Making changes to national LibDem policy on speed limits

20's plenty - but is it enforced?

The draft policy motions for this year’s national Autumn LibDem conference have been published, including a motion on making all residential road speed limits 20 MPH over time.

Mindful of the campaigning undertaken by our residents on this issue, David and I checked the  small print and found that the draft policy needs amending to ensure that any 20MPH speed limit is enforced. We all know how difficult it has proved to get speed limit enforcement in Headington – with this amendment we are calling on Police and Crime Commissioners to plan for police support for councils where necessary to ensure the successful implementation  of 20 MPH limits in residential areas.

On drawing up the amendment we have received support from across the country as far away as Yorkshire, and the Local Government Association’s Lib Dem Group has helped draft a much tighter and workable change to the motion. We shall be voting on this amendment (and possibly speaking to it) on Monday 24 September.

That’s the great thing about being a LibDem, national party policy can be initiated or influenced by any of its members.

Dorset House open for business next week!

Dorset House development

Student room at Dorset House

Dorset House is soon to open its doors to its first intake of students, with the first arrivals expected next week. We look forward to welcoming them to Headington. The building was handed over last Friday.  The ‘house in the corner’ is not part of the student accommodation and there are on-going conversations about whether or not it should be incorporated into the site in some form.

Study bedroom at Dorset House

Student room at Dorset House

We have already met CRM staff on the site and have put them in contact with a number of local residents’ groups and managers of nearby residential accommodation blocks, local businesses and external agencies including police, churches, etc.

There will be 313 students in all, only one will have a car and that is because that student is disabled.  Many of the incoming students are international students which will make for a cosmopolitan environment, and will also mean that many will arrive by public transport.

The postgraduate students and final year students’ accommodation is nearest local residents in Latimer Grange, and the Year 1 and younger students will have rooms at the London Road end of the site.

There is an accommodation manager and her deputy, plus a team of 4 student wardens who are being recruited today.

Anyone with concerns about noise nuisance (and we hope these will be few) should ring the duty warden number. We shall publicise this number when we have it. If there is any problem in getting the noise nuisance dealt with, then the complaint should be escalated to the Accommodation Manager Emily Wright who works on-site full-time during office hours.

Emily is going to attend our next Ward Focus meeting at William Osler House, Osler Road on Tuesday 16 October from 6.00-8.00 pm and will give a short talk to ward residents about how Dorset House is managed. As always we invite you to come along and ask questions!

Help raise funds for Creation Theatre!

Spare a thought for Creation Theatre as they put on top quality open air Shakespeare productions throughout a thoroughly damp summer.

They intend to stage a fundraising performance of The Merchant of Venice’s courtroom scene, this will take place in The Old Courtroom at Oxford Town Hall on Sunday 19 August.  There will be a reception of tea and cakes in the Longroom from 1pm, before moving into The Old Courtroom to watch the legal battle between Shylock and Portia. 

The event will raise critical funds to support their artistic and education programmes and help them battle the poor weather that has hurt ticket sales for their outdoor production of The Merchant of Venice, currently performing this summer at The Said Business School Amphitheatre.  Entry is by voluntary donation and you can book online by contacting Nick Gibson at nickgibson@creationtheatre.co.uk or by phoning 01865 766266.

If you’d rather see the whole of the Merchant of Venice (and Ruth can personally recommend it!) you can book here. It’s an excellent production and deserves our support.

New grit bin arrives!

Grit bin jointly funded from the Ward Budget and by the Friends of Old Headington

Grit bin jointly funded from the Ward Budget and by the Friends of Old Headington

Keen grit bin spotters will have noticed this new addition to the ward.  St Andrew’s Lane residents have experienced great difficulty in accessing St Andrew’s Road on a very icy corner in wintry conditions, and David and I agreed to fund a grit bin from our limited ward budget. The Friends of Old Headington kindly contributed £100 for a bin that was coloured most appropriately for the Conservation Area.

Sites and Housing Plan latest

Oxford City Council has produced a Sites and Housing Plan which was submitted for examination to the Secretary of State on 11th May 2012.  The hearings sessions for the examination of the Sites and Housing Plan are scheduled to start on 10th September 2012.

Publication of Addendum to the Sustainability Appraisal of the Sites and Housing Plan regarding land at Ruskin College

The City Council has also published an addendum to the Sustainability Appraisal of the Sites and Housing Plan regarding land at Ruskin College (CD8.15).  Representations are invited on this addendum dated July 2012. Representations can be made during the consultation period beginning 27th July 2012 and closing 7th September 2012.

Submitting representations

All these documents are available to view on the City Council’s Barton AAP website and the Sites and Housing website

Representations on each of the three documents should be made and returned to the address above by 7th September 2012.

Barton area action plan: summary

Oxford City Council has produced the Barton Area Action Plan (AAP) which was submitted for examination to the Secretary of State on 13th April 2012.  The Barton AAP is currently being independently assessed through a public examination.

Main Modifications:
The Inspector, Dr Shelagh Bussey, has identified some changes to the AAP, that she considers should be advertised for public representation to be made on their soundness or otherwise. Representations are invited on the proposed ‘main modifications’ to the Barton AAP; these are set out in the Schedule of Main Modifications dated July 2012 (CD7.22).  Representations can be made during the consultation period beginning 27th July 2012 and closing 7th September 2012.  Please note representations should be limited in scope to the main modifications; this is not an opportunity to submit or re-submit comments on other parts of the AAP.  The Inspector already has the benefit of representations submitted previously.

The changes schedule should be read in conjunction with the Barton AAP (CD1.1), the Proposed Minor Post-Publication Changes (CD1.4) and Proposed Minor Examination Changes (CD.7.3.2).  All these documents can be found on the City Council’s website by using their reference (CD) numbers.

Publication of Addendum to the Sustainability Appraisal of the AAP
The City Council has published an addendum to the Sustainability Appraisal of the AAP regarding land at Ruskin College and some Main modifications (CD7.23).  Representations are invited on this addendum dated July 2012. Representations can be made during the consultation period beginning 27th July 2012 and closing 7th September 2012.

Submitting representations
All these documents are available to view on the City Council’s website