There has been discussion before about this site at ward focus meetings and on doorsteps — a house owned by an Oxford resident but which is unoccupied and has fallen into serious disrepair. Requests for improvements to be done have had little effect so the City Council has gone down the legal route of requiring fairly modest works to remedy the adverse impact this has on the conservation area in which the house sits. The deadline recently passed without the owner taking the necessary action.
That is a brief and incomplete summary of the background. The latest is — as many of you could not have failed to notice — the heavily damaged wall onto Old High Street has been blocked up in the last 36 hours. But this has been done with breeze-blocks which, unsurprisingly, look hideous and out of keeping with the area. Be assured that the City Council has been notified of this latest act.
When Bill Heine, all those years ago now, decided to cock a snook at the planning regime, he did it with an inventiveness which many could feel actually added to the area. A couple of decades on and it seems the ingenuity that Heine had is a thing of the past.
I’ll keep you updated when the relevant officers have investigated.
Wall at 29 Old High Street sparks more controversy
The house and wall on 13 April
Residents in Old Headington have been contacting us about the changes thaty have been made to the front wall of 29 Old High Street
David has contacted council officers for an urgent briefing on what action the City Council will take in response
Some residents feel the materials used in repairs to the wall are out of keeping in the Old Headington Conservation Area.
UPDATE: an enforcement officer is on site 11.00
Latest planning decisions
Two decisions this week on applications in Staunton Road and Langley Close by officers on delegated authority – both were permitted. Please click on Latest Planning Decisions at the top of the screen for further details
Date set for next Ward Focus meeting!
Our ward focus meetings are normally held in months when there is no area forum. We book the venues in advance so arranged for Focus meetings in March and May. Since then, the area forum has been postponed from its expected date in April.
So the next Headington Ward Focus meeting will take place on Tuesday 15 May at the Headington Baptist Church in Old High Street from 6.00-8.00 pm
If you haven’t yet been to a Ward Focus meeting, you can expect to join a crowd of people from your area eager to discuss local issues and make suggestions for ways in which we can improve our area. We give you the opportunity to call councillors to account if they’ve promised something but not delivered!
Come along and give it a go! You won’t be disappointed!
Latest on sewage spills
Sewage spill on Saturday lunchtime
There were two sewage spills from a manhole in Osler Road near the junction with St Andrew’s Road on Saturday and Sunday mornings. The sewer in that part of Old Headington is a combined sewer rather than two separate systems for fresh water and for sewage.
Residents were understandably concerned, not least about the possible public health implications of sewage on the road. These are the latest in a whole series of spills from the same location over a decade. Thames Water contractors jetted it out on Sunday morning at 00.05 but it was only a short term fix and a second spillage happened on Sunday. This prompted a second visit by TW contractors at 02.30 this morning.
Ruth contacted Thames Water twice, and has also got onto Environmental Health at the City Council to see if they can exert some influence on Thames Water to dig up St Andrew’s Rd near Laurel Farm Close and put a camera down to see what is causing the blockage. Following our phone calls and emails, the Council’s Executive Director for City Services is now in communication with his counterpart at Thames Water to try and find a longer term solution to this problem.
263,300 in Oxfordshire to get Tax Cut
As part of the Budget, the Chancellor has announced that from next year, the Income Tax threshold will be raised further, ensuring that no one pays any income tax on the first £9,200 they earn.
In Oxfordshire that means that 15,820 people will be lifted out of paying Income Tax all together and a further 263,300 will receive a £220 tax cut. This is on top of tax cuts of £200 last year and a further £130 next month.
The Chancellor has listened to Liberal Democrat calls for the Income Tax threshold to be raised further. When the Coalition came to power in 2010 the Personal Tax Allowance was £6,475.
St Andrew’s Road ‘flood’ under control
The Thames Water callout was successful and the sewage is being pumped out this afternoon.
Walk a Marathon in Bury Knowle Park!
Join in with one of our Oxford Health Walk groups this spring and challenge yourself to walk a certain distance before the end of the Olympics!
Choose 10km, Half Marathon or a Full Marathon!
Our walk leaders will tell you how far you have covered on each walk and record cards will be provided to every walker.
Prizes to be won for every category!
Never thought you could complete a Marathon – you can with us!Walks leave promptly so please arrive on time and wear suitable footwear.
Bury Knowle Park
Fridays, 10am
Meet outside library.
- Walks will not go ahead if there is heavy rain, ice or snow.
For more information please contact Vicki, GO Active Coordinator on
01865 252720 or vgalvin@oxford.gov.uk
Local Sustainable Transport Fund – a summary
We are being asked lots of questions about what the LSTF is. There is more guidance on the County Council website, but here is a brief summary.
The £5m bid for the project entitled Supporting Employment Growth and Accessing Higher Education and Healthcare in Oxford was successful. The majority of this funding is revenue but supported by £2.8million of capital from the County Council and Developer contributions. The funding covers the period from now until the end of 2014/15. The principal objective is to deliver better access to employment and health facilities in the Headington area through development of Park & Ride, and focuses on the expansion of Thornhill Park & Ride (to around 1,400 spaces) which has planning permission. This extension will be complemented by:
* innovative new bus services (using low carbon vehicles) linking P&R (including Water Eaton as well as Thornhill) to the hospitals, Brookes and Oxford University Headington campuses including Bus Stop upgrades to Premium Route standard;
* new bus priority along the London Road, to complete this project;
* measures to encourage walking and cycling for trips to local destinations from Thornhill (including a proposed cycle hub / hire scheme);
* a comprehensive ‘Travel Choices’ project including working with key employers.
The construction of the Thornhill extension was initially scheduled for June 2012 with completion by February 2013 – but timing was dependent on negotiations with landowner (Shotover) impacting on environmental works. Selective charging of long stay users (principally London bound) of the site was proposed from April 2012 and would need to take into account the need to encourage hospital use and to cater for shift patterns.
Outline design is starting on the London Road bus lane which will look at options for extending bus priority on this corridor in both directions. This may offer opportunities to improve the efficiency of operation of Headington Roundabout by reducing queues tailing back to it. Public consultation on options is initially programmed for Spring 2012 with construction in May 2013, although there may be opportunities to bring this forward.
The other elements in the programme are currently at the scoping or preliminary stage: bus stop upgrades, new bus services on the completion of the scheme, and cycle and pedestrian measures. The travel choices project has started with travel surveys in early 2012 followed by personalised and workplace travel planning activities in early 2013.
Proposals for Sandfield Road Park spark controversy!
The plan for proposed improvements to the play area in Sandfield Road park have been released, and David and I have contacted local residents for their views.
The new basket swing and double swings have already been installed. Other improvements include
- improved goalmouth
- new zip wire/cableway
- new jungle swing (tractor tyre swing, not a rope swing a la Tarzan!)
- new skate learner steps and concrete wheels path for scooters, bikes and roller skates
- potential seating (tree trunk)
Click on the link to see the planned Skate steps and concrete paving[1]
But the item that is proving most controversial is the potential removal of fencing around the play area for the youngest children. The reason given for this is that it would open up the play area to the wider park and enable children to easily access all areas. But it appears that the motivation for this move may be financial.
The plans are too complex to upload to this site. We have leafleted folk in Staunton Road and most of Sandfield Road with copies and will email residents living in the rest of Sandfield Road, Headley Way, Woodlands Road, Woodlands Close and Beech Road who are on our e-list. The proposal to remove the fencing is subject to consultation and some of the nearest houses will be leafleted about this in due course – meanwhile David and I have already received a number of phone calls and emails from residents, all of whom are opposed to this option.
If you would like us to send you a copy of the plan please get in touch, or you are welcome to leave your comments on this site (see Contact Us! above). If you wish to join our mailing list for all such local issues, please let us know.