Young Ben Smith helped his mum Emily Newson deliver the Spring Focus in Sycamore Road North Hinksey this week.
He’s working hard to get the word out that Liberal Democrats are in government, on your side!
Thanks to Tim Smith and Emily Newson, and Ben’s brother Alex, for all their help. Ben was born on Mother’s Day 2012.
All information about the planned Westway Development can be seen online on the Vale’s website, here.
There’s a survey there for you to fill in. It will be there until 5 April 2012. I did mine today.
Your Vale Lib Dem councillors proposed an extra £100K to the Vale budget for 2012-13 for revitalisation of main shopping areas, especially Botley. As the seconder to the proposal, I spoke spoke to council about the need for extra funding in North Hinksey/Botley:
…The Westway Centre is to also have major new development, and to make way for it, the buildings housing Seacourt Hall and our beloved library will be demolished. This proposal would provide money that would go some way to putting in place real plans to ensure the community gets replacement library and community hall.
This year, the rate of deterioration of Westway precinct has increased:
– two units are long-term vacancies, one has serious internal damage that makes it hard to rent;
– police ejected squatters from the flats above the Co-op;
– outdoor light fixtures have broken and fallen onto the pavements in the precinct.
Shoppers report they no longer feel safe there. In Botley!
North Hinksey is doing its share to meet the Vale’s housing needs. In order to revitalise the main shopping area for thousands of residents, I’d like to see some extra money targeted to bring this shopping area up to the standards the Vale council holds for other shopping areas.
Support came from all councillors from Cumnor, Dean Court, Appleton, Kennington, Radley, North Hinksey & Wytham, except for Cllr Eric Batts of North Hinksey & Wytham, who voted against.
Oxfordshire County Cllr Janet Godden and I continue our Get It Sorted sessions in local neighbourhoods, where residents can have your say about local issues. Surveys point to three major areas of interest and concern:
The Vale has made clear that one big aim is to improve their customer satisfaction ratings regarding street cleaning and litter pick-up, and this year they’re implementing new ways to measure your satisfaction with how they’re doing. One way you can help is to report problems when you see them: http://www.whitehorsedc.gov.uk/pay-report-apply/report
The recent public information meeting about the progress of Westway Centre redevelopment demonstrated the Vale’s intention to listen to local people. I speak regularly with planning officers at the Vale to keep informed of progress – I post info on my blog and in The Sprout.
Children riding bikes and skateboards in the car parks of abandoned buildings, and, more alarmingly, under the A34 fly-over on Botley Road is a huge concern to residents and visitors. Recreational facilities for older children can be provided by the local parish council with help from the district and county councils. Your local Lib Dem councillors are working with residents to find ways of providing safe places for older children to play.
Matt Prosser, Strategic Director for Vale of White Horse District Council, spoke to about 150 local residents and traders in a public ‘pre-consultation update’ about Westway Centre redevelopment on 29 Feb 2012.
Several current property owners, including the Vale, have formed a consortium to sell their land to a developer. The site for sale comprises the vacant Grant Thornton building, the building housing NatWest, cleaners, library and Elms Court flats, Seacourt Hall, Botley Baptist church, the car park and part of the Coop. The sale will generate a capital receipt, part of which is intended to fund the refurbishment of the main precinct.
Most of the meeting was a question and answer session. Here are some highlights:
Tony Wood, local resident and business owner, asked if it was certain to be retail space. Matt said yes, it’s likely to be a combination of retail, residential and car parking, but there are no definite plans yet. It’s also part of the plan to provide a community hall and a library.
Mike Sage, chairman of the successful Save Botley Library campaign, asked for assurance that the Vale was working as hard as possible to ensure the library will stay in the centre of Botley. Matt told us that the library is a county responsibility, that the county has stated their intention for the library to stay, and that the Vale are in close communication with county officers on this issue.
County Cllr Janet Godden asked what could be done to minimise vacancies and keep the community ticking over during this period of change. Matt said they will keep rents attractive and allow short term leases.
Some people were puzzled about why this meeting at this time, and commented that it seemed premature as there are no plans to comment on. Matt said, ‘We came at the invitation of North Hinksey parish council to hear what your concerns are.’
The timescale is estimated to be 2 to 4 years. The next step is for the developers to submit a proposal, after which there will be a public consultation. Then will come a formal planning application and another consultation. Matt Prosser said he hopes there will be a planning application by the end of this year.
Online consultation is open now through the 5th of April for the initial gathering of comments. See the consultation and background information at: http://www.whitehorsedc.gov.uk/about-us/tell-us-what-you-think/current-consultations/westway-area-development
At the February Vale council meeting, the following amendment to the Tory budget was proposed by Councillor Tony de Vere and seconded by Councillor Debby Hallett:
“This Council wishes to increase its funding to support the vitality of our towns and main shopping areas, including an increased expenditure on Botley. The revenue expenditure should be increased by a one-off figure of £100,000 for the year 2012/13.”
Cllr De Vere said:
The amendment seeks to increase the financial support to the vitality of our towns and main shopping areas by making an additional £100,000 available – in particularly supporting the retail sector. I am not going to be too specific about what and where, although would highlight previous examples where this Council has supplemented projects undertaken by other authorities in improving the retail and community environment in our shopping areas. I know that my colleague Cllr Hallett will draw your attention to the Botley Westway shopping area and we acknowledge the development plans currently in discussion. There is a £30,000 budget proposal for strategic property advice, but I think this Council must also acknowledge the important community facilities element that goes alongside this development and we must make plans now for the relocation of the parish council’s and community activities at the Seacourt Hall. So I would propose that some of this increased expenditure is used for this cause.
No doubt there are other projects in our three main market towns that would welcome support from this Council and I am convinced that with the advent of New Homes Bonus money, which seeks to reward Councils for their progress in housing growth, we should take the opportunity to plough a small fraction of this money back into our communal shopping areas.
Cllr Hallett said:
North Hinskey and neighbouring Cumnor are about to begin a period of rapid growth, with development expected soon on hundreds of new homes now that Thames Water is addressing the sewerage capacity problems. The Westway Centre is to also have major new development, and to make way for it, the buildings housing Seacourt Hall and our beloved library will be demolished. This amendment would provide money that would go some way to putting in place real plans to ensure the community gets replacement library and community hall.
Council has previously made clear its commitment to the revitalisation of our town centres and retail areas. Westway Centre didn’t benefit from the new free parking scheme, because parking was already free there.
This year, the rate of deterioration of West Way precinct has increased:
Shoppers report they no longer feel safe there. In Botley!
North Hinksey is doing its share to meet the Vale’s housing needs. In order to revitalise the main shopping area for thousands of residents, I’d like to see some extra money targeted to bring this shopping area up to the standards the Vale council holds for other shopping areas.
The vote:
All district councillors from Cumnor, Dean Court, Appleton, Kennington, Radley, North Hinksey and Wytham voted for this proposal, except for Cllr Eric Batts of North Hinksey & Wytham, who voted against.
Word from the Vale’s planning officers is that the Seacourt Retail Park redevelopment is proceeding along the lines of an earlier application, approved in 2008, rather than the newer 2010 application that was met with so many objections to the closure of the last petrol station in the area.
The project will see three stores (those once occupied by Allied Carpets and Habitat, plus Homebase) re-vamped and sub-divided into seven stores. It has minor car park changes, but keeps the same overall footprint and traffic flow. The really good news is that they have no plans to close the petrol station.
The approved plans can be seen on the Vale’s planning portal http://bit.ly/wOOSoh).
After my urging for the owners of Vale House to hold an open community meeting about their planned changes, Ede Builders and Botley Alzheimers Home hosted a Q&A session on 2 Dec 2011. It was well-attended by members of the community, as well as community leaders: I spotted county councillor Janet Godden, district councillors Eric Batts and John Woodford, a Cumnor parish councillor, but I didn’t see any North Hinksey parish councillors.
The atmosphere was somewhat heated, as many people expressed their strong concerns and fears about the intended use of the building as an HMO. Most of these concerns can also be seen in the letters posted on the Vale website.
On the 9th of December 2011, Ede withdrew their application. Their withdrawal letter, which can be viewed on the planning web page, http://bit.ly/sYfMne , says they plan to re-submit quickly, and that they’re likely to request permission to convert to flats.
Once a new Planning Application is received, I’ll post details on this site, on the page called Planning Applications.
I received a notice from the Highways Agency. It says:
…We will be undertaing essential safety improvement work on the A34 southbound embankment, approximately 50 metres south of the Wytham Godstow Flyover. Badger excavations have destabilised the area adjacent to the existing safety barrier, and to ensure continued road user safety, we will be carrying out embankment strengthening work over a distance of approximately 30 metres along the southbound carriageway verge in order to protect the badger sett and stabilise the embankment.
To ensure work is carried out in accordance with the badger licence issued by Natural England, an ecologist will be supervising the works each night.
The work is programmed to start on Monday 17 October 2011, and should take approximately one week to complete, weather permitting. For the safety of our workforce and other road users, work will be carried out at night between 9pm and 5am, when traffic flows are at their lowest. During these hours there will be a lane closure on the southbound carriageway.
I would like to apologise in advance for any disturbance or inconvenience cause by the works. I would like to emphasise, however, that the Highways Agency and its contractors work to strict procedures to ensure minimal noise at night.
Should you require any further information regarding this scheme, please contact the Highwys Agency Information line on 0300 123 5000 or email them at ha_infor@highways.gsi.gov.uk
Talk to your County Councillor Janet Godden or your District Councillor (me) at our sessions, held every other month. We’re planning to hold one near you!
Tues 10 Jan 2012, 6-7pm, WI on North Hinksey Lane
Tues 13 Mar 2012, 6-7pm, Seacourt Road Rooms
Tues 8 May 2012, 6-7pm, venue tba
In the run-up to each session, we’ll deliver flyers and residents’ surveys to homes nearby.
Please drop in!