I had this from David Buckle this evening:

How Tall? Balloons tried to show, but the gusty breezes prevented them rising to the full height of 8 stories right up next to the road. 11Oct 14 (click on photo to enlarge)

For those Conservatives (and anyone else) whining about how the Lib Dems have politicised this issue of the Doric deal for West Way redevelopment, I have three things to say about it. OK, four things.

First: In 2011, the Lib Dems (in power at the Vale), in collaboration with other property owners, listed Site 1 for sale for development, with some of the proceeds to be used to improve West Way Shopping Centre. (Site 1 is the extended corner of West Way and Westminster Way, comprising the Baptist Church, Seacourt Hall, Grant Thornton, part of the Co-op and all of its car park, and the Elms Court building (library, flats, bank and dry cleaners)). There were 13 bidders on the short list to buy Site 1.

Second: Then came the 2011 election, and we (the voters) elected a Tory majority in the Vale. One of the first decisions the Tories made was to sell Site 1 to Doric. That was quickly followed by a decision to sell Site 2 to Doric as well. They also decided to make the sale of both sites contingent on Doric gaining planning permission for a larger scheme, extending beyond site 1 and Site 2, that demolished the entire centre of Botley, both businesses and residences.

Third: Since then, your local Lib Dems have been working with this community to get the Tories to Drop the Doric sale deal. We have presented petitions to the Vale, tabled motions to full council of the Vale, and provided information to the newspapers. The Tories have refused to do anything to help. Your local Tory Vale councillor has been heard on the radio alongside Doric, giving his support to their plan for Botley. Our Tory MP, Nicola Blackwood, is opposed to the the plans. I don’t know what happens on the inside of the Tory party, but clearly they aren’t united in what they stand for.

Finally:  Vale officers are employed to implement the wishes of Cabinet, and they do that very capably. There’s only one way to ensure we get the Vale to listen to the residents and business owners of Botley and drop the sale to Doric, and that’s to vote differently in May 2015.

Conclusion: The decision to sell West Way, with the decision to make that sale conditional on Doric successfully gaining planning permission for the scheme to demolish the heart of Botley and build the behemoth that is proposed, IS political. It isn’t being politicised by the Lib Dems. That’s a #logicfail. Tories are trying to bamboozle the public. Don’t fall for it.

Here’s an objection not like any other of the over 1000 received. (No, not that Stephen Fry. This one lives in Oxford and his dentist is in Elms Parade.)

I’ve uploded it as a pdf just as if it were a jpg (that’s supposed to work).

Click on it to read it. Jolly good.

Stephen Fry objection

There are less than three weeks to go until the Vale Planning Committee decide about the Doric plans for West Way.

Tonight, West Way Concern are presenting a petition to the planning committee. It has 1000 people asking planning committee to refuse permission for this unwanted and inappropriate scheme.

Dr Caroline Potter is presenting it — I’ll try to get a copy of her speech and put it here. Here’s a link to her speech: https://westwayconcern.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/wwcc-petition-presentation-22nd-october-2014.pdf

I wish I had  photo to share!

Here’s a letter from the Director of Estates at Oxford University, Paul Goffin, to Ruth Deech, making it very clear that they aren’t interested in any student housing in Botley.

I’ve also had an email from the Director of Estates and Facilities Management at Oxford Brookes University. She says,

‘Doric have been in touch with me and had had earlier conversations with the Director of Finance here at Brookes. I can assure you that we have again written to them stating  categorically that we have no need or no interest in contracting for any additional residential accommodation.’

If the two universities aren’t interested, how will they find any students at all, let alone post-grad students?

Emily Smith gave a confident maiden speech at Vale Council meeting on 15 Oct 14.

Emily, pictured on the right with me and Layla Moran at Botley’s Big Fete in Sep 2014, presented a petition to Drop the Doric Deal.

The petition says:

I/we, the undersigned, demand that the Vale of White Horse District Council drops the current proposals for the redevelopment of West Way. The scheme does not have the support of the community and the views of local residents have been ignored.

Emily had this to say on the night:

I am here this evening on behalf of my neighbours in Botley to present the District Council, and specifically the Cabinet, with a petition asking you to pull out of the deal with Doric Properties.

The petition was initiated by [the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate] Layla Moran three weeks ago and has already been signed by 650 people.

As you will be aware from the one thousand plus objections to the planning application, Doric’s proposal for the demolition and replacement of the west way shopping area is incredibly unpopular. It is now clear that the overwhelming view of the local community is strong opposition to the size, scale and design of the current plan.

For the past two years residents of Botley and the surrounding villages have had this planning application hanging over their heads. The stress, uncertainty and anxiety this has caused has been immense.

From our elderly neighbours at Field House who live in fear of losing their homes, to the local businesses that risk losing their livelihoods and letting their staff go. From families worried about the health, safety and practicality of their children getting to school in the mornings, to professionals wondering whether they should move away from the area before congestion on the Botley Road and A34 becomes unbearable.

The primary responsibility of elected members should be to work for and with local residents to ensure that local communities develop with full public support and involvement.

Yet in this case the Vale and Doric have failed to listen to or act upon any of the substantive concerns of local residents – leaving people feeling ignored.

But you, Councillors, have the power to put an end to all this anxiety right now.

You can chose to listen to the people who have signed this petition and withdraw from the deal with Doric before their application even gets to planning committee.

And yes, I understand (even without having seen the contract you have signed) that there may be a heavy financial penalty if you decide to pull out.

But you have to ask yourselves what would be the cost of letting the Doric proposal go ahead?

If the development were to bring in the additional consumers required and managed to be financially viable, it would clearly lead to massive congestion, addition pollution and the disintegration of a safe and well-functioning community.

That would be bad enough, but there is also a very real risk that Doric’s scheme could prove to be a huge white elephant – resulting in a loss of local services and great financial cost to the Vale, and therefore the tax payer.

It is not easy to admit that you have got something wrong but I urge you to think about the devastating impact this scheme will have on our community and ask you to withdraw from the deal with Doric before it is too late.

Members of the Council, it is time to pull out of the land deal with Doric and start working with local people to provide a new shopping area that is both economically viable and meets the needs of our growing community.

I just filed my comments on the Vale planning website. You can see what I wrote here: http://bit.ly/1v3b4fV

(From my Facebook post)

I’ve been preparing for tonight’s Development Forum, starring Doric and Mace, Vale Planners, West Way Community Concern and various local councillors.

No one is quite sure what to expect, so we’re coming with questions AND statements.

The Vale has a new procedure, designed to bring developers and community stakeholders together at the pre-application stage of major projects. I think that’s a VERY good idea, and if we’d done this in early 2013, it might have saved us some of this pain.

But it’s being launched on a project that is well past pre-application stage — actually nearing determination, and arguably too late to change anything. Additionally, invitees include members of the Planning Committee!

Irregular, puzzling and I’m prepared to listen, or to speak, whatever seems appropriate.