Obstruction caused by deliveries to Tesco

Residents in Stephen Road have understandably complained that lines of sight to London Road are sometimes obstructed by lorries delivering to Tesco and that this is a safety hazard. Sometimes the lorries park on double yellow lines or cross-hatching.

Lorry delivering to Tesco

Tesco Customer Services have sent the following reply to councillors:

I have been chasing this up with the store and Muller. Shift leader (redacted) has been helping us with this. It was explained to the driver a lot of times not to park where he was parking, but with no avail. [The shift leader] (redacted) contacted Muller and everything was explained. The drivers manager is now being spoken to and this problem is being dealt with. You should see the difference in the parking. 

Please let us know if you see this happening again as we now have a contact at Tesco to get this resolved.

Gridlock in Headington

 

There was traffic chaos in Headington this morning when Thames Water did not move off site by the time agreed with the County Council.

Permission had been given by the County Council’s street works supervisor for planned work to go ahead to install a new water supply to a flat above the shops in London Road (and install pipework for a second) so long as working time was between 7pm and 6am.

Thames Water arranged for a grab lorry to take away the spoil at 2am, but an emergency cropped up and the grab lorry was sent to another location instead.

The street works supervisor became aware of the problem when he started work at 5:45 and saw it on the cameras, and chased Thames Water. It was clear there were no Thames Water staff on site dealing with the problem, and it’s rumoured that traffic was backed up as far as the M40.

The County Council has made it clear to Thames Water that London Road must be clear by 6am (likely 4am) tomorrow morning otherwise a stop notice may be put on further work.

Apparently Thames Water is paid to put in new water supply connections by the developer.

Councillors will check this doesn’t re-occur tomorrow.

If anyone wishes to complain, we advise you to contact Thames Water Customer Services at customer.feedback@thameswater.co.uk

We are satisfied that the County Council had been given assurances that London Road would not be affected during the daytime. It appears that there was no second grab lorry available for Thames Water to clear the site.

 

Alcohol sales licence application by Savers: comments by Monday

Licence applications are published by Oxford City Council and hearings are held if there are any local objections.

The following application has been published:

17/00627/PREM

Savers Health And Beauty Limited, 112 London Road

Application for a new premises licence: for a retail shop with the following licensable activity:

Sale of alcohol (off-sales only):
Monday to Saturday: 08:30 hours to 19:00 hours Sunday: 10:00 hours to 18:00 hours

Seasonal variations:
Finish time 21:00 hours Monday to Saturday 14th November to 24th December.

Non-standard timings:
Sunday Trading Law will be adhered to if hours restrictions (no more than 6 hours between 10:00 and 18:00) apply to these premises.

DEADLINE FOR REPRESENTATIONS TO BE RECEIVED (All representations must be made in writing): 27 February 2017

ADDRESS FOR REPRESENTATIONS TO BE SENT: 

The Licensing Authority, Oxford City Council St Aldates Chambers, 109 St Aldates, Oxford, OX1 1DS, or by email to: licensing@oxford.gov.uk

The deadline for comment is 27/2/17 which is only three days after the notification was given. We are asking the City Council why the deadline is so early, as those without email access will have difficulty posting back views by Monday

UPDATE deadline for comments now 20/3/17(error now corrected)

Headington sewer capacity

Here are some notes from a meeting with Thames Water, following sewage spills in and around London Road and Brookside.

Pipe capacity

  • There is a 150 mm pipe down London Rd
  • This joins a 300 mm pipe in All Saints Road
  • Capacity has been checked in and around the junction of Headley Way, London Road and Brookside and this is OK.
  • If capacity were a problem then the sewer would block up daily.
  • Sewer pipes need to be fairly full as they are self-cleaning so require steady flow

Monitoring capacity

  • Growth forecast  is considered every 6 months so incremental change is spotted.
  • They have just finished plotting capacity across the City and Headington is OK. (evidence shown for this)
  • London Road sewer (incl Brookside) is on the 1 year planned maintenance list because of the frequency of incidents but the latter have all been due to a build-up of fat and grease

How to contact Thames Water

Thames Water enquiry number is 0800 316 9800 to report drainage issues

Responsibility for sewers

Thames Water look after shared sewers. As soon as a sewer leaves your land then Thames Water looks after it

  • If a sewer pipe runs past no. 1, 3, 5, 7 then the owner of no. 1 is responsible for sorting out problems with the pipe inside his/her curtilage but when it gets to no. 3 and thereafter it’s the responsibility of TW
  • If unsure whose responsibility it is, ring Thames Water enquiry number

Causes of sewer blockage

Fat and grease clings to non-biodegradable wipes – these are everywhere now, not just baby wipes but surface wipes, make-up wipes etc

New technology to detect blockage

Echo system technology is newly available – don’t have to dig up major roads to put cameras down from now on, can send down an echo finder and get a reading from that

Further action agreed

  • TW to send posters/leaflets/.pdf link to Cllrs to promote what can and can’t go down sinks/toilets
  • TW to establish whether promotion dept is working with Oxford Brookes and Headington School
  • Cllrs to contact Thames Water if we think street traders are pouring grease into the sewers

Twenty questions for the energy pipe press launch tomorrow

Here is our latest list of questions sent in by residents

Timescale

  1. What are the working hours? Will it include weekend working? On what dates will be the work be in my area?
  2. If work starts at either end simultaneously, will Old Rd and London Rd be affected at the same time? Will whole roads be closed either end?

How does it work?

  1. Can they explain the technology? How much carbon reduction do they intend to achieve?at what cost? and cost/ ton? What is the benchmark above which it becomes unaffordable? if the planners are considering all aspects of carbon reduction then consideration should also be given to the manufacture of the steel tubing, (China?) fittings, and insulation plus the cost of storage and transport to site, storage, reloading onto vehicles to the various sections of the site during the installation. The fuel used in excavation vehicles, back filling and testing plus the non green effect of the traffic congestion that will occur throughout Headington throughout the contract period.
  2. How large will the trench be and what about all the other cables, drains, sewage. Size of pipes too
  3. Is it steam or water? If it leaks under high pressure, would this damage road and paths?

Extent of the disruption

  1. How will noise and dust be controlled?
  2. Will pedestrian access along streets be affected?
  3. How will highways and footpaths be kept clean?
  4. Can we see the detailed construction plan?
  5. Can we have our pavements and footpaths resurfaced following the work? What quid pro quo can we obtain for all the disturbance?
  6. Protection of trees? In Stapleton Road for example the line is very close to the kerb so difficult to see how trees can be protected?
  7. What are the arrangements for emergency vehicles?
  8. Will refuse collections operate as normal?

Parking

  1. What arrangements for parking for contractors’ vehicles?
  2. What alternative car parking arrangements will be made for residents who may be unable to park near their house/in their drives while the work is in their street?

Communications strategy

16 Why hold a press launch – there could only be 4 or 5 press outfits interested, and why not have arranged to meet community groups already?

17 Have commercial and institutional organisations been informed? e.g. Taxi companies, delivery vehicles to/from main shops e.g. Blanchfords,  Online grocery providers, Mace on  ORC, Brookes, particularly re arrival at start of Semester 2 (NB  at Ward Focus  it transpired that Manager of Stagecoach  was not aware )

18 Have the emergency services even been informed?

Consultation with residents

19 Can we have a liaison group comprising residents reps, councillors and the contractors to meet regularly throughout the project do deal with residents issues and various construction contingences? This worked well during the Brookes JHB project.

Enforcement

20 Who will enforce the agreed working arrangements? What are the statutory controls – as opposed to the contractual conditions?

Bus route change during night-time roadworks

Night closures are planned for Lyndworth Mews and Lyndworth Close (no. 31 to end), and of Stowood Close to the end of Northfield Rd, from 27 April to the 12th May

Please note the changes to Oxford Bus services listed below: (wording taken from their update)

London Road Overnight Resurfacing

We have been advised that London Road will be closed for resurfacing between Headington and Green Road Roundabout overnight between 1900 and 0600 from 27th April for 4 nights and from 6th May for 2 nights.

This will involve diversions for our local services city8/9, park&ride400 and BROOKESbus U1 as well as airline and X90 coaches.

Our services will divert outbound from Headington lights, right into Windmill Road, The Slade, left at the Corner House, and left onto Eastern Bypass to Green Road to resume normal route. Inbound is a reverse of this diversion.

As a result, stops between Headington and Green Road will not be served during this diversion.

As an alternative, all services that normally pick up at the shops opposite the Post Office will pick up at the first stop on Windmill Road (stop HS3) . Oxford-bound, X90 and airline OXF will also provide a temporary drop-off point at the Headington Shops Stop HS2 .

We apologise for any inconvenience caused, and thank you for your patience during these works. We strongly urge that you allow plenty of extra time for your journey, as delays are likely. Please keep checking our Facebook and Twitter pages for further updates.

London Road closures overnight

Oxfordshire County Council will be undertaking night-time road closures on the A420 London Road in Headington between Wharton Road and Green Road Roundabout.

The closures will be done in two phases, Phase one will start on Monday 27 April 2015 for four nights and phase two will start on Wednesday 6 May for two nights, subject to any bad weather or unforeseen circumstances during construction.

The work will include reconstruction and final surfacing of the carriageway.

The night-time road closures are necessary so that the final sections of road reconstruction and surfacing can be done. Unfortunately, this work cannot be undertaken safely under the current temporary traffic signals arrangement.

The two phases of work are as follows:

Phase 1: Monday 27 April to Thursday 30 April 2015 – this phase will involve reconstruction of the existing carriageway between Northfield Road and Green Road Roundabout.

Phase 2: Wednesday 6 May to Thursday 7 May 2015 – this phase will involve the installation of the final road surface between Wharton Road and Green Road Roundabout.

Noisy operations are only permitted until 11pm.

During the closure, staff (traffic gatemen) will be positioned at either end of the site to redirect traffic. Pedestrian marshals will also be strategically located around the works area to direct pedestrians and to ensure the safety of the public and workforce. We request that you give them your full support whether you are a pedestrian, cyclist or motorist. Pedestrian access will be maintained at all times.

Overnight closures of London Road in April and May

The County Council advises that the stretch of road between Stile Road and the Green Road roundabout will be closed overnight from 8.00 pm – 6.00 am on the following dates:

Monday 27th April to Friday 1st May 2015 – for 4 nights – 8.00pm to 6.00am

Wednesday 6th and Thursday 7th May 2015 – for 2 nights – 8.00pm to 6.00am

This is to facilitate road works as part of the London Road re-build.

 

Planning application next door to Dorset House

The application to certify that the proposed single storey extensions to the south-east elevation of property at 42 London Road are lawful development has been refused. For more details please click here.

We are frequently asked about this property, it is located on the corner of Latimer Road and London Road, immediately next door to Dorset House, and has boards around it.