We have spoken to Police Sergeant Andy Poole who assures us this is an isolated incident which appeared to be initially motivated by a dispute over a right of way.
A police officer will attend the next Ward Focus Meeting on 31st July at All Saints Church House, please come and ask any questions you may have.
Headington councillors are asking the Oxford Mail reporter concerned to give evidence for wording in his article that may not be factually correct according to the full police report given to us by our neighbourhood police team. We have been advised by neighbourhood police that the incident is being treated as a serious assault, but not a racist one, but will update this website when we have spoken to the journalist.
Update
The Oxford Mail has provided councillors with information received from Thames Valley Police. We are asking the police for a definitive statement and will post it when we have it.
We are advised by the City Council’s Streetscene team that:
At BKP Five of the nine cubicles are completed and the flooring contractor is on site today and tomorrow with the aim of completion before the weekend. By this time the only facilities out of action will be those where the doors are desperately in need of replacement- so much so that members of the public have been getting stuck inside. These doors are on order and should be replaced in the next couple of weeks.
Once all of this is complete we will be deep cleaning the toilets to give the tiling a bit of a ‘lift’.
Here is the latest information we have on the toilets re-furb at Bury Knowle Park from the City Council. We have asked for much better communication in future.
Please accept my apologies for not letting you know we were planning on doing some improvements to the toilets at Bury Knowle Park.
I am sure you are aware that the toilets are very well used, also they do suffer from mindless vandalism which we do our best to keep on top of, so much so that we did get an award from the Loo of the year award for the last 2 years.
We had noticed that the doors are damaged, a few missing toilet roll holders and also the flooring was damaged and had started to become a tripping hazard.
With this in mind, we put an order through to our flooring contractors and asked that they looked at the flooring and made arrangements to get the repairs completed ASAP for safety reasons, also to assist in getting the spend in this financial year.
They were asked to keep 50% of the toilets open whilst they undertook the work, which is what they did try to do, but for a couple of days the 50% they took out only left 2 and the disabled because the other 3 were vandalised and also awaiting other repairs.
I went and had a look yesterday, the signage certainly can be improved and will be when we start to get 7 new doors fitted in the near future; also a lesson learnt that as and when we take out facilities rather than just a sign saying out of order – we should give more appropriate information – plus let local councillors know we are doing this.
The flooring will be completed in the next couple of days, we will still have 3 toilets out of action due to the doors needing replacing, but everything else will be open and fit for purpose.
We have also exchanged the 2 metal signs on the outside of the building as the old ones were damaged due to the amount of time we have had to remove graffiti of them, so numbers are now available so members of the public can get hold of us easier.
You asked us to find out how to report non-disabled drivers who park in blue badge spaces in the little car park near Bury Knowle Library off North Place.
We are advised by the City Council that you should inform Parks either by emailing them at parks@oxford.gov.uk or by phoning them on 01865 252240
See below for the advice received by the City Council.
You are correct in assuming that we have no enforcement powers as there is not a traffic order in place.
Most individuals won’t park in a disabled bay, however, if some individuals do it would be good to know about it as we could leave notices on the offending cars. This may remind them not to do it in the future.
Oxford City Council would like to hear what you think of the parks, nature reserves and green spaces that it manages in Oxford. It wants to know what they mean to you and how they benefit the local area. It aims to learn how to make the parks and green spaces even better in the future.
Please clink this link to complete the online survey which closes on 31 January 2017
photo courtesy of headington.org.uk
Gates still out of order
It’s taken months for the City Council to make the software work with the gates in North Place. Finally the supplier got this working last week and now the gates have been vandalised.
They were shown to work, although temporarily, so have been commissioned. We therefore assume that they cannot be deemed to have been totally unfit for purpose as many residents and councillors had suspected.
The gates were installed in order to stop unauthorised vehicles driving into the area next to Bury Knowle House and Lock’s Court. The controversial Lock’s Court development was permitted only on condition that it is car-free and tenancy agreements confirm this, but residents in neighbouring North Place have complained of taxis and cars causing noise and light disturbance overnight.
We are urgently pressing the City Council to bring these gates into working order as local residents are losing faith that they will ever be usable.
On top of all that, the Library lift isn’t working either. That was put in by the County Council and we have had a number of complaints about it. Another project that does not appear to have been either fit for purpose or value for money?
Algae on the tennis courts
We’ve been asked about the state of the tennis courts in Bury Knowle Park, and have received this advice from officers.
The problem is with the algae growth.
We have had a lot of problems this year due to the wet and warm winter. This has led to similar conditions on most of our courts and tennis and play areas across the UK.
The courts are mechanically brushed twice a year and sprayed with an anti-algae agent as needed. The latest controls on chemicals, mean that many chemicals used for treatment have now been withdrawn. It is difficult to find a chemical that deals effectively with the algae.
We are working with the LTA and Premier Tennis to see what we can do to improve matters. Blowers to remove leaves and brushes have been purchased and supplied to Premier Tennis on site to assist with keeping the courts clean.
We have just been notified that two Scots pines in the play area will be removed in the next month and this will involve the temporary closure of the play area (see works detailed below)
As soon as we have firm dates, we shall publish them here.
The City Council will replant in the Park for all trees removed, but this won’t happen till the tree planting season from Oct/Nov 16 – Feb/Mar 17. The replanted trees may be located in a different place in the Park and their location will be discussed with the Friends of Bury Knowle Park. If you have any views on this, please get back to us and we shall pass on your comments to the relevant officers.
Sgl/489 (348900) Scots Pine in play area 3MANP Parks – Three Man Team
GRIND Grind Stump
SEFL Section Fell to ground level
SPEC SPECIALIST EQUIPMENT signs and cones, close play area
Sgl/490 (348904) Scots Pine in play area 3MANP Parks – Three Man Team
GRIND Grind Stump
SEFL Section Fell to ground level
SPEC SPECIALIST EQUIPMENT
signs and cones, seal play park gates and close area (5 gates), land rovers only
In response to resident concern, we have asked the City Council to clarify the rents for the new social and affordable units at Lock’s Court. It seems that 5 of the originally advertised charges were not accurate and they will be re-advertised.
Here is the response we have received from the City Council.
The social rents are set around 47% of the market rent for the property type for the area. In addition to the rent, relevant service charges are also due.
The affordable housing units are set at either 60% of market rent (Lock’s Court) or 78% of market rent (the remainder). There are no service charges for the affordable units as they are considered inclusive of the rent.
As a result of these conditions, there will be always be some properties with a much higher charge than identical properties, however .. the demand for the affordable rent properties is very high nonetheless.
We have however identified a problem with the recent advertisements for the 5 affordable rent properties in that the rent shown was at 78%, not 60% as it should have been. Although the demand was high, we are aware that many applicants may have been put off from bidding because of the additional rental cost, including potentially some of those in greatest housing need. As a result, we will be re-advertising those properties with the correct rent figures. We will be contacting those who have made bids to explain and apologise for the mix up. The social rental properties advertised are unaffected.
The table below shows the correct charges for each property. The total charge includes rent debit, and where appropriate (for social housing) charges for care taking and cleaning, grounds maintenance, LL Lighting, TV and aerial repairs, and service. The affordable homes are on first floor level.
| House No. | Rental Type | No of Beds | Permitted number |
Total Debit |
| 1 LOCK’S COURT | SOCIAL | 2 | 4 | £121.85 |
| 2 LOCK’S COURT | AFFORDABLE | 2 | 4 | £142.34 |
| 3 LOCK’S COURT | SOCIAL | 2 | 4 | £121.85 |
| 4 LOCK’S COURT | AFFORDABLE | 1 | 2 | £124.38 |
| 5 LOCK’S COURT | SOCIAL | 2 | 4 | £121.85 |
| 6 LOCK’S COURT | AFFORDABLE | 2 | 3 | £142.34 |
| 7 LOCK’S COURT | SOCIAL | 3 | 5 | £136.03 |
| 8 LOCK’S COURT | AFFORDABLE | 1 | 2 | £124.38 |
| 9 LOCK’S COURT | SOCIAL | 2 | 3 | £121.85 |
| 10 LOCK’S COURT | AFFORDABLE | 2 | 4 | £142.34 |