Tell the County your views on household waste sites

 

As part of securing HWRC sites across Oxfordshire, the Council will be seeking a new management contract to operate these sites. They would like to know your views on measures that could be taken to make savings and to create income, in order to provide the most affordable service for residents of Oxfordshire.

Household Waste Recycling Strategy & Consultation 2015
The above report sets out the results of the Council’s consultation on the future of HWRCs which was carried out in 2015

Unfortunately it appears that this consultation is again online, we are asking how residents who do not use the internet can send in their views.

Here is the link to the website where you can register your comments. The closing date is the 11th August.

Latest planning permissions and refusals

16/00430/FUL PERMITTED

Change of use from dwellinghouse (Use Class C3) to House in Multiple Occupation (Use Class C4).
21 Franklin Road Oxford

16/00855/FUL PERMITTED

Change of use from dwellinghouse (Use Class C3) to House in Multiple Occupation (Use Class C4).
23 Kennett Road Oxford

 

16/01368/FUL PERMITTED

Erection of part single, part two storey side extension.

49 Staunton Road Oxford

 

16/01197/CPU REFUSED

Erection of garden outbuilding.

21 Latimer Road Oxford

 

Action on Children’s Centres

At the full Council meeting of Oxfordshire County Council on Tuesday 12th July, the Liberal Democrats amended motion on Children’s Centres was passed unanimously.

The motion as amended is below:

Council continues to supports the general principle that those in greatest need should have the highest priority. However, Council regrets that it has been compelled to abandon the concept of universal provision offered by our Children’s Centres in Oxfordshire as a result of the Government’s cuts in Local Authority funding. In the meantime, Council is aware that, as a result of the focus on the most needy children and families in our County, there will be large areas- particularly in the West which now have no Children Centre buildings – the same areas likely to suffer most from rural isolation as the Council removes bus subsidies. Ensuring that there was some compensation for these areas was a key statement agreed by Council in its February budget.

  1. Council therefore believes that it is now essential that the effects of the loss of Children’s Centres, in these areas, is compensated for by:
  2. Offering active support to the parents, volunteers and Parish Councils taking over or hoping to take over the vacated Centres.
  3. Persuading District Councils to join us in giving as much support to these bodies as possible.That the £1m Transition Fund agreed at the February budget should be committed to these areas to achieve the above.

Councillor Richard Webber, Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group said:

It is hard to find much to be pleased about in the current atmosphere of austerity and uncertainty, so it was something of an achievement for the Liberal Democrat Group to have gained the unanimous backing of OCC for using £1m of transition funding to alleviate some of the pain being caused by the cuts to the County’s Children’s Centres.

Don’t flush toddler wipes – Brookside sewage spill weekend update

There have now been three sewage spills in four days in the area around the top of Brookside and London Road. All blockages in the line have been cleared, the latest was completed Friday night.

The line has been jetted upstream and cleared but the underground flow is so strong that it is currently not possible to get a camera down to make a closer inspection of the pipe.

This problem is complex in that there a number of factors that need to be taken into account.

  1. All the blockages have been caused by ‘rag’, a term which includes a number of possible items including baby wipes. Baby wipes have often been visible when the line is unblocked. We have found out that confusing and misleading product labelling can lead to people flushing toddler wipes and sanitary items which can take a number of years to break down. The Thames Water website comments:

There are currently no restrictions in place to prevent these products being sold as ‘flushable’. 

The only product to pass water industry ‘flushability’ tests so far is toilet paper. Manufacturers have their own tests, which are more lenient resulting in a greater number of products being labelled ‘flushable’. 

To resolve this, the water industry and manufacturers are working together to develop a shared protocol. This project is also hoping to influence product labelling.

2. The frequency and volume of blockages seems to indicate that the diameter of the pipe may not be big enough or that the pipe has got too old or is damaged.

3. The timing of these blockages coincides with works to replace part of a sewer on the northern side of London Road and engineers want to find out if the two are related.

The situation currently is that a network engineer is making a site visit today to make an assessment. Hopefully a camera can be used to determine the state of the pipe below. A cleaning up operation will be done by contractors next week if the all clear is given. The work has priority 1 status. Engineers need to assess whether any pollution of Boundary Brook has taken place – tests will need to be done and if found positive, the Environment Agency will be informed, but we have no information on this yet and it may turn out that tests will be negative.

Your local councillors are in contact with both Thames Water and their contractors. It would help us if residents could express concerns over whether the diameter of the pipe is big enough whenever they speak to TW or to contractors.

Actions for councillors

  • We are pressing for updates and actions from Thames Water
  • We have agreed with Thames Water that they will carry out a leaflet drop to residents in the surrounding area about what can and cannot be flushed away
  • We have agreed with Thames Water that we shall publicise this web page to the wider area
  • We have obtained a Headington sewer map so that residents and councillors can see where the pipes run to and from in the area
  • We are in touch with Trading Standards to find out how best we can get movement from manufacturers on the shared protocol for product labelling and will consider how best to take this forward nationally

 

 

 

 

Brookside sewage spill latest

Tuesday’s blockage affecting Brookside and London Road was caused by paper and rag. This morning’s blockage has been cleared but a network engineer has been sent to site to determine whether pollution has spread to Boundary Brook.   Thames Water is digging up and repairing a damaged section of sewer on the opposite side of the London Road,but at the present time there is too much flow in the line for a camera to be put down which would help identify whether this is a contributing factor or whether there are other problems below ground.

If there is any evidence of pollution into Boundary Brook, Thames Water will carry out tests and report findings to the Environment Agency.

We are in daily contact with Thames Water over this issue.

Oxford-based events next week

  • Friday 15 July, Oxford Bus Company Airline Birmingham Beach Shoot, Gloucester Green, 10am to 2pm. Promotion of the new Airline Birmingham Service. www.oxfordbus.co.uk
  • Saturday 16 July, Dancin’ Oxford Summer Festival, City Centre incl. Gloucester Green, 12pm to 4pm. www.dancinoxford.co.uk
  • Saturday 16 July, Royal British Legion Honour Walk, Shotover Country Park, 10am to 5pm. Honour /sponsored walk in aid of the Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal.www.britishlegion.co.uk
  • Saturday 16 July, Rose Hill Summer Extravaganza, Rose Hill Community Centre and Recreation Ground, 12pm to 3pm. This free community event for local residents will include a variety of sports activities.
  • Sunday 17 July, Free Flight Rallies, Port Meadow, 9am to 6pm. Model flying rallies – free flight.  www.oxfordmodelflyingclub.org.uk
  • Sunday 17 July, Headington Baptist Church Family Worship, Bury Knowle Park,10.30am to 12pm. Morning family service with worship songs, drama, children’s activity and talk. www.hbc-oxford.org.uk
  • Sunday 17 July, Marston Neighbourhood Church BBQ, Milham Ford Nature Park, 4pm to 5.30pm. BBQ run by the local church with a public gospel talk, reading from the Bible and some small scale organised games. www.themnc.org
  • Sunday 17 July, Oxford Youth Dance 30 year Celebration Picnic, Headington Hill Park, 12pm to 4pm. Bring and Share cold picnic event with pop up dance performances from Oxford Youth Dance/Crossover Intergenerational Company and acoustic band performance from Balloon Ascents (local band).www.oxfordyouthdance.blogspot.co.uk
  • Wednesday 20 July, Classical performance by Kyla Lingley, Broad Street, 9am to 3pm. Classical singing performance in aid of Breast Cancer Now. www.kylalingley.com
  • Saturday 23 July, Oxford Eid Extravaganza, Rose Hill Community Centre & Recreation Ground, 12 to 7 pm. Oxford’s 2nd Eid event is an opportunity for all families from all communities to come together to enjoy and celebrate Eid. There will be a range of fun activities, entertainment and stalls for all ages. www.facebook.com/events/855315687930182/?ti=icl
  • Saturday 23 July, Run the Oxford Parks by Thames Valley Orienteering Club, Headington Hill Park, 10am to 1pm. Orienteering event around Headington Hill Park and parts of the Oxford Brookes Campus. www.tvoc.org.uk
  • Saturday 23 July, Film under the Stars, Hinksey Park, 9am to 11pm. An outdoor screening of a family film. www.filmoxford.org
  • Wednesday 27 to Friday 29 July, BelVita Breakfast Biscuits Sampling & Promotion, Broad Street, 7am to 12pm.
  • Saturday 30 July, Film under the Stars, Bury Knowle Park, 9am to 11pm. An outdoor screening of a family film. www.filmoxford.org
  • Saturday 30 July, Play and Activity Day, Grandpont / SOAP, 11am to 3pm. OPA’s Play & Activity Days offer a range of activities to promote Positive Behaviours and Activities, Physical Activity, Healthy Lifestyles and Active and Engaged Communities. www.oxonplay.org.uk
  • Sunday 31 July, Oxford Beach Volleyball Courts Opening, Cutteslowe Park, 12pm to 4pm. To introduce the new beach volleyball courts to the community with exhibition games and interactive demonstrations for kids and adults to try out.http://www.oxfordvolleyball.co.uk/p/obvc.html

Find out more about Cutteslowe and Wolvercote roundabouts on 20 July 2016

 

Anyone interested in the progress that has been made so far on the roundabouts and approaches at Cutteslowe and Wolvercote are invited to a drop-in event on 20 July 2016 at the Jury’s Inn, Wolvercote, between 11am and 6pm.

Progress so far

As you may have read in the Oxford Mail, or heard on BBC Oxford, work is now entering the final stages and the finish date has been brought forward from late- November to mid-October.

Members of the team will be on hand to talk through what has been done so far and what is still to be done.

Safety improvements

The County Council has looked again at the final layout of Cutteslowe roundabout and found a way to further improve its efficiency and safety. It now plans to include a separately signalled left turn lane from the Banbury Road for cars wanting to head down the A40 towards Headington.

The changes have no implications in terms of cost or the time it will take to complete the work but does bring a number of improvements on the previously proposed layout.

It is also reducing the approach on the A40 to Cutteslowe roundabout from the originally proposed 4 lanes to 3. This should improve safety on the roundabout and approaches without reducing the capacity of the junction because Council officers can then improve the signal arrangement on Banbury Road allowing more turning movements to happen simultaneously.