My content is all at my new blog now….
(click on this link)
I’m not liking it, but willing to give ALDC a few days to see if it will come back to a usable state. Right now, when you come to my blog, you don’t see my posts straight away. Scroll down….
I just came from an Opposition briefing on the Local Plan 2013.
The Tories have REMOVED Cumnor South housing site from the Local Plan. This was a proposed site for some 200 homes. (This is the site south of the cricket fields.) But it is no longer in the Local Plan.
We petitioned and campaigned on this, and it has worked! I’m thrilled. That portion of the Oxford Green Belt has been saved!! Brilliant.
The North Hinksey Lane Service Road will be closed for their street party from 1pm to 10pm on 6 Sept 2014. Notice of North Hinksey Street Closure
Today I have heard from Vale officers that the application for 14 flats over three storeys at the corner of Cumnor Hill and Hurst Rise Road is coming to planning committee on 30 July 14. The meeting is in Wantage at The Beacon and starts at 18:30.
The officer tells me it is recommended for approval contingent on successful signing of the s106 agreements covering the developer’s contributions to schools, libraries and infrastructure. (This is standard.)
His report isn’t online yet. When it is, you can see it as part of the agenda pack on this page: http://democratic.whitehorsedc.gov.u/ieListMeetings.aspx?CommitteeId=102
You can speak at the meeting, but remember that the objectors are limited to only 3 minutes, and that time is for all speakers. That is, if there are 3 speakers, each person can have a little over a minute. Here are details: http://www.whitehorsedc.gov.uk/services-and-advice/planning-and-building/application-advice/planning-committees/speak-at-a-planning-committee- . (I’ve just had a look at that page, and it’s out of date. The meetings are in Wantage now, and you can notify Legal & Democratic Services if you want to speak.)
If you wish to speak, contact Susan Harbour in Legal & Democratic Services no later than Tuesday. Susan.Harbour@southandvale.gov.uk
I’ll be there; I get 3 minutes too.
PS. (An hour later) I just had a phone call. The Vale page is being updated, probably today, about how to speak at a planning committee meeting. Anyone who logged a comment will also be notified about the meeting, and there’s a whole new way to sign up to speak, if you want to be very modern. All the old methods (phone, email, pony express) still work too.
Hi everyone.
I’ve been SO busy in the past two weeks, that I’ve fallen behind with blog posts and newsletters. I’m determined to get a newsletter out asap. So to support it I need to get all these articles of importance on the blog.
(Update on 9 Jun 14 – I beavered away and have a lot of new bits of info posted. Click on links below.)
I’ll get started now, and pause for lunch and the mens final at Roland Garros. 🙂
On Friday 6 June I had my periodic update from the planning officer who manages the West Way application, Stuart Walker. Here are the main points:
That’s what I learned.
At the last full Vale council meeting in May, I went on the record and asked the leader of the council, Cllr Matthew Barber, when he would be providing the written answers to questions from the public to the Scrutiny Committee that he promised to us in Nov 2013. He said, ‘Forthwith’.
I had a call from a senior Vale officer almost immediately. Since so much time had passed, and since they didn’t have copies of the individual questions asked that night, the Vale made an offer: We (the community concerned with West Way redevelopment) could submit new questions and they would get written answers, ‘forthwith’.
I polled the West Way Community Concern core team, who not only provided the original questions, but sent some new ones in as well. And I added one or two myself.
I sent in these questions last week, to which the CEO has said they will provide answers.
I’ll post here all answers I receive.
From June 10th, the way we register to vote is changing.
Instead of using a household form to register everyone at your address, everyone will take individual responsibility for their own registration. IER: Individual Electoral Registration.
All currently registered electors will have their name and address checked against government records so that they can be confirmed under IER. The vast majority will be confimred and automatically transferred. In the Vale’s test run this was almost 80%. Those people need do nothing.
Every registered elector will get a letter. It will either tell you that your details have been transferred successfully and you need do nothing, or that you need to provide some additional information to the Electoral Register Officer.
If you are successfully transferred, your postal or proxy vote status will be transferred with you.
Look out for your letter in July.
A panel of consultant architects met on 3 June at Botley Baptist Church to review the West Way designs.
There were 5 on the panel: four architects and one who was taking copious notes from which the report will be generated in a couple of weeks. This wasn’t a public meeting, but rather a part of the professional consultations the Vale Planning Department holds for major applications. The Vale invited me to attend as an observer. (It was SUCH a challenge at times for me to be silent.)
All in all, I counted 28 people in attendance. I had thought no one from Doric was there (it was all Mace, plus consultants who had worked on the designs for Doric). But I’m informed Mr Fasier of Doric arrived late and was somewhere behind me, so I didn’t see him. Actually, I may have seen him, but I wouldn’t know him; I’ve never met him that I know of, and he’s not exactly been visible in the neighbourhood.
Anyway.
In the morning they took a tour of the site. In the afternoon, we saw Mace’s presentation, and the panel asked questions.
Here’s a sample:
– Why student housing?
– What does the community feel about this proposal?
– Isn’t this more of an urban design planned for this suburban area?
– What about the experience of residents of Arthray Road? How can you help to make this less of a bad experience for them?
– It’s hard to understand what’s the front and what’s the back.
– panel members thought the parts that show on the street front (I can’t recall the jargon, but it was pervasive) were too varied, too messy and not showing enough distinctive character. They thought this plan could be plunked down anywhere, and they asked made it distinct to Botley.
– Concern about the big tower at the corner of Westminster Way and West Way, which implies an entrance, but there isn’t one.
– Concern about the one community building with three uses: church, community hall and residences.
– Isn’t ‘the box’ too big for the site (referring to the size of the food store building)?
– I assume you have a food operator in place? (Answer from Mace: Yes. I was surprised, since we’d heard from a senior Vale officer that there was as yet no commitment but late stage talks ongoing.)
I spoke with Stuart Walker at the coffee break, and he asked me what I thought of the process so far. I said I was very impressed with how the panel members seemed to understand the key issues; they were very sharp. They are experienced enough to know when they are getting hype instead of facts too.
You can see the artists’ sketches on Dorics website: http://www.doricproperties.com/botley/. On the day they had a fly-through presentation I hadn’t seen before. I’d like them to put it up on their website.
I’m watching out for the report — I think it will be interesting. Doric/Mace took much of the panel’s comments on board, and I bet we will see some changes.