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Drains and
pavement repairs
have been
carried out

The team who came to carry
out repairs to the drains and pavements did an excellent
job and there should no longer be a problem with a sheet
of water covering the road near the postbox during and
after heavy rain.
Oxford Core
Strategy 2026
1)
JSLA has endorsed concerns expressed by the New Marston
Wildlife Group regarding the lack of protection for
biodiversity and wildlife corridors offered by this
latest version.
The JSLA comments are based
on a detailed submission (about 10 pages long) on behalf
of the New Marston Wildlife Group, prepared by Dr Curt
Lamberth and Dr Susan Mallett, which indicates
shortfalls in protection and highlights incidences of
non-compliance with current legislation.
The JSLA comments (form signed by Dr Peter Sargent,
Chairman) can be seen by clicking on the two links
below:
Page 1
Page 2
2)
JSLA has supported a joint submission by several residents'
associations in Headington and St Clements of additional
comments on the Core Strategy, as invited by the
Inspector at the Pre-hearings Meeting on 2 June
(the minutes of
this meeting are available via a link from the
City Council's website).
These comments relate to
the development of Oxford Brookes University - to read
them, click
here.
Following criticism from the
Planning Inspectorate, an earlier version of the Core
Strategy (submitted
by the City Council in November 2008) had to be revised.
Consultation on the Proposed Changes closed on 15 May
2009.
The amended version is now
at the Examination phase. The Planning
Inspectorate has appointed Mr David Fenton MSc DipTP
MRTPI as the Inspector in this case. Full details,
including representations made by individuals and
residents' associations regarding the proposed
revisions (see section 'Proposed Changes to the
Submission Core Strategy) can be found on the City
Council's website, click
here
Oxford
Brookes Gipsy Lane Campus
Change of
plan
for new Student Centre

Application 09/00695/FUL
As a result of concerted
opposition put forward by Headington residents' associations,
Brookes has now offered to reduce the height of the
proposed building by one storey, which would take about
three metres (10 ft) off its height. A basement
would be added to compensate for the loss of the top
floor. See front page articles in The Oxford
Times 18 June
and 4 June.
Also Oxford Times article on the protest petition
signed by over 1,000 residents -
11 June.
However, as was clear from
addresses made by representatives of residents'
associations at a meeting of the East Oxford Area
Committee on 17 June 2009, concerns relate not only to
the size of this specific building but to the extent of Brookes's expansion over the last 10 years
and the effect of vastly increased student numbers on
the local community.
Brookes invited
representatives of local residents' associations to a
presentation of the revised plans on Thursday, 25 June.
In response to concerns raised at this meeting about the
university's expansion, Vice-Chancellor Rex Knight said
that student numbers had grown by 10% since 1999.
He said some of the
statements published relating to the university's
expansion had been based on ‘a misleading use of
figures’. He also said that a decrease had been
forecast in the number of 18-year-olds wanting to study
at university, partly due to demographic reasons,
partly as a result of the recession and restraints
imposed on public expenditure. However, as the number
of UK students declined, there would be some growth in
the number of the university's overseas students.
Growth overall would be mainly in post-graduate study.
There is quite a lengthy
article on Brookes's development and its plans for the new
student centre in the current edition of
Private Eye (No. 1238, 12-25 June 2009, page 14).
The author is very critical of the design for the student
centre.
The design was produced by the Winchester-based firm,
Design Engine, whose principal partner is Richard
Rose-Casemore of the post-graduate department of
Oxford Brookes's School of the Built Environment and
who, the Eye points out, is also a South-Eastern
representative for the Commission for the Built
Environment (CABE),
one of whose 'Regional Partners' is the
Government-funded South East England Development Agency
(SEEDA).
The author of the 'Eye'
article ('Piloti') does not feel that the development
proposed by Design Engine is in keeping with the
surrounding area and refers to it as an 'overweening,
anti-social project'.
Meanwhile, the architect
Lord Rogers, who, according to The Eye, is Mr
Rose-Casemore's former employer, is also in the
headlines following Prince Charles's objections to his
plans for a series of modern glass and steel blocks on
the site of the former Chelsea Barracks, a £1 billion
project of the Qatari Royal Family.
Headington Hill Residents' Association had
visualisations prepared illustrating the very
large size of the proposed building compared with the
surrounding houses.
To see the letter sent on
behalf of JSLA objecting to the original application, click
here.
Actor
Simon Callow voiced his opposition to the original plans:
see
Oxford Mail article from Thursday, 30 April.
Horse Chestnut
trees felled
in Jack Straw's Lane
On 22 May 2009 two chestnut
trees were felled in Jack Straw's Lane. They were
both affected by the moth
Cameria ohridella
(as shown in picture) and by bleeding canker.
The moth, although it causes damage resulting in
premature leaf fall, does not in itself kill trees.
However,
bleeding canker, a fungal infection, does.
For
photos of trees being felled click here.
The link is to a
Flickr
slideshow.
Click anywhere on a photo in the slideshow to turn the
captions on or off (not every photo has a caption). To 'pause' the slideshow, keep the pointer
on the caption, then move it away to go to the next
photo. Click on the 'Options' tab to change the speed of
the slide show.
Confirmation
of permitted development - installation of Vodafone base
station on
St
Michael's Church

A letter from Oxford City Council's
Planning Control and Conservation Department (29 May 2009),
has confirmed that this installation does not require
planning permission. The decision
therefore lies with the Parochial Church Council.
However, it is doubtful whether the PCC will eventually
agree to having a mast installed, as it is aware of
local opposition to similar applications in the past.
The Vicar of St Michael and
All Angels, the Rev Elaine Bardwell, has explained that
the mast currently being considered would not be as
powerful as the one that was proposed last time.
The church would receive
about £6,000 a year, if the mast installation went
ahead. This money, the Vicar said, would be
available for community projects.
A survey of residents' opinions in the lower part of JSL
(ie nearest the proposed mast) has shown that two are
against the mast on health grounds, two are in favour
and two don't mind either way. In view of the
divergence of opinion among those who would be most
affected, it was agreed at the JSLA AGM on 25 April that
any opposition to the mast should be registered by
residents individually on their own behalf.
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