Author Archives: wnfadmin

Canalside, Oxford North – Public Consultation

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From a communication from the Oxford North developers: 

“Hill is preparing a Reserved Matters Application (RMA) for Canalside, part of Oxford North. Canalside forms the area to the south of the A40 and will deliver the first phase of new homes, public park, streets, and landscaping.
As part of Oxford North’s continued community engagement, we invite you to join a public consultation event between 9am and 1pm on Saturday 27th November 2021 at Jurys Inn, Godstow Rd, Oxford.
Here you can view our proposals and discuss the timescales for our application.
Most importantly, we are seeking your views on the application and the project team will
be on hand to answer any questions you may have.”
“If you do plan to attend we are implementing a booking system to maintain social distancing and to reduce the risk of COVID spreading.
Please email: oxfordnorth@hill.co.uk or phone: 0800 032 6760 to reserve an hour time slot.
9:00-10:00 10:00-11:00 11:00-12:00 12:00-1:00″

For more details see the flyer about the meeting.

CIL-funded Community Projects – comments invited.

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Applications for eleven projects in the WNF area were received in the first round (closing date 7th October). 
Comments from the community are encouraged to help the steering committee make decisions on funding. 
The deadline for comments to be received has been extended to 21st October 2021.
See http://www.wolvercotenf.org.uk/cil-funded-projects/ for more details.

The Wolvercote Neighbourhood Plan is now ‘MADE’

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…That was the term used when the plan was officially accepted by the full City Council on 23rd June 2012, following the referendum landslide. It means that our Plan, like the Local Plan, now has to be considered in deciding planning applications. It also means that the community is entitled to a larger share of the money from local developments. If you want to see how it happened on Wednesday 23 June look at the City Council’s YouTube channel.
Christopher Hardman , Steering Committee Chair
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KY-6gwy0FuU: from 05:05

Urgent: Oxford North

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It is urgent because the closing date for comments on the current planning application is 26 May. See the application on the City Council website ref: 21/ 01053/Res
https://public.oxford.gov.uk/onl…/applicationDetails.do…

Work on Oxford North Phase One will start soon and construction will affect local residents. Now is the time to tell planners what you think about the detailed proposals and also what might be done to minimise damage to nature, pollution, congestion, and disturbance from noise. Everyone will be affected by proposals for soil movement and lorry movement on the A40, A44, and at the Wolvercote roundabout.

If you live in Goose Green Close, Rawson Close , Mere Road, Millway Close, the tops of Woodstock Road and Godstow Road, Linkside or Lakeside, you will want to look carefully at the proposals for the times and days on which work will be done and when deliveries to the site are proposed.

WNF Referendum – Yes!

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The result of the May 6th Referendum on the Wolvercote Neighbourhood Plan was as follows:
Votes. YES.   1991
Votes.  NO.      136
Spoilt votes.      88

This means that 93.6 % of the votes cast were in support of the Plan. 

Thank you to all our supporters. We will now need to make sure that the policies in the plan are implemented and we would welcome help to do this.  We are also keen to know more about the aspirations of local residents.

Christopher Hardman

The Neighbourhood Plan Referendum

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The Neighbourhood Plan Referendum will take place on 6th May. For technical reasons the Council is unable to include notification of the Neighbourhood Plan Referendum with the poll cards. We understand that a letter will be sent out in about a week’s time, with information on the referendum and where to see the Plan. The Forum will also distribute an information leaflet. 

Voting for the referendum will take place in the same locations as Council elections. Polling station staff will be briefed about the referendum,It will be counted on Sunday 9th May, following the County Council count.

New doctors’ surgery in Lower Wolvercote cancelled

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Dear Neighbours,

The change of use application for the surgery space at Wolvercote Mill was approved by the Planning Committee of Oxford City Council on Tuesday 9 March. In spite of all our efforts we failed to secure the relocation of the current satellite surgery.
I am afraid that the decision was inevitable because the legal advice the Committee received, and the advice of Planning Officers, was that the developers had fulfilled the terms of the 106 condition, which did not explicitly state that a fitted-out surgery should be provided free.
The Clinical Commissioning Group standard, even for a relocated surgery, meant that a fit-out could have cost up to £1m. The CCG has no capital and, even if it had, its policy is not to fund surgeries unless there are more new residents than there will be at Wolvercote Mill together with Oxford  North in the future.
If CALA Homes had fitted out the surgery (and they were not required to do so), the rent needed would have been unaffordable. There was no possibility that funding could be found from elsewhere. We considered using some Infrastructure Levy money, but we could not have made enough of a difference.
We tried very hard to solve the problems. I had several email exchanges and a meeting with the CCG , and Layla Moran wrote to them twice. Mary Brown and I had a meeting with the Land Director of Cala Homes.
Lower Wolvercote’s current surgery is very small and on a restricted site. It is a highly valued local amenity. We must do whatever we can to maintain and, if possible,  improve it.
I do not think that it is either possible or sensible to attribute blame to any of the parties involved in this. Unaffordable costs, lack of money, a long-standing 106, and CCG rules combined to make it impossible.

Christopher Hardman
Chair
Wolvercote Neighbourhood Forum