Windmill Road Residents’ Action Group

If you live in Windmill Road and want to help get action on road traffic issues, there is a new group waiting to welcome you.

The WRRAG has already fought for slow down signs, has petitioned the County Council and explored options with the neighbourhood police team on behalf of residents.

For more details, you can contact WRRAG at 105 Windmill Road or email

jumbo-media@hotmail.com

Multi-sport sessions for 15-21 year olds

Sessions will launch on Monday 11 August taking place from 6pm until 8pm and they are free to attend! Oxford United Football Club will deliver the sessions, which will have a football focus. However, to encourage young people to try a new sport and broaden their horizons, new and exciting sports will also be introduced along the way.

Venues are:

  • Monday – Sunnymead Park, Cutteslowe
  • Tuesday – Barton Pavilion
  • Wednesday – Rose Hill Recreation Ground
  • Thursday – Fry’s Hill Park, Greater Leys
  • Friday – Wood Farm field (behind Forresters Tower)

Bounts points can be earned by attending any Youth Ambition session. Bounts rewards individuals with points for attendance – the more sessions you attend the more points you earn. Points can be redeemed against a wide range of items including tickets to Oxford United games, player meet and greets, Love2shop gift vouchers and much more.

It works like this:

  1. Attend your first session and get a free key tag from the session instructor – remember to have it scanned!
  2. Register your key tag when you get home at www.bounts.it and connect to Oxford Youth Ambition.
  3. Remember to take your key tag to every session you attend, get it scanned and watch your points tot up.

And so it goes on…Library update

Headington Library lift

Headington Library lift

A meeting was held on Wednesday between the City Council and the agent for the County Council about the external appearance of the Library lift extension. The application is a white self-coloured render that does not fit well with the palette of the library, which is a mix of honey/near honey and ‘dirtied honey’ and greyish tones.

Two possible options were identified: to re-render or to paint over. The agent is finding out technical details about whether another covering of paint would ‘stick’.

Five sample panels of render will be delivered to the site on hardboard so can be moved around the extension and a further meeting will be arranged next week.

The colour of the angles to seal the gap around the lift will be coloured to match that of the lift.

We are assured that the work will be completed as quickly as possible, once the decision on render vs paint has been made, and we will be pushing hard for a minimum of delay.

 

London Road works update from Roz

The work on the A40 for a new bus lane section going towards the Green Road roundabout is due to start in late September. The footway from the roundabout towards the Gladstone Road junction is also to be widened to allow for cycleway along the south side of London Road. Work outside the Roundway will also be undertaken and this section will be closed I understand. Resurfacing works are due to take place at night with neighbours being informed beforehand. You might be seeing some advanced works now on the lighting columns and for VirginMedia.

The main ‘maintenance’ works, i.e. the resurfacing of London Road will start in January 2015 – yes delayed again. Investigations have shown that there is a concrete section under the surface and this will need to be dug out and replaced before re-surfacing. I am told works will be advertised in advance.

 

For more details, please contact Roz Smith, County Councillor for Headington and Quarry Division, on 07584 257156

Latest on Headington Library Lift

Headington Library lift

Headington Library lift

The long-awaited lift for Headington Library is facing further delay because of the non-fulfilment of a planning condition.

Local residents have been shocked to see the exterior of the Bury Knowle House extension which looks completely out of keeping with the grade 2 listed building, and contacted us.

We have investigated this and found out that permission for the build was granted subject to a condition which requires an off white colour and for samples to be agreed. Oxfordshire County Council had not sought to discharge any conditions at all which is most odd.

A member of staff from Oxford City Council is meeting Capita on site to discuss acceptable paint colour and/or new rendering on Wednesday 6 August.

 

What happens at Headington Ward Focus meetings?

Well here’s what happened at ours last night – if you find this interesting, why not come along next time? Headington Lib Dem councillors hold ward focus meetings on the last Tuesday of each month except for August, and they are well attended. This is a facility unique to Headington Ward, and costs of venue hire are paid for by your councillors.

Notes from Headington Ward Focus meeting 29/07/14

All welcomed

Actions arising from the last meeting

  • we reported on the relocation of Cherwell Radio following contact with Cherwell Radio and the Oxford Universities’ Hospitals Trust

London Road developments

Roz had sent full notes of her meeting with the lead officers which were shared with those attending.

Works to London Road are happening in two phases:

  • Bus and cycle improvement project (south side) Sept-Dec 2014
  • Maintenance scheme in London Road from Wharton Road junction to Green Road roundabout starts Jan 2015 and likely to last 18 weeks

Actions

Refer the following comments/questions to Roz:

  • Subway closure from Risinghurst to Barton – how will children get to school safely?
  • Diversion signs for inbound traffic – via where? And how far out will they be posted?
  • Can signs be put out saying “Headington businesses open as usual” or some such
  • Could bus companies provide a ticket ‘conductor’ at the Gladstone Road stop to speed people on and off the buses while roadworks are on?
  • Roz to post up meeting notes on the HeadingtonLibDems website

Margaret Road crossing

Residents have not been consulted by the County Council but notices have been posted

The closing date for comments is 1 August

Please email your comments to highwayenquiries@oxfordshire.gov.uk

There was discussion re lines of sight at the junction of York Road and Margaret Road immediately in front of the proposed zebra crossing, concern over drainage by the new bumps, and the need for lollipop staff

  • Action Ruth to send through comments to consultation

Notes on planning issues

Comments on County Transport Plan LTP4 need to be in by 1 August

The Old Road Campus planning application for the Big Data Institute is on the East Area Planning agenda for next Wednesday. The comments from the independent planning design panel have been uploaded to the planning website. The officers are recommending approval with conditions

Current planning applications in Headington were made available to all who attended

Old Headington sewage spills

We gave an update on works to be carried out in Old Headington by Thames Water (see website)

Actions/comments

  • Stoke Place has been similarly affected. Ruth to ask Thames Water if a further assessment can be made
  • There is also a shared sewer outside 29 St Andrew’s Road which leads to the main line – may need attention too

Shell Garage

This is likely to attract more customers when the Waitrose offer is known. It is an accident and near miss hotspot for cyclists and pedestrians

Actions/comments

  • All councillors have called a meeting with the County officer responsible for accident monitoring and signage, also the police to identify options to mitigate risk of accidents
  • Suggestion that the highway could be divided in some way?
  • Concern that yellow boxes aren’t being observed in central Headington – hatching enforcement is needed, possibly with CCTV

Windmill Road issues

New signs have been put up in Windmill Road to address speeding issues but only one person had noticed these

The police are carrying out covert speed operations to identify the two roads where people most often break speed limits in Headington and Windmill Road is one of these. They will target those two roads with continual operations using speed guns and high vis. to get the message home.

Comments and actions

  • Cross-hatching is needed near driveways opposite the NOC due to near misses and write-offs – councillors to extend above meeting to include this site
  • Noise and drunken behaviour plus increased police presence noted at Windmill House. Manager could not attend this meeting but will come to a future one. Cllrs to check with TVP
  • Cllrs check with Windmill House manager on gates open overnight
  • Cllrs to check with planning enforcement re a building project which has no associated planning permission
  • Ruth to check on reported B&B in Windmill Road to see if this has been inspected

Other issues and actions raised in open session

Osler Road

  • Cllrs to check whether the pole has been taken away from the new parking slot
  • Concern about the exit from Manor Hospital, could a “Think Pedestrians!” sign be put up? Cllrs to investigate
  • Line of parking slots by bowls club too long and obstructs sightlines. Cllrs to check
  • Overhanging vegetation from Headington House side of Cuckoo Lane between Osler Rd and Old High Street needs cutting back, cllrs to contact Highways
  • What happened to the “Unsuitable for HGV” sign? Cllrs to investigate

Headington Centre

  • Fix My Street request re faulty utilities covers still not done. Cllrs to chase County Highways
  • BT phone box in Kennett Road has bottles in it, generally an eyesore, please can Payphones disconnect and remove? Cllrs to investigate with BT
  • Bike racks needed in Kennett Road, yet ones by phone box unused. Cllrs to investigate new location of better cycle racks near Sainsbury’s
  • Seemingly abandoned stickered bikes outside Waitrose still not removed after months, cllrs to inform Streetscene
  • Following a debate about shop frontages, cllrs to ask Planning Enforcement about a sign in Old High Street

Other issues

  • Obstruction of the highway by foliage in Bateman Street – cllrs to report to Highways
  • Over what period of time will jobs come on stream at the Bioescalator and where exactly will this be located? Cllrs to report back
  • Concern that bungalows in Headington are disappearing to make way for denser housing developments – much needed by elderly and less mobile. Ruth to convey this to Headington Neighbourhood Forum Policy Group on Housing
  • The BK Library lift looks out of keeping next to the grade 2 listed building, and is that footpath really wide enough for wheelchairs? Cllrs to investigate
  • Concern about Oxford Times article on the demise of the Headington Community Centre – is it true? And where else is there for community facilities? Councillors to investigate
  • Can cllrs please find out where the mailing list is going about the Bury Knowle Depot development? Some people have received this and others haven’t.
  • Stansfeld – is this owned by Birmingham City Council or is it the property of the diocese of Birmingham? Cllrs to ask Roz as resident expert
  • Cllrs to supply details of vulnerable elderly community scheme

Our next meeting will be held on Tuesday 30 September, venue to be confirmed. Hopefully we shall be in a position to report back on progress made on the above issues, and if not, then call us to account!

Old Headington: sewage spills latest

In response to concerns from residents and pressure from councillors, Thames Water has confirmed that an assessment has been carried out on the sewer line from the junction of Osler Road and St Andrew’s Rd. as priority. Rodent tracks were found in the line, and a series of three operations will be carried out in the first half of August by contractors to descale and clean out three sections of the sewer line.

This will be done by first of all pumping out residual liquid from each of the manholes affected, if there is a lot of pumping involved this may need a vehicle the size of a tanker on site.

Then 400-500m of sewer pipe will be cleaned out by chain jetting – this is a water hose device which has a propeller on the end with chains attached, so that it can cut through fat and grease. The sewer pipes from Osler Rd to the middle of Old High Street will be completely emptied of fat and debris using this method.

A leaflet drop will also be made to inform people of what can and cannot be poured into drains

Rat baiting will  be carried out at the affected section of sewer  before chain jetting is used.

Thames Water will inform us when dates are finalised. We have asked about the timing of the work: sometimes this is performed at night-time to reduce risk of traffic problems, but we know that many of our residents in Ivy Lane work night shifts. If the tanker is needed, then there will be more noise, and the clean-out will happen during the day. We shall update the blog with details as we get them.