, 13 related to anti-social behaviour/crime & disorder investigations and 5 related to internal disciplinary investigations.
None of the above include investigations into littering, dog fouling or any of the other minor offences, which have made the press in recent months. Over a period of 8 years I think it is fair to say that the Council has used these powers very sparingly.
Under the Council’s current RIPA policy and procedure (which is available on the Council’s website) I receive a copy of each authorisation. If I felt that the Act was being used inappropriately or that the ‘necessity and proportionality’ test had not been applied then I would intervene and require the investigating officer and the authorising officer to justify their actions.
If you have any queries or concerns about this, just hit the Comment? button or email David or me directly (see Contact us in left hand tool bar for details).
Priority roads for building work in the next financial year
The following is a list of all the roads in the ward that City Works have advised need repairs and maintenance, and they are grouped in order of priority. Don’t forget that the major roads like the London Road will not feature in this list as their repairs and maintenance are looked after directly by the County Council’s Highways Dept. I hope I haven’t missed any, it’s a very long list to scan for Headington road names!
These Estimates present the City Council’s proposed programme of works for carrying out in the year 2009-2010.The threshold for Assessed Maintenance schemes has been set at £6,000 by the County Council, so all complete schemes below this figure are funded from the General Maintenance estimates. The aggregate value of work within a street on the Named Schemes list will exceed £6,000 even if the value of any type of work in a street is less. The Estimates are prioritized according to need. Priorities are based on the following parameters:-
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Urgent work required to carry out structural repairs to eliminate an existing hazard.
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Medium priority structural repairs to prevent the occurrence of hazards
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Lower priority schemes to protect the structure from deterioration
Highways Act, 1990, Part IV, Section 42, Schedule 7 estimate Named Schemes (sorted by priority) Priorities 1,2 and 3 are collected and presented as named schemesPriority 9 is applied to works not achieving the £6,000 threshold.
Street (Section) Description of work Value of work (£)
Priority 1
- BEECH ROAD Lift kerbs and lay new kerbs 4,087.65
- BEECH ROAD Lift kerbs and lay new kerbs 4,448.32
- BEECH ROAD Footway overlay 2,485.54
- BEECH ROAD Footway overlay 2,284.01
- BEECH ROAD Carriageway plane and resurface 13,296.63
- GATHORNE ROAD Lift kerbs and lay new kerbs 8,912.68
- LARKINS LANE Carriageway heavy patching 1,195.67
- LARKINS LANE Lift stone kerbs and relay with 30% new stone kerbs 8,790.71
- OSLER ROAD Footway reconstruction 57,865.85
Priority 2
- FORTNAM CLOSE Lift kerbs and lay new kerbs 2,244.20
- FORTNAM CLOSE Footway overlay 1,603.52
- FRANKLIN ROAD Carriageway concrete joint seal 683.24
- FRANKLIN ROAD Carriageway macadam overlay of concrete 5,270.70
- FRANKLIN ROAD Carriageway plane and resurface 25,062.91
- FRANKLIN ROAD Footway overlay 13,542.84
- GATHORNE ROAD Carriageway plane and resurface 10,133.75
- HORWOOD CLOSE Carriageway plane and resurface 12,794.87
- LATIMER ROAD Lift kerbs and lay new kerbs 8,616.12
- LATIMER ROAD Footway reconstruction 11,519.59
- LATIMER ROAD Footway reconstruction 11,787.48
- LATIMER ROAD Lift kerbs and lay new kerbs 8,816.50
- MARGARET ROAD Footway overlay 6,737.04
- MARGARET ROAD Footway overlay 5,906.71
- NEW HIGH STREET Carriageway plane and resurface 48,219.13
- OLD HIGH STREET Carriageway Plane and resurface with minor patching 28,547.46
- OLD HIGH STREET Footway overlay 1,275.75
- OLD HIGH STREET (SW side and shops layby) Footway overlay 7,669.04
- OLD ROAD (upper) Footway reconstruction 130,133.90
- OLD ROAD (upper) Lift kerbs and lay new kerbs 43,601.60
- PIPER STREET Footway reconstruction 8,915.62
- PIPER STREET Carriageway plane and resurface 3,727.36
- STAUNTON ROAD Footway reconstruction 74,068.28
- STEPHEN ROAD Carriageway plane and resurface 23,855.10
- WINDSOR STREET Carriageway plane and resurface 6,531.83
- WINDSOR STREET Footway reconstruction 6,978.19
Priority 3
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BARRINGTON CLOSE Carriageway macadam overlay of concrete 9,504.54 BARRINGTON CLOSE Carriageway concrete joint seal 1,268.88 - BICKERTON ROAD Footway overlay 2,505.51
- BICKERTON ROAD Lift kerbs and lay new kerbs 8,295.52
- BICKERTON ROAD Footway overlay 7,523.80
- BICKERTON ROAD Lift kerbs and lay new kerbs 8,295.52
- BROOKSIDE Carriageway plane and resurface 21,575.67
- CUCKOO LANE FP 320/034 Footway overlay 8,523.10
- ETHELRED COURT Carriageway plane and resurface 13,762.56
- FORTNAM CLOSE Carriageway plane and resurface 14,515.20
- FORTNAM CLOSE Carriageway concrete joint seal 627.47
- GATHORNE ROAD Footway reconstruction 31,710.48
- KENNETT ROAD Footway overlay 9,954.27
- LAUREL FARM CLOSE Footway Deep clean of block paving and reseal 7,071.60
- PERRIN STREET Carriageway plane and resurface 16,138.75
STAPLETON ROAD Footway overlay 8,279.08 - STAPLETON ROAD Footway overlay 1,379.84
STAUNTON ROAD ( Headley Way to Woodlands Road) Lift kerbs and lay new kerbs 34,624.80 - YORK ROAD Footway overlay 4,456.06
- YORK ROAD Carriageway plane and resurface 8,246.55
- YORK ROAD Footway overlay 2,965.46
Priority 9
- ALL SAINTS ROAD Footway overlay 2075.82 Lift kerbs and lay new kerbs 1963.67
BATEMAN STREET Lift kerbs and lay new kerbs 2364.42 Footway overlay 714.13 - CECIL SHARP PLACE Footway Deep clean of block paving and reseal 5438.16
- CUCKOO LANE FP
320/035 Osler Road to Old High Street Footway Overlay 2440.15 - FP 320/036 (BURY KNOWLE PATH)
North Place to London Road Footway overlay 4988.75
GARDINER STREET Footway overlay 519.25 - LATIMER GRANGE Lift slab footway and reconstruct in macadam 1832.20
- NORTH PLACE Footway stone slabs lift and relay 3971.60
- NORTON CLOSE Footway overlay 2736.69
- NURSERY CLOSE Footway overlay 1653.88
- ST. ANDREWS LANE Carriageway heavy patching 5480.20
- ST. ANDREWS ROAD Footway Lift pitched stone footway and relay 1750.00
- ST. ANNE’S ROAD Drainage gullies reconstruction 3142.62
WILBERFORCE STREET Footway overlay 561.62 - WILLIAM ORCHARD CLOSE Lift slab footway and lay modular paving 5461.93
- WOODLANDS CLOSE Footway overlay 5523.26
Improving Oxford City homes – latest update
Oxford City Homes Tenants and Leaseholders may be interested to click on this link to find out about the progress of the homes improvement work plan. Click on the link to the Homes Improvement Works Plan edition 2 December 2008 to access a document which tells you what work will be carried out in OCH homes in different areas of Oxford. In our ward, properties in the following roads are included:
- Bury Knowle House
- Gardiner Street
- Headley Way
- Laurel Farm Close
- London Road
- Mattock Close
- New High Street
- North Place
- Old Road
- Stephen Road
- York Road
If you think your property should have been included in this work list, then telephone 0800 227676 to ask why it’s been missed out.
City Council dilemma on making planning decisions
Lib Dems believe that planning decisions should be made as close as possible to the people affected |
An inadequately argued proposal from the Labour administration on Oxford City Council, to remove the right of area committees to make decisions on planning applications in their areas, and to return to centralised decision-making, was so fundamentally amended at the last full council meeting that the council is now in limbo.
Since 2002, when a Lib Dem-led administration set up six area committees to make decisions affecting their own communities – including deciding key planning applications – people in Oxford have found that they can get much more involved with matters which concern them, and can influence their councillors much more effectively. Attendance at area committee meetings is regularly many times higher than was the case with centralised planning committees.
But the current Labour administration has vowed to change this, and return to a system of decision-making in the Town Hall by councillors who often know very little about the likely effect of their decisions on the people living closest. Said Lib Dem group leader Cllr David Rundle: “We have protested loudly that there has been very little consultation about this change with the communities affected. Representatives of many groups in the city have come forward in recent days to object, but they have been ignored by the Labour group. This flies in the face of their own Government’s claims to want to increase the powers of communities to decide things which affect them.”
Added Cllr Rundle: “Labour claim that the change will save the council money, but their financial case is so full of holes that they dare not let the scrutiny committee, or area committees, check it out. We have heard a succession of contradictory and false statements by the portfolio holder, and it is clear that the whole idea is being pursued for reasons which have nothing to do with community empowerment or improving quality of decisions.”
As a result of amendments agreed in council, the council may now allow area committees to decide for themselves whether they want to retain planning powers. People in those areas of the city with Labour-dominated area committees would find their planning decisions being made centrally, with limited opportunities to hold their councillors to account.
Happy Christmas everyone!
David and I would like to send everyone in our ward our warmest good wishes for a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. We thank you for giving us the opportunity of serving you in 2008 and we look forward to working with you throughout the coming year.
Water Watch in Old Headington
David and I have been informed by Thames Water that the cleaning out of the sewers has now been completed in Old Headington. The extent of the operation had to be extended as they found the line was heavily fatted and greased, and was heavily scaled
This should have sorted out the problems. Please let us know if anything else needs to be done
Changes to controlled parking zone restrictions
David and I received notification of this today from the County Council
OXFORDSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL (HEADINGTON CENTRAL,
The effect of the proposed Order will be to amend the Oxfordshire County Council (Headington Central) (Controlled Parking Zone and Various Restrictions) Order 2005, as amended and revoke the Oxfordshire County Council (Headington Central) (Controlled Parking Zone and Various Restrictions) (Variation No.5) Order 2008 effectively replacing Schedule 4 Part A. The proposal is to:
1. exclude the following properties from eligibility for residents, business and visitors permits:
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· No 124A Lime Walk.
· Lime Tree Mews (Flats 1-12) 2 Lime Walk.
· Wingfield House (Flats 1-5) 2A
. 2. include the following property as eligible for residents and visitors permits
- No 124 Lime Walk.
Documents giving more detailed particulars of the proposed Order are available for public inspection at County Hall, New Road, Oxford OX1 1ND from 9.00 am to 4.30 pm Monday to Friday and at Headington Library, Bury Knowle Park, Headington on Monday & Wednesday from 9.15am to 1.00pm; Tuesday & Thursday 9.15am to 7.00pm; Friday 9.15am to 6.00pm; and Saturday 9.15am to 4.40pm. Objections to the proposal, specifying the grounds on which they are made, and any other representations, should be sent in writing to the Director for Environment and Economy (ref. MJR/TRO) at the address given below, no later than
Planning decision overturned
Re: 10 STEPHEN ROAD – Application 08/01961/FUL
The Strategic Development Control Committee met yesterday and resolved to approve the application for the following reason, and subject to conditions as detailed in the planning officers report. The Council considers that the proposal accords with the policies of the development plan as set out in the report. It has taken into consideration all other material matters, including matters raised in response to consultation and publicity. Any material harm that the development would otherwise give rise to can be offset by the conditions imposed.