Help with planning applications

Planning Aid is an organization which provides free, independent and professional town planning advice and support to communities and individuals who cannot afford to pay planning consultant fees. It complements the work of local planning authorities, but is wholly independent of them.

Planning Aid can help people to:

Understand and use the planning system

Participate in preparing plans

Prepare their own plans for the future of their community

Comment on planning applications

Apply for planning permission or appeal against refusal of permission

Represent themselves at public inquiries.

I shall put a sticky link on the left hand menu to this web page as it may be a useful contact point for residents’ associations and those making (or commenting on or objecting to) planning applications

Headington Christmas Experience

 

 

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Congratulations to Jill Cummings and all involved in organising the very successful Headington Christmas Experience over the last three days!

This is a picture of the Leiden brass band entertaining us in London Road this lunchtime. County Cllr Altaf Khan and I enjoyed meeting business owners and thanking them for their support for the community by providing promotions and contributing to the “Odd one out” competition. All the residents we spoke to said they had thoroughly enjoyed the events of the last week, and the children out and about today thought the balloon modeller was cool!

It was a really ‘feel good’ experience on a really ‘feel cold’ day! A big Thank You to all concerned!

Credit where credit’s due: the up-side of Waterwatch

Anyone who has visited this site will know the frustration that many residents have felt about Thames Water — frustrations shared by both your local councillors and your Parliamentary Spokesperson, Steve Goddard. So, it’s fair to give a balanced picture. While many issues have been for too long needling local people and, in some cases, causing problems none of us would like to experience, it’s true to say staff from Thames Water have recently been jumping to it.

I say this because this morning I attended a meeting in Brookside about the continuing problem residents have there with repeated flows of sewage through the brook which gives the cul-de-sac its name. It was held in one resident’s house (thank you), had seven local householders present, and had two specialists from the Environmental Agency present, along with four from the Thames Water. For the first time, residents could feel they were talking to real people who could reply immediately to their questions. The result was not a resolution, as yet, but at least, it was an agreement on a way forward, with Thames Water promising to commission the work and report back regularly to the residents.

So, I’m not about to declare Thames Water my New Best Friend — there’s a lot of work to be done on the Brookside issue, as elsewhere. But, if what we have seen is a line of improvement which continues upwards, maybe next year they will be on my Christmas Card list!

WaterWatch update

More good news for residents living in Old Headington. Thames Water assures us that a job has been raised for their clean water side to check the ‘clinking’ metal cover in Old High Street that rattles every time a car passes over it (near North Place).
The reference number is 81119 596127.

The bent metal manhole cover near Laurel Farm Place is puzzling us as it does not seem to belong to anyone! We’re still working on how to replace that!

The slightly sunken manhole cover in the middle of St. Andrew’s Road towards the triangle with Osler Road is definitely going to be replaced, but the job is being added to the non-urgent list.
All in all we think we are making progress and, once Thames Water come and give the St Andrew’s Road foul sewer and fresh water sewer a good cleanout by the end of the month as promised, things should be on the up. There is still a strange smell being reported in Old High Street/St Andrew’s Road though, and we’re still on the case.

There will be a big meeting about the Boundary Brook contamination on Friday – more later!

Stephen Road planning decision called in

Those who attended the planning meeting of the North East Area Committee last Thursday will remember that the planning application relating to 10/12 Stephen Road was discussed.  The decision of the area committee has now been called in by the Strategic Development Control Committee for further consideration.  There are two ways that decisions by area committees can be called in – either by the most senior officer in charge of planning at the Council (Michael Crofton-Briggs) or by four councillors.  This decision has been called in by the portfolio holder for planning, Cllr Colin Cook, and three other councillors. 

The membership of that committee is: Councillors Abbasi, Altaf Khan, Benjamin (Vice-Chair), Brundin, Christian (Chair), Cook, Goddard, Gotch, Khan, Keen, Timbs and Young. The Committee has a meeting scheduled for today but it is too late to include this item within the agenda.  The next date scheduled for the committee to meet is the 18 December and I have asked one of the officers to double check that date for us as it’s so near Christmas. A number of meeting dates have been changed at short notice recently so I will post this up when it has been confirmed.

Pedestrian safety in London Road

Residents are very worried about the safety of pedestrians (and particularly the elderly folk from London Court, Albany Court and Victoria Court) on the stretch of London Road between Sandfield Road and Horwood Close and beyond. I have been out to look at this and am concerned about the safety of pedestrians coming out of the Dial House and other B&B establishments as there is no obvious means of crossing the London Road to a place of safety.

I reported this last week to the officer managing the London Road redevelopment project and here is his response:

All these works are being carried out as part of the London Road
Corridor scheme.
Most of the construction work is located in and around the footway /
kerbline area and impacts on the carriageway and footway areas.
As you will appreciate we need to consider all safety issues when
carrying out the works and protect the public by setting up and signing
safe routes to follow. Where possible we will try and maintain a through
route on the side where the work is being undertaken but in this instant
the work involves the refurbishment of a gas main in the footway area
from Headley Way to Osler Road followed by changes to the kerbline and
resurfacing of the footway.
The safest way to carry out this work and provide a safe route for
pedestrians was to close the footway and provide temporary pedestrian
crossings at each end to allow safe crossing of the main road.
Signs have been erected informing pedestrians that the footway is closed
and directing them across the crossing as the route to follow.

I can not physically force a member of the public to follow the route
but hopefully common sense will prevail and they will refrain from
walking in the road.

If you have concerns about this, and we know many of you do, please contact David or me, or ring the County Council on 01865 792422 and ask for Mike Collins!

Is it safe to cycle on Headington roads?

David and I get lots of emails and phone calls from residents concerned about safety issues:

  • cyclists don’t feel safe because of buses
  • pedestrians say cyclists on pavements are a nuisance
  • elderly residents have “near misses” with cyclists
  • cyclists say Osler Road and the Windmill Road junctions are death traps
  • why do cyclists jump lights?
  • why don’t cyclists get fined for riding on pavements?
  • why do motorists cut up cyclists?
  • why aren’t there more ‘joined up’ cycle lanes?
  • Why isn’t there more training for cyclists?

If these questions and issues are of concern to you, then PLEASE come along to the North East Area Committee meeting on Tuesday 18 November at 6 p.m.   The venue is Sandhills School, Terret Avenue.  David and I have specifically requested that this item is debated openly. If you have a question you want to put to the County Council and City Council traffic planners, please please PLEASE come along to NEAC and tell us what you think!