Outdoor street surgeries with your local councillors

 

Here are details of our next two outdoor street surgeries

  • Thursday 23 July from 6:30-7:30 pm on the corner of Windmill Road and Langley Close
  • Thursday 30 July from 6:30-7:30 pm on the corner of Osler Road and The Croft

If you would like to contact your Lib Dem city councillors for advice on any issue please contact

Next public meeting set for 28 July

Our next Headington Ward Focus Meeting will take place on Tuesday 28 July from 6:00-7:30 pm at All Saints Church House, New High Street.

Last time, residents asked to know more about car clubs in Headington and Ellie Grebenik will be our guest speaker.

The main topic is Transport in Headington and the new County transport proposals.

Bring your councillors to account and raise any Headington issue in our Open Session. All welcome! Ward Focus meetings are run on a drop in and out basis and are free of charge. There is an open session where residents can raise issues of concern. There’s no need to book.

If you would like to contact your Lib Dem city councillors for advice on any issue please contact

New proposals to improve access to Headington’s employment sites

The County Council’s Access to Headington proposals can be viewed here.

We strongly urge residents to view these plans as they will impact significantly across the Headington area.

Headington is an area of significant job growth, and it also hosts many hospitals. The Government’s Local Growth Fund has allocated £8.2m for improvements in access to major employment sites in Headington, and there is an extra pot of developer money which can be used for this purpose.

Changes are proposed from the bottom of Headley Way, along London Road, along Windmill Road and the Slade, and also in Osler Road and Old Road. These include a redesigned crossroads in the centre of Headington with a pedestrian crossing which can be used diagonally. There are also changes and new junctions in and around the entrances to the JR and the Churchill sites.

In order to widen roads enough to make improvements to cycle lanes, planners are proposing to reclaim some verges and trees, and remove on-street parking from Headley Way, Windmill Road and the Slade. There are no indications within the current proposals where residents affected by this change will park their cars.

Headington Lib Dem councillors invite comments from our residents about the proposed scheme. We shall send in comments based on the views we receive.

Our initial thoughts are:

  • The potential removal of green verges and trees is contrary to the emerging Green Space policy in the draft Headington Neighbourhood Plan and  insufficient weighting has been given to green space and trees in the proposals (no indication of where these can be substituted elsewhere in Headington)
  • Will the removal of on-street parking make it easier for traffic to exceed the speed limit more often in Windmill Road  and Headley Way? (already an issue)
  • Where will residents affected by the removal of on-street spaces park their cars?
  • Which disabled parking spaces will be affected and how can the County Council help those residents?
  • Will the reduction of verges and widening of Osler Road lead to an increase in buses in this residential road?

We are currently discussing various issues with Tree Officers at both City and County, and are initiating discussion with Oxford Unlimited, a group concerned with transport issues for those with mobility challenges.

At the initial briefing, we flagged up the following suggestions:

the possibility of introducing pedestrian crossings of some sort in:

  • Windmill Road (between Langley Close and Bateman Street) to aid access to schools, improve pedestrian access, and create a break in the traffic to mitigate possible speeding
  • Headley Way (near the junction with London Road) to aid access to schools and Brookes, and improve safety as there have been near misses due to jaywalking here. The crossing lights could link into the junction lights

the possibility that ‘countdown’ crossing lights can be installed in the centre of Headington

that local construction companies and tradespeople should be contracted to do the work wherever possible

We have only just seen the plans, and will look forward to a wider public discussion before we send in comments in full. There are some very positive proposals too which we welcome, but for now we are concentrating on negotiating with the County Council over alternative options to address some of the above issues.

Contact details for the consultation:

Name Access to Headington Transport Proposals
Description The county council is developing plans to improve access across Headington and at major employment sites
Dates From 3 Jul 2015 at 00:00 to 7 Aug 2015 at 23:59.
Status Open
Contact Name Ian Williams
Contact Email Address ian.williams@oxfordshire.gov.uk
Contact Phone Number 01865 815548
Contact Postal Address Access to Headington Project,
Infrastructure Development Oxfordshire County Council,
Speedwell House (3rd Floor),
Speedwell Street,
Oxford,
OX1 1NE

Exhibitions will also be held as follows, where you will be able to view plans and discuss proposals with officers:

  • Friday 3rd July, 13:00 – 20.00

St Anthony’s of Padua, 115 Headley Way, Oxford

  • Saturday 4th July, 10:00 – 16:00

New Marston Primary School, Copse Lane, Oxford

  • Thursday 9th July, 13:00 – 20:00 

Wood Farm School, Titup Hall Drive, Oxford

  • Saturday 11th July, 10:00 – 16:00

St. Andrew’s Primary School, London Road, Oxford

 

 

Cycle safety awareness event

 

Do you want free safety advice and to see the road from a HGV drivers cab?

The Mace team at the Old Road Campus project, in conjunction with Oxford University, is hosting a free cycle safety event on 11 July 2015.

Come along to:

  • Register your bike for free
  • Receive cycle safety advice
  • Take a seat in one of our cycle awareness tipper trucks to gain the driver’s perspective.

Old Road Campus, 11 July 2015

10:00-13:00: 15 minute drop-in sessions

For more information on the event, please contact keith.thompson@macegroup.com

Opportunity to talk online to Police Commander

Thames Valley Police are holding an online discussion with Oxford City residents on Tuesday (30/6).
The web chat will provide the public with an opportunity to ask Commander for Oxford City, Ch Supt Christian Bunt questions about crime and policing in the Oxford Local Policing Area.
You can also pre-submit a question via the #AskTVP (opens new window). Follow on @TVP_Oxford (opens new window) for more information.

Appeal against planning enforcement notice

The owner of 169 Windmill Road has appealed against an enforcement notice issued by the City Council on the grounds that: (b)That the breach of planning control alleged in the enforcement notice has not occurred as a matter of fact (f) The steps required to comply with the requirements of the notice are excessive and lesser steps would overcome the objections. The reference number is APP/G3110/C/15/3027946

The nature of the complaint which prompted the enforcement action is “Unauthorised creation of s/c flat in loft”

The procedure to be followed is set out in the Town and Country Planning (Enforcement) (Written Representations Procedure) (England) Regulations 2002. If you wish to make any comments on this appeal, then you can do so via the Planning Portal: http://www.planningportal.gov.uk/planning/appeals/online/comment

Alternatively you can email teame2@pins.gsi.gov.uk.

Or, if you do not have access to the internet then please send three copies of your comments to: The Planning Inspectorate Room 3/26 Temple Quay House 2 The Square Temple Quay Bristol BS1 6PN Please quote the appeal reference given above in all correspondence.

Representations must be received by the Planning Inspectorate by 21st July 2015. The Planning Inspectorate does not acknowledge representations. Please note that all representations submitted to the Planning Inspectorate will be copied to the Appellant and to the Council and will be considered by the Inspector when determining the appeal. If you wish to follow the appeal you can do so via the Planning Portal (www.planningportal.gov.uk/pcs) by searching the under the appeal reference given above. You can also view the appeal documents on the Council’s website (www.oxford.gov.uk/planningapplications) by searching under planning application reference 14/00362/ENF

The Planning Inspectorate has published a Guide to taking part in Enforcement Appeals which is available online at: www.planningportal.gov.uk/pcs. Please contact me on the number given above if you require a printed copy. When made, the Inspector’s decision will be published on the Planning Portal.