Energy pipe given planning go ahead…with conditions

The East Area Planning Committee met tonight to discuss the energy pipe application 16/01565/FUL

It granted consent subject to 20 conditions, some of which were amended or added during the meeting*. There are also 6 informatives. Provisionally we noted these as follows (but are subject to change as minutes not yet available):

Conditions

  1. Development begun within time limit.
  2. Develop in accordance with approved plans.
  3. Materials.
  4. Tree Protection Plan (TPP) 2.
  5. Arboricultural Method Statement (AMS) 2.
  6. Monitoring and Supervision of Trees.
  7. De-compaction of RPAs.
  8. Noise mitigation measures.
  9. Temporary Car Park. *Extra lighting
  10. JR Compound.
  11. Churchill Compound.
  12. Welfare Compound.
  13. Visitor Permits.
  14. Construction Traffic Management Plan. *To be a living document with sign off by the Head of Planning and Regulatory Services in conjunction with the Chair of the East Area Planning Committee and the four ward councillors in the affected wards
  15. Hours of Work.
  16. Arch – Implementation of programme.
  17. Use of Pipework.
  18. Air Quality Measures.
  19. Communications* to include leaflet, web updates, disability provision, clear instruction on how to claim for damage arising from works, residents to be leafleted promptly if unexpected delays to works occur
  20. Charging point for electric vehicles* – check availability at hospital sites to ensure facility is available

Informatives

  1. All works to be noticed in accordance with the NRSWA Act including applying for Section 50 licence….
  2. All works must comply with the code of practice for NRSWA, namely chapter 8 Signing and Guarding, and reinstatements
  3. Traffic management associated with the proposed work to be agreed …with County Council officers….
  4. Any Temporary Traffic Regulation Orders or Temporary Traffic Signals required must be duly applied for in a timely manner..
  5. City Council’s legal position re ownership of land affected*
  6. Additional maintenance work may require planning permission*

Minute

To include the willingness of the applicant to make available a community contribution

Before sign off of CTMP, clarification/action needed for:

  • road sweeper will be hired to clean roads as required  – required by whom?
  • highways condition survey must be done and recorded for the entire route prior to commencement

The draft minutes will be produced by Friday afternoon 9/9/16 and any 12 councillors may call in the decision for deliberation by a further planning committee Tuesday 13/9/16.

If unchallenged, the decision notice is likely to be sent out before the end of next week.

Technically, the County Council requires three weeks notice before works can start so works could theoretically begin as early as 10th October, however work will need to be done to satisfy certain conditions first. The start date for works will also need to fit around the Access to Headington works which are due to start at the Roosevelt Drive/Old Road junction the following week. No energy pipe work can be carried out in Churchill Drive till the Access to Headington works finish in Roosevelt Drive so the phasing of works will need to be revised.

 

New planning application

Another B56 application has come in for 112 London Road. Comments invited by 4/10/16.

16/02150/B56

Change of use of part first floor from office (Use Class B1(a)) to residential (Use Class C3) to provide 1 x 2- bed flat and 1 x studio flat. This application is for determination as to whether prior approval of the Council is required and, if required, whether it should be granted.  This application is assessed solely in respect of transport and highway impacts and contamination and flooding risks.

 

 

Update from Winvic on Latimer Road build (aka Beech House)

We asked for a newsletter to be sent out for residents and here it is (dated today) from Steve Hatch, the Project Manager.

My intentions are to keep all stakeholders aware of what is happening on site at present and a 4 week look ahead. Currently on site the civil works are continuing to form the basement to the project which entails quite detailed construction methods,   once the civil works are complete the steel frame to the building will commence from the 14th of November with the aid of a luffing tower carne to be installed on the 05.09.16, once the steel frame has been installed the floor slabs will be poured which will commence on the 21.01.17 with the aid of a concrete pump which will be sited within the compound, from the end of feb the external cladding, brickwork, windows etc will commence with the fit out internally commencing alongside the external works,      

 

Progress to date

     Completion of secant and load bearing piles

       Bulk excavation ongoing

       Cropping of piles

       Installation of temp haul road

       Installation of concrete blinding to basement

 

 

Work to be progressed over the next 4 weeks:

 

       Complete bulk excavation

       Commence installation of water proofing system to basement

       Ongoing concrete blinding to basement prior to water proofing system

       Commence installation of pile caps

       Commence excavation for attenuation tank base

       Install attenuation tank base

       Commence capping beams to grid lines A1 and 1

       Integrity tests to piles

 

Energy pipe latest

The situation currently is that the energy pipe works cannot proceed until
consent has been given by the County Council as local highways authority for
Vital Energi to break open the highway surface (this takes the form of street
licences) and planning consent has been granted by the City Council as the
planning authority.

A small but informed group of residents and councillors attended the County’s
Planning and Regulations Committee meeting yesterday, raised issues that still
need resolving, and fought for improvements to conditions. There was a proposal
to defer the decision until after planning consent was given and to allow time
for further discussion of other issues to take place but that was voted down
7-5. On the second vote along the lines of the officer recommendation (with one
slight change to one condition which is covered in the Construction Traffic
Management Plan already) councillors voted 9-0 to permit the licences with
several abstentions.

Following that meeting, the small but informed group re-assembled at the Town
Hall to ask questions of City Council officers and Vital Energi about legal
issues. Vital Energi gave a presentation in which for the first time slides
were presented showing workings for costs and energy efficiency that are not
included in the documentation submitted with the application on the planning
website, but explained they cannot display this more widely as it is
commercially sensitive.

The issue of whether to grant planning consent will be discussed by East Area
Planning Committee at the Town Hall on Wednesday 7th at 18:00 and is the first
item on the agenda. Members of the public speaking for or against need to fill
in a speaker’s form ahead of the start of the meeting. The Chair has discretion
to allow longer speaking time but it is likely not to exceed 10 minutes in
total for all speakers put together.

Any decision taken by East Area Planning Committee is subject to a call-in
period of 48 weekday hours following publication of the minutes. If the
decision is not called in, it will stand.

If the application is agreed subject to a long list of conditions and
informatives, works could start as early as three weeks after the decision
notice is sent out by the planning authority. (required lead-in time for the
County Council to publicise street works/TTROs)

However there is another external factor. We have been advised that Access to
Headington works will start in Roosevelt Drive mid October (date to be
confirmed) so the timing and sequence of energy pipe works may be affected by
this. The County Council is giving priority to its own project with regard to
road closures so there are lots of meetings going on to work out the logistics
of it all.

Events in September

• Friday 2 to Sunday 4 September, Foodies Festival, South Park, 11am to 6pm. Family food and drink festival with demonstrations, tastings and artisan producers selling their products.www.foodiesfestival.com

• Saturday 3 September, Film Under the Stars, Sunnymead Park (date originally 20 August), 8pm to 10.30pm. Outdoor screening of a family film. www.filmoxford.org

• Sunday 4 September, Oxford Classic Mile Swim, starting at Donnington Bridge and finishing at the Christ Church Meadow river bank. An open water Thames swimming event with one mile distance.www.swimoxford.co.uk

• Monday 5 and Tuesday 6 September, St Giles Fair, St Giles’/City Centre, 11am to 11pm. One of the greatest and most prestigious fairs in the country. www.oxford.gov.uk/info/20035/events/557/st_giles_fair

• Saturday 10 September and Sunday 11 September, Oxford Open Doors by Oxford Preservation Trust, City Centre. Hundreds of Oxford’s famous buildings and companies will open their doors to the public for the sixth annual free visiting event. www.oxfordpreservation.org.uk

• Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 September, Thames Path Challenge, starting at Donnington Rec, 7am to 5pm. Walk, jog or run along a stunning stretch of the River Thames. Take on a double marathon distance or go for the half challenge option. The start will be at Donnington Rec and participants will be able to register from 8am. www.thamespathchallenge.com/oxford-to-henley-double-marathon

• Sunday 11 September, Oxford Thai Food and Culture Festival, Botley Road Rec, 10am to 6pm. Showcasing the exotic culture of Thailand in Oxford with live performances on stage, delicious food stalls, craft stalls and food & drink demonstrations. www.facebook.com/OxfordThaiFestival/

• Sunday 11 September, Bike Oxford, starting and finishing at Harlequins Rugby Ground, Cherwell School, 10am to 6pm. A day of marked rides of 25, 50 and 80 miles starting and finishing at The Cherwell School and taking in the best scenery of Oxford and the surrounding countryside. www.bikeoxford.co.uk

Action on language school students

We received a complaint that huge numbers of language school students with red bags were waiting for buses at the Latimer Road stop and have investigated further. The school in question appears to be Academia Britannica and we have contacted the London-based organisation Find Digs to express our concern.

They reply:

These students did indeed study with us. 

These groups are part of an Italian Government sponsored scheme to study and visit the UK, we at Find Digs provide the college and accommodation for them. We further aid them with operations organising such things as excursions, airport transfers and buying travel cards for them so as to make their entry on to the bus as smooth as possible. However the groups with their own leaders take the students on afternoon excursions. 

In all honesty this is the first year we have had these groups in Oxford as they normally stay in London. Looking at the photo you have sent I can see that the group is too large for bus stop and is something we need to address. 

Our centre has closed now but we will endeavour to action this for next summer. The most obvious thing I can suggest at this stage is that we will split the group into smaller groups and they will stagger their departure time into Oxford which should minimise the impact on local residents. 

If you wish to discuss this further then please do not hesitate to contact me.

We have given them advice on how to join the Language Schools Forum which can assist such organisations with advice on how to buy pre-paid tickets, where to get maps of Oxford, how to stay safe in Oxford etc. We shall monitor the situation again next year as it appears they will be using Dorset House again.