17 Nov 14 Update. I received the answers. Mostly, they tell me that my questions aren’t material planning considerations. Of course I know this; they are material community concerns. Our second greatest fear (after the fear of them demolishing the centre of Botley to build this behemoth) is that they will build it and it will fail, leaving us without the resources we need to support our little community. Therefore it’s relevant to us whether they have a food store operator, whether Mace are the student housing operators due to the fact that no other operator would take it on (because the universities have said they won’t send their students here!), whether they’ve consulted with stakeholders outside Vale of White Horse, such as Oxford City, or the two universities. They say in their docs that this development is not for the benefit of Botley or the Vale, but to benefit the City of Oxford. Therefore, they should have been working closely with the city and both of the universities to create a solution. They didn’t talk to either of them. Here you go. Have a read.
Botley Questions from Cllr Roberts and Cllr Hallet 13 11 _1
On 7 October 2014, Vale Planning Officers hosted a Development Forum for the various stakeholders of the West Way Redevelopment scheme to come together to get questions answered.
On the night, we ran over the alloted time. Those of us toward the end of the agenda asked our questions, but there wasn’t time to answer them there. We were promised a written reply from Doric within 10 days. I haven’t had my reply yet, and have now chased it, twice. Most recently, I’ve been promised I’ll have my answers next week.
I thought you’d be interested to see what I asked.
West Way Questions for Tues 7 Oct 14
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It appears that no Oxford City Council reps have been invited today. ES Vol I claims that student housing in Botley would be a Major Benefit, city-wide (not for Botley). There is no evidence that Oxford City Council has been consulted at all on the student accommodation. Why are none of those stakeholders present here?
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What discussions have been held, with whom, at Oxford City Council about this plan, and with what outcomes?
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What discussions have Doric/Mace held with the two universities regarding demand for 525 student rooms in Botley for their students, and with what outcomes?
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Doric say frequently the reason for student housing in Botley is to free up family homes currently occupied by students. What is their estimate of the number of student houses in Botley – thinking of their recent Saville Report?
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Could Doric/Mace comment on affordability of their proposed student housing.
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Specifically, what level of rent, at 2014/15 prices, would Mace expect to be charged for (a) a room in a cluster and (b) a `standard’ studio, and for what length(s) of contract?
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Oxford City policy requires that developers of new student housing contribute a sum to affordable housing elsewhere in the city. Vale has no such policies, because we have no policy for student housing, because we don’t have student housing here. How does the applicant see their responsibility to offset this high number of student housing with contributions to the true housing needs of the community? How is proposal not an attempt to circumvent City Policies by building in Botley?
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SMP p.6 states that the development `has been designed and configured to provide communal space for the students upon the podium.’ Given the size of the proposed student population, how is this compatible with the piazza area being for the whole community?
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What’s the biggest building in Abingdon, and how does this plan compare in height and length? Wantage and Grove? These are the two biggest centres in the Vale.
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Who is the food store operator?
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Who is your student housing operator? When I Googled “Graduation Management Services” I got no results.
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How big is the superstore compared to Waitrose in Abingdon? (It’s hard for average person to visualise what 8100 sq m actually looks like, but most of us have been to Abingdon Waitrose.)