Events in September

• Friday 2 to Sunday 4 September, Foodies Festival, South Park, 11am to 6pm. Family food and drink festival with demonstrations, tastings and artisan producers selling their products.www.foodiesfestival.com

• Saturday 3 September, Film Under the Stars, Sunnymead Park (date originally 20 August), 8pm to 10.30pm. Outdoor screening of a family film. www.filmoxford.org

• Sunday 4 September, Oxford Classic Mile Swim, starting at Donnington Bridge and finishing at the Christ Church Meadow river bank. An open water Thames swimming event with one mile distance.www.swimoxford.co.uk

• Monday 5 and Tuesday 6 September, St Giles Fair, St Giles’/City Centre, 11am to 11pm. One of the greatest and most prestigious fairs in the country. www.oxford.gov.uk/info/20035/events/557/st_giles_fair

• Saturday 10 September and Sunday 11 September, Oxford Open Doors by Oxford Preservation Trust, City Centre. Hundreds of Oxford’s famous buildings and companies will open their doors to the public for the sixth annual free visiting event. www.oxfordpreservation.org.uk

• Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 September, Thames Path Challenge, starting at Donnington Rec, 7am to 5pm. Walk, jog or run along a stunning stretch of the River Thames. Take on a double marathon distance or go for the half challenge option. The start will be at Donnington Rec and participants will be able to register from 8am. www.thamespathchallenge.com/oxford-to-henley-double-marathon

• Sunday 11 September, Oxford Thai Food and Culture Festival, Botley Road Rec, 10am to 6pm. Showcasing the exotic culture of Thailand in Oxford with live performances on stage, delicious food stalls, craft stalls and food & drink demonstrations. www.facebook.com/OxfordThaiFestival/

• Sunday 11 September, Bike Oxford, starting and finishing at Harlequins Rugby Ground, Cherwell School, 10am to 6pm. A day of marked rides of 25, 50 and 80 miles starting and finishing at The Cherwell School and taking in the best scenery of Oxford and the surrounding countryside. www.bikeoxford.co.uk

Action on language school students

We received a complaint that huge numbers of language school students with red bags were waiting for buses at the Latimer Road stop and have investigated further. The school in question appears to be Academia Britannica and we have contacted the London-based organisation Find Digs to express our concern.

They reply:

These students did indeed study with us. 

These groups are part of an Italian Government sponsored scheme to study and visit the UK, we at Find Digs provide the college and accommodation for them. We further aid them with operations organising such things as excursions, airport transfers and buying travel cards for them so as to make their entry on to the bus as smooth as possible. However the groups with their own leaders take the students on afternoon excursions. 

In all honesty this is the first year we have had these groups in Oxford as they normally stay in London. Looking at the photo you have sent I can see that the group is too large for bus stop and is something we need to address. 

Our centre has closed now but we will endeavour to action this for next summer. The most obvious thing I can suggest at this stage is that we will split the group into smaller groups and they will stagger their departure time into Oxford which should minimise the impact on local residents. 

If you wish to discuss this further then please do not hesitate to contact me.

We have given them advice on how to join the Language Schools Forum which can assist such organisations with advice on how to buy pre-paid tickets, where to get maps of Oxford, how to stay safe in Oxford etc. We shall monitor the situation again next year as it appears they will be using Dorset House again.

Headington Neighbourhood Plan out for FORMAL consultation

All comments on the submission document will be sent to the formal examiner. Here is some background information.

Headington Neighbourhood Forum has been preparing a Neighbourhood Plan for the Headington Neighbourhood Area (designated in April 2014).  It is intended that the Neighbourhood Plan will be used to guide future development and manage the change alongside Oxford’s Local Plan.

The previous consultation stages were organised and managed by the Headington Neighbourhood Forum.   The Forum has taken account of comments raised at each consultation stage in drafting the policies in the plan.  The Consultation Statement, which has been produced by the Headington Neighbourhood Forum, is available on the City Council’s website: www.oxford.gov.uk/headingtonplan

The next stage of the project is the Submission Document, which includes the Headington Neighbourhood Forum’s proposed wording for their Neighbourhood Plan.  This consultation stage is managed and organised by the City Council.

The Submission Document has been published for consultation from: Friday 26th August to Friday 7th October

The Neighbourhood Plan documents and all other supporting information are available to view on the City Council’s website:  www.oxford.gov.uk/headingtonplan.  The documents are also available to view at the City Council’s main offices in St. Aldate’s, Monday to Friday between 09.00 and 16.30 and in Headington Library.

All comments should be submitted on a Comment Form which is available (and can be completed electronically) from the website.  Paper copies are available at Oxford City Council Offices in St. Aldate’s and in Headington Library.

All comments must be received at the City Council’s offices by 4pm on Friday 7th October 2016

Comments made during the consultation period will be collated and sent to an independent examiner.  The independent examiner will have regard to any relevant comments when examining the document.

It is important that comments in support of the plan are sent in as well as objections to ensure that the examiner gets a completely balanced picture of people’s views.

Please contact us if you require any further help or information.

Timetable for determination of the energy pipe application

Residents have asked about speaking rights at the various meetings to be held w/b 5 September about the energy pipe application.

The County Council’s Planning and Regulatory meeting is at 14:00 on Monday 5th September at County Hall. There is a slot for petitions and public address, please contact the Clerk for more details.

The legal briefing for councillors in public will take place at 16:30 on Monday 5th September in the Long Room at the Town Hall. The agenda will be published ahead of the meeting but is not yet available – as above, please contact the Clerk if you have any enquiries about speaking rights.
The East Area Planning Committee meeting will be held in the Long Room at the Town Hall on Wednesday 7th September at 6pm and there is a long agenda in preparation.
The agenda will be displayed the week before the meeting and the Chair will allow speaking time to those for and against the application. It is likely that speaking time may be extended from 5 minutes in total to ten minutes in total at the Chair’s discretion. But that will be ten minutes shared by all those who wish to speak. For more details on speaking rights, please contact the Clerk listed on the web page.

Latest planning decisions

Several for CPUs this week – these are Certificates of Lawfulness for Proposed Use

16/01792/CPU PERMITTED

Affecting a Conservation Area

Application to certify that the proposed erection of a single storey rear extension is lawful development.

1 Dunstan Road

 

16/01806/H42 PRIOR APPROVAL NOT REQUIRED 


Application for prior approval for the erection of a single storey rear extension, which would extend beyond the rear wall of the original house by 6.0m, for which the maximum height would be 4.0m, and for which the height of the eaves would be 2.20m.

54 Kennett Road

 

16/01779/CPU PERMITTED

Application to certify that the proposed formation of 1 dormer window to rear roofslope and insertion of 3 front rooflights in association with loft conversion is lawful development.

54 Kennett Road

Bravo County Council! Changes to parking permit service

Thanks to residents for telling Customer Services Manager Mark Peet your views at our Ward Focus Meeting. He has investigated your issues and reports back below on actions taken.

As promised I have a further update on improvements to the Residents and Visitors Parking Permit service.

In July I  advised that I would be looking at further ways to improve our online service and document validation service for residents, in particular around the Headington area, who are unable to upload documents as part of the application process.

I am pleased to inform you I have made changes to reflect the need to improve both of these areas.

  1. Online Payments – As part of the online application process for Resident and Visitor Permits, residents in Controlled Parking Zones can now complete the full application online including paying for their permits. There is now a secure, safe and PCI compliant way to pay for residents when applying. This service was made available from Monday 8thAugust and we have had over 100 applicants in less than a week choosing to apply and pay using this service.
  2. Document Validation – On the 8thand 9th of September our team in Headington Library will be training in Document Validation which will enable them to validate parking documentation. This service will then be available in Headington Library from week commencing 12th September. This means customers will be able to validate the documents we need as part of the application processes without needing to send them into us. We will simply check the documents and hand them back to the resident once we have confirmed they are correct.

It’s good to see positive changes being made by the County Council and an officer keen to come out to public meetings to listen to and act upon our residents’ concerns.