The websites of the City Council and County Council have been down since the end of last week. Most systems have now been restored. The Customer Contact Centre is accepting calls and face-to-face visitors for all excluding Waste and Recycling enquiries. Switchboards are under a great deal of pressure. Unfortunately the planning application search facility is still down but staff are working to resolve this.
National Conference 2015
Last week, Altaf looked after ward casework while Ruth attended Lib Dem Conference.
For those people who are interested in seeing the keynote speech by the new Leader of the Liberal Democrats, here is Tim Farron.
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Latest Headington Plan news
Click on this link to find out more about the up and coming Forum meeting on 2nd October!
Latest planning applications
..are at the JR and in York Road. For details please click here
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
Planning application latest
Just one this week for the replacement of existing windows in St Andrew’s Road. Click here for details
Over 5,000 new members have just joined the Liberal Democrats, following the General Election.
People are joining right across the country, and these are not just people who’ve been members before.
We’re recruiting people who have never joined a party in the past but want to stand together against the things this Conservative government is already promising to do.
The current top 10 local parties for new members are:
- Sheffield
- Bristol
- Twickenham
- Cambridge
- Camden
- Islington
- Cardiff
- Tower Hamlets
- Oxford East
- Brighton and Hove
Everyone who joins the party right now will be able to vote in the leadership election so right now is a fantastic time join us.
Want to join? Click here
or go to www.libdems/join
Thanks for voting for Alasdair Murray, your Lib Dem Candidate
Latest planning applications
Two applications for single storey rear extensions this week in York Road and Sandfield Road. More details here
More local planning applications
..can be found here, and some are major. They relate to properties in London Road, Latimer Road, Gathorne Road, Staunton Road, Bateman Street and Headley Way