Oxford City Council have approved the planning application for a Waitrose store in Botley Road.

The Vale objected because they wanted Waitrose to be part of Doric’s scheme.

Read about it in the Oxford Mail.

I’ve had a very informative meeting with Stuart Walker and Adrian Duffield, planning officers at the Vale. We talked about West Way, what’s happening now and what happens next.

As you probably know, the statutory consultation ended on 27 March. But the Vale will still accept comments up until probably the middle to end of May. Why so vague? Because none of the upcoming deadlines are cast in stone. Here’s the detail of what will happen:

• Doric submit their Environmental Statement. They have indicated they are aiming for mid-May. This is not cast in stone.
• Vale Officers will check it and notify the public of the consultation period.
• A three week public consultation period begins, where everyone can comment.
• Concurrently, the Vale will consult with their experts.
• At the end of this time, Doric may submit any amendments that come about as a result of any feedback.
• If Doric submit amendments, there will be another period of consultation.
• At the end of all consultations, Stuart Walker will consider everything that’s been assembled from all consultees and will publish his report with his recommendation. This is the point at which we can see what he recommends.
• A week after that, the Planning Committee will determine the application. This is expected to be the end of August, but that is only an estimate. We have requested that this planning committee meeting be held in Botley to allow people to attend easily. This may be problematic for two reasons: first, there is only one week notice of what will be included on a planning committee agenda, and second, there isn’t an abundance of selection for a venue that could hold all the people. But they have acknowledged our request.

Doric’s Environmental Statement must include several things, all of which are listed in the orignal decision published by Mr David Rotheray of the Vale’s planning department. I’ve put it on Dropbox, so you can see it by clicking here.

I’ve been trying to change the photo here on my blog. But there’s something buggy that won’t let it happen. ALDC (providers of this blog platform) are looking into it.

** And presto. It’s fixed!

The Vale Tory Cabinet commissions a review to find the bits of land next to settlements they can remove from the green belt. (Remember, development on green belt land is v difficult).

The review recommends several plots of land (all in Lib Dem councilllors’ patches, but I’m sure that’s coincidence) including Fogwell Road playing fields and Louie Memorial playing fields, both in Botley. (Actually, one in Cumnor parish and one in North Hinksey parish).

Same Tory Cabinet (on 20 Feb) writes a report and calls it ‘Council’s Response’). No author is listed, but the council never saw this, that’s for sure! I wonder if even the whole Cabinet saw and approved it. There’s no easy way to tell. Anyway, it’s more accurately, ‘Cabinet’s Response’.

‘Council’s response’ agrees with the removal of Fogwell Road playing fields from green belt protection. It disagrees with the recommendation to remove Louie Memorial Fields.

So, the Cabinet’s report (called ‘Council Response’) disagrees with the recommendation of the report commissioned by Cabinet.

It sounds like a comedy script.
You can see all these Green Belt Reports at this link (scroll down to Green Belt Review)

This is a consultation open until the 4th of April. Let them know what you think! Email planning.policy@whitehorsedc.gov.uk

The Vale Tories want to remove the Louie Memorial Upper Playing Field, and the Fogwell Road Playing Fields (plus two other plots) from the Oxford Green Belt, to free those sites up for potential housing development.

I’m grateful to an astute local resident for pointing this out to me. If I hadn’t run into him, I’d never have seen it, because it’s buried deep.

The Vale is in need of sites for housing development. One constraint they’ve hit is the Oxford Green Belt, which is protected against development in all but the most exceptional crcumstances.

The Tory Cabinet commissioned a study to identify all the bits of land in the Green Belt on the outer edges of settlements. They want to change the Green Belt boundaries to exclude these areas, so that they can be used for housing development.

See the reports here: http://bit.ly/1dmMMHB (scroll down to Green Belt Review). If you look at the Phase 3 report, see page 4. (I’ve reproduced it as a photo here; click on it to make it bigger.) These are part of the so-called ‘evidence’ supporting their Local Plan, currently out for consultation. There was no consultation briefing held in Botley, despite requests fron the parish council, ostensibly because there are no strategic housing sites proposed for Botley. But this Green Belt grab is serious business.

The Lib Dem group has fomally objected to this piecemeal tinkering with the Green Belt. But Local people may want to make their views more clear!

Consultation ends at noon on the 4th of April. Click here for how to comment: http://bit.ly/1gWSjDJ

The agenda for the Vale full council meeting on 19 Feb has been published. Click here to see it on the Vale website.

Mostly this meeting has to do with the budget for 2014-15. But there is some other business too.

I’ve tabled a motion intended to get the Cabinet to produce the legally required Action Plan for improving the air quaility in Botley. We have been a defined Air Quailty Management Area for many years now, and there is still not action plan, despite several assessments saying one is required. (To read more about AQMA in Botley, check out the Vale website, here. As I see this page today, the most recent doc there is from 2009. If you Google Botley Air Quailty Assessment, you can find the 2012 assessment — see it via this link. )

You may recall I’ve asked a formal question about this twice, once in July and again in October. Each time the Cabinet Member for Environmental Health promised action and didn’t deliver. So, I’ve upped the stakes.

Guest posting by Cllr Dudley Hoddinott of Appleton and Cumnor ward

This week, the Vale District Council awarded £3,870 to the project to build a community cycle and pedestrian path along the Eynsham Road from Swinford Toll Bridge to Dean Court, Oxford.

This money will help to fund a feasibility study containing outline design and draft proposals, as well as alternative options to deal with any constraints.

I was pleased to give a supporting statement at the Vale committee meeting to help secure the funding.

This grant comes from the New Homes Bonus community funding, money given to communities based on the number of new homes built in the area in the last 12 months.

We were thrilled to get this grant from the Vale, which moves the vision of a community path closer to reality.

The photo above includes the applicant, Ian Leggett, Chairman of Bike Safe (second from left) and me (third from left in front) with several supporters from Farmoor.

There is none. No plans posted yet on the Vale site. Maybe everyone’s on holiday? Maybe it’s been cancelled and they forgot to inform us?

Maybe Doric didn’t send all the bits in that were expected with their application and the Vale are having to chase them?

For goodness sake. It’s been over 5 weeks.

(Update 30 Jan 2014 – I heard from the plannng officer yesterday. There are a couple of technical reports expected today, and that should be it.)