Thames Water – further response re Brookside sewer

Here is our latest update sent to us this morning.

I am writing to update you further to my email of 4 August.

Our team attempted to clean the sewer in Brookside on 8 August but were unable to completely clear it of fat and grease. As a result, our Technical Specialist reviewed all the work we had completed so far and extended the scope of the clean to include a section of the foul sewer in London Road.

I am pleased to confirm that the first section of this new clean was completed on 16 and 17 August. Our team removed large amounts of fat and scale from the sewer and left it free flowing. The final section of the clean has been planned for 24 August. Once all sections have been cleaned and surveyed, the footage will be assessed again by our Technical Specialist to decide if further work is needed. I will contact you with a further update by 5 September.

Latest on the energy pipe application

We have left an A3 hard copy version of the Construction Traffic Management Plan relating to the energy pipe application at Headington Library for residents to study. This is a work in progress and subject to change.

The planning committee meeting about the energy pipe application is going to take place on 7th September. The construction traffic management plan is being prepared now by the County Networks Team and the applicant and will only come into operation if planning consent is granted.

We are working closely with the County Networks Team which manages traffic when works happen. They have asked us some questions which we shall be talking to residents about:

  • Lime Walk South is likely to be one way only (downhill direction towards London Road) while works are ongoing in that area. Do residents consider that Bickerton Road and Stapleton Road could usefully be made one way while works are happening between London Road and Old Road?
  • Should access to the above area be signed “Access to frontages only” while works are on-going?
  • The works to All Saints junction would make it trickier for residents in New Headington to access their properties – do they think that the bollards at the end of Bateman Street should be removed temporarily so that people who live in Piper, Windsor, Wilberforce, Perrin, Bateman Streets and Kennett Road will have a second route in/out during the period these works are happening? (c3 weeks)

Please let us have your views on these issues as there is limited time to influence this traffic management plan to best advantage.

At present it seems that the County meeting held in public on whether consent should be granted for a street works licence will happen at 2pm on 5/9 with a City briefing on the legal implications to councillors in public very very soon afterwards (date to be confirmed) and certainly before 7/9.

Update on works at Beech House (corner of Latimer Road)

Here are unconfirmed notes taken from yesterday’s meeting of the developers/construction company with the community. We are finding it progressively more difficult to help co-ordinate building works  in what appears to be an absence of any work schedule for the Access to Headington project. We are bombarding the County Council’s A2H team with requests for information on what will happen when!

Issues so far

  • Latimer Grange residents very upset by noise from piling work RW. Piling work will stop on Friday, machinery will be removed Mon/Tues next week
  • Start times adjusted following complaint from RW
  • Complaint from RW re car in Latimer Grange private space into which a worker on site had driven into at speed and parked displaying a notice “car broken, waiting AA” had been resolved by site manager
  • County Networks had complained the road needed wetting and cleaning, this has been done
  • Winvic staff very helpful in helping elderly residents cross the road (McMaster House and RW)

Current situation

  • Had met Planners this morning, useful meeting. Need to look at resolving some issues incl. ramp from London Road entrance – concerns about tree roots, bin storage areas, waiting for reply from Headington School re fins/window treatments
  • Promised to reinstate pavement for McMaster House – have already tarmacked the other side and McMaster House warmly appreciative
  • Promised to sort out the half-block wall outside which now looks unattractive

Outstanding issues

  • Contribution towards Latimer Grange barrier ready to be made but don’t know who is going to do the work. (RW chase Hastoe Housing Association manager)
  • Newsletters have ceased after the one in May, site manager will issue a brief sheet explaining what has been done so far and what will happen over the next 4 weeks

Likely timetable

  • For the following 6-8 weeks, Cairncross will deal with ‘civil works’ within the curtilage
  • Storm water drain connection will necessitate works in London Road. Likely to be Jan/Feb but plans still to be drawn up
  • Co-working in close proximity with other major projects needs to be more joined up  (RW chase County again for Access to Headington plan and speak to County Networks about tie-ing in works with Vital Energi if the pipe application gets consent)
  • Drainage/sewerage issues – existing pipework may be insufficient diameter, certainly in Latimer Road and Brookside (RW asking Drainage team for advice before contacting Thames Water)
  • Tower crane needed end Oct/early Nov. Jib needs to be assembled in 36m of space before attaching to mast. There may not be enough room on site to do this so likely to ask Networks for road and footway closure at top of Latimer Road on a Saturday (date to be confirmed, could be beg. November)

Contacts on site

  • Site Manager is going on holiday 17/8
  • Mick Walsh taking over rest of this week, we have his contact number
  • He goes on holiday for Bank Holiday week so there will be a relief manager sent there for the 3 working days of that week, details not yet known. Mick will inform stakeholders

All questions to Ruth (RW) please.

Headington Waitrose offers coffee grounds to local shoppers

Thanks to Waitrose for taking up a request we forwarded for making spent coffee grounds available for use on gardens and allotments. The manager writes:

After your email I asked the question and we went to visit Wantage to see how they displayed their grounds. We are in the early stages of doing something similar in Headington, we’re not quite at the finished article yet but have begun the process of making the grounds available. 

Here is an article that can tell you more…

Latest on Brookside sewer system

We have received this update from Thames Water.

Our Technical Specialist has reviewed the footage from the recent clean of the sewer in Brookside. He was unable to obtain a clear picture of the condition of the pipework due to the high level of flow in the sewer. He has asked our camera team to repeat the survey, ensuring they have a tanker to control the flow in order to obtain a clear picture of the sewer.

This work has been scheduled for 8 August. Once completed the footage will be uploaded and assessed by our Technical Specialist to determine if further work is needed. I will continue to monitor our progress and will contact you with our next steps by 22 August at the latest.

Works at the Plain roundabout overnight 14/8/16

We have received the following advice from the County Council as follows:

On the night of Sunday 14th August 2016, Oxfordshire County Council will be carrying out roadworks on The Plain roundabout. Temporary 4-way signals will be set up at 21.00 until 05.00. Buses and bus stops will remain operational. We anticipate that there will be some delays on the network and to minimise disruption, the signals will be manually controlled.

Please be aware that we have also planned a diversion route through Circus and Temple Streets off Cowley Road to accommodate for any unforeseen events instead of the temporary 4-way signals.

The roadworks consist of remedial works to the coloured surfacing on the approach to The Plain and the installation of additional road markings.

On-going discussion of traffic management if energy pipe goes ahead

Councillors met officers from the County Networks Team today to inform discussion on the construction traffic management plan (CTMP) document submitted with the energy pipe application. We wanted to make sure that disruption to residents is kept to a minimum if the application gets consent, and give the Networks Team officers information about likely issues that may merit their further consideration.

Here are some of the points we discussed:

  • councillors will put a hard copy of the CTMP in Bury Knowle Library so that those of our residents who don’t use the internet will be able to see what has been proposed and make comments in writing. We shall mark this document “work in progress” as the Networks Team is still in on-going discussion with the applicant over possible changes.
  • the Networks Team will talk to Vital Energi about minimising rattling noise generated when traffic passes over metal plates (it appears from the plans that access to/from Cecil Sharp Place will be over a metal plate, and there will be more in London Road)
  • signage advising cyclists to dismount may be needed in certain locations
  • VMS signs on the A40 should emphasise that Headington shops are not affected even when traffic is restricted to one lane between Sandfield and Latimer Roads
  • Disabled access will be checked by a County Officer
  • Some of the diversion route signage shown in the drawings may be confusing and County will talk to VE about removing some of this (see note 6 below)
  • There will be signage advising drivers that there is no access to London Road or to Old Road via residential streets where necessary
  • The emergency services would like Lime Walk South to stay open throughout the works (one lane only) and County believes it would be best for Lime Walk South to operate as a one way street from Old Road in the direction of London Road throughout weeks 1-12 to ensure that (a) fire and rescue vehicles and ambulances can use Lime Walk South to get to emergencies, and (b) to ensure that access to streets in New Headington from Old Road via All Saints Road junction can be maintained for as long as possible. Councillors would like to consult residents about this.
  • Consideration should be given to making roads into Highfield e.g. Lime Walk South “Access only for residents” while works are on-going. Councillors will consult residents on this.

Other points raised include:

  1. The 5/9/16 meeting at County Hall to confirm whether a section 50 licence will be granted will go ahead as scheduled but any outcome will be subject to consent being granted by the Planning Authority
  2. The section 50 licence is in the name of the contractor Vital Energi until the works are completed, and then will be changed to Aviva Investors PLC thereafter.
  3. Work on the Access to Headington scheme in Roosevelt Drive has been scheduled for 7/10/16 (not yet confirmed)
  4. Temporary traffic regulation orders (TTROs) have not been finalised yet but are being drafted
  5. If planning consent is granted on 7th September by the Planning Authority, a further three weeks notice will be needed by the County Council to publish and implement the necessary TTROs before work can start
  6. We learned something new about diversion routes. These confused people (including councillors) last time around. Apparently the aim of a diversion route is to guide people from one end of roadworks to the other end of the roadworks, which is why it led people round almost in a complete circle. We don’t think that diversion route signage is particularly helpful in residential areas, although it may be needed on the Churchill site.

Other more technical details were also discussed, but these are the main points.

Cllrs Roz Smith and Ruth Wilkinson attended this meeting. Ruth is a member of the East Area Planning Committee and wishes to make it clear that her involvement has been only to provide information on road use in Headington Ward to the County Council’s Networks Team. She maintains an open mind on this application without prejudice, and looks forward to reading all comments and related documents and listening to speakers both for and against the application at the EAPC meeting to be held in public on 7th September at the Town Hall at 6pm.

Comments on this application can be sent in by residents to the City Council’s Planning Dept up until 18th August.

 

Sending in comments about the energy pipe application?

We advise residents to read through the construction traffic management plan before sending in comments to the Planning department. You can select this document from a list on this page

In the construction traffic management plan, you will find details of when works will take place in each of the affected roads, what road signage and temporary traffic arrangements will be made, and information like working hours.

The consultation period ends on 18th August. The planning reference number is 16/01565/FUL.

The County Council has not yet sent in its response as statutory consultee on highways and networks issues.

We have requested a briefing to councillors in public on the legal aspects of this application – this is for councillors to find out how many of the legal objections that have been submitted will be admissible as material planning considerations when the application is discussed at planning committee on the 7th September. We shall publish details of this meeting when we know when and where it will take place.

Latest planning news

A mixed bunch this week: two permitted, one refused and one withdrawn.

16/00976/FUL WITHDRAWN

Erection of 1 x 1-bed dwelling (Use Class C3).

Land Rear Of 3 Staunton Road

 

16/01349/FUL PERMITTED

Demolition of garage. Erection of rear outbuilding for use as studio/den.

62 Sandfield Road

 

16/01577/CPU  REFUSED

Application to certify that proposed formation of rear dormer window and formation of Juliet balcony and insertion of rooflights in association with loft conversion.
8 Stapleton Road

 

16/01652/CPU PERMITTED

Application to certify the proposed formation of 1no. rear dormer is lawful.

36 Windmill Road