Save Bertie Park Oxford

Labour silence on Bertie Park

Oxford City Council accept that “the overwhelming local community view … is that Bertie Park is needed.” Labour’s leaflet says they are “investing in our parks and shared spaces.” They’ve got “new play equipment” for Hinksey Park, Fox Crescent and Friars Wharf. But they want to shrink Bertie Park down to 20% of its size.

Hinksey Park Labour candidate Siobhan talks about “giving every young person the best start in life.” But the new local plan talks about replacing our Multi Use Games Area “with an alternative type of facility” or getting rid of it altogether. To compensate they would improve the capacity of an existing MUGA in the neighbourhood. They must mean the MUGA at Fox Crescent which is tiny, and already fills one end of the playground.

Labour says they are “combatting anti-social behaviour.” The police say OCC’s plans for Bertie Park will create a risk of “neighbour disturbances and community tension.” OCC also want to build 237 homes on Redbridge Paddock (on the other side of the Abingdon road) with no facilities for young adults.

That’s more young people with fewer amenities. Isn’t that a recipe for more antisocial behaviour?

What the candidates think about Bertie Park

I asked Rick Tanner, Siobhan Lancaster and Hannah Scott.

Hannah Scott: Green Party

Bertie Park wasn’t mentioned on the Green Party leaflet, so I asked Hannah Scott what she thought. She apologised for leaving it out. Hannah is against building on Bertie Park. She thinks there’s an urgent need for affordable and social housing, but the council should take into account the quality of life for existing residents too. Leisure access to green and blue space is important for mental health. There is already a lack of community provision in south Hinksey. Hannah understands why residents are upset. She expressed an interest in youth facilities in this area.

I asked Labour Party candidate Siobhan Lancaster where her bottom lines were for Bertie Park. Siobhan believes that local recreation grounds are really important. She was surprised to find out the new local plan no longer requires replacement of our Multi Use Games Area. Siobhan was keen to find out more about the campaign, and left with lots of questions. If she is elected, she promised to make sure we aren’t kept in the dark.

Siobhan Lancaster: Labour

Rick Tanner: Lib Dem

Rick fully understands the need for house building. He supports building on Redbridge Meadow, but he has reservations about current plans. Rick has lived here for 33 years. His daughter and friends loved to play in Bertie. Like the rest of us, Rick is against building on Bertie Park. Not only will it add little to the housing stock, he is worried about flooding and sewage. Rick also thinks that the replacement play areas won’t cater for existing users, let alone the new people who will move into this area if Redbridge Meadow goes ahead.

Problem with tall people using Bertie Park MUGA

Oxford City Council want to build on Bertie Park. Government policy says it has to be replaced with “equivalent or better provision in terms of quantity and quality in a suitable location.” OCC have big problems with our Multi Use Games Area (MUGA).

They want to put it 11m from bedroom windows. Thames Valley Police say there is a real “risk of noise having a negative impact on residents, neighbour disturbances and community tension.”

OCC want to lower the MUGA by 30cm from street level to cut down the noise. But that won’t work if people using the MUGA are very tall. So they’ll have “a simple method to report noise complaints, damage and/or misuse.” Thames Valley Police (here) say this just isn’t a good place to put a MUGA; the only real way to solve the problem would be to put higher fencing right around the MUGA so it can be “robustly” locked “outside legitimate hours of usage.”

https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/933674

We think Bertie Park isn’t a bad place for a MUGA, but that Bertie is a really bad place to build homes. OCC say the development is going to planning committee very soon. When it does, we will demonstrate. Watch this space for news!

List of Oxford parks, recreation grounds and allotments “suitable for development”

Oxford’s Office and Research and Development space is increasing by 72%. OCC say this a “seismic shift” in the city’s economy (read here p.6). So our housing crisis will only get worse. All parks, recreation grounds and allotments are now “Green Infrastructure.” The following “parcels” of land are now considered grey belt, and suitable for development (read here from p80).

These sites are protected. Planning permission will only be given if there is “sufficient reprovision.” OCC will try to make sure that it is “the same standard or higher, ideally onsite,” but they say that this can be the same quantity or quality (read here p.61). In the case of Bertie Park, this means shrinking to less than 20% of current size, with a bit of new equipment. But now it’s not just Bertie, it’s right across Oxford. For this to happen, government policy must change. This is why we started the petition “Save Britain’s Recreation Grounds.” Please sign and share.

Save Britain’s Recreation Grounds

We are taking a petition to Downing Street (sign here). The government is consulting on changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). This controls how councils make local plans and how they make decisions. The changes will mean NO recreation ground will be safe from development. The existing NPPF says:

The government want to change part b:

Even if a recreation ground is well used, councils will never need to …

re-provide the same quantity and quality of equipment. OCC has suggested replacing Bertie Park with a much smaller “play garden” for under 5s. With new equipment and safety surface it would be better quality. It won’t matter that it is a huge reduction in quantity.
re-provide in a suitable location. They just need to provide better access. OCC want to improve access to the land behind Wytham Street. The police say it’s not safe for unaccompanied children. This won’t matter because OCC will build a massive bridge.

The changes won’t just threaten Bertie Park, but recreation grounds across the country. The government says they “welcome views on the effect of this change”. They are consulting until 10th March. Please sign our petition, and share as many times as you can!

Photo: Sergeant Tom Robinson RLC/MOD, OGL v1.0OGL v1.0, via Wikimedia Commons

We will deliver it to Downing Street on 10th March.

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OCC can’t answer Bertie Park speech

We talked to council on 26th January. OCC’s policy for Bertie Park says our recreation ground has to be re-provided. OCC always knew this was impossible:

The plan was out of date before it was agreed!

The planning application was submitted 2 1/2 years ago …

All this is such a waste of tax-payer money

Thames Valley Police are worried about crime, anti-social behaviour and community conflict if the development goes ahead:

Even the police think it’s a bad idea

Recent OCC policy says that, with the population growing, there is no spare pitch capacity:

Once our Multi Use Games Area is gone, it’s gone forever.

Cllr Hollingsworth said that this is a live planning application. But it has been a live planning application for 2 1/2 years. When we talk to council, we usually get an update. This time they said nothing:

Alex warns the planning committee to retain an open mind.

Cllr Hollingsworth says if Oxford wants to ask its neighbours to help meet its unmet housing need, it can’t start removing sites from the local plan.

We have to build on ….

But that unmet housing need is turbo-charged by new laboratories and hotels being built across the city. Maybe, just maybe, OCC should also think about the kind of Oxford it is building for ordinary working people, and leave a bit of space for kids to play.

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Thorny problem for Bertie Park

Bertie Park Recreation ground has a play area with 14 items of equipment. So, when the council’s first drawings showed only 4, we complained. They reassured us that there could be “as many as 9 items of equipment” in their new play area. We wondered how. Now we know!

The new plans show a toddler trail with 5 items of equipment, including 2 ‘boulders’ i.e. rocks. The toddler trail is hard up against the apartment block, and runs between some shrubs. But the police have pointed out that there should be a proper boundary between the play area and the apartment block garden. Instead of ornamental shrubs, they have suggested a thorny species instead. This could leave our young toddlers between a rock and a thorny place!

We will be talking to council again on 26 January. Watch this space!

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What the police say about Bertie Park

The MUGA and the play area are very close to homes. There are 2 problems with this:

Street lighting will light up the play area and MUGA at night. This increases the risk of crime and antisocial behaviour.
Noise from the MUGA is a recipe for “neighbour disturbances and community tension.”

OCC want to build a long, narrow footbridge between Bertie Park and the land behind Wytham Street (site B). There’ll be “no option for escape” if someone is “approached by a hostile actor.”

Site B “does not have any clear function or purpose, and significantly lacks surveillance.” This could make it “a significant attractor for crime and antisocial behaviour.” The current bridge has bars to prevent joyriding:

Read the full TVP report here: Police Report

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Bertie Park gives OCC a headache!

Thank you to all who took part in the recent consultation! In spite of the rain, we got 88 people to comment this time around. There are now 3 who support, and 357 objections to OCC’s plans for Bertie Park.

Any homes built on Bertie Park have to be safe from flooding now and in the future. So OCC want to raise the level of the land. But they cannot do ANYTHING that will raise the flood risk elsewhere. They can’t bring in rubble. They have to use material from on-site. So, they plan to dig out the new play area:

The problem is that Bertie Park is ex-landfill. The landfill is covered by a layer of soil. So, what are they going to use to raise up the land? The soil that covers the landfill? or the landfill? We’ve asked OCC. We also asked how deep the soil has to be on the parts of the excavated recreation ground to be grassed or planted? They didn’t have any answers.

The other problem is that all this digging will disturb the river bank. The Environment Agency says they’ll need a permit. Well, that will open up another can of worms!

Council forced to dig up MUGA

This October, Derbyshire residents took their parish council to court after problems with antisocial behaviour and noise from a MUGA (Multi Use Games Area). The Parish council was forced to dig up the MUGA. Article: Council demolishes play area after noise complaints. Sport England recommends 30 to 40 metres between MUGAs and homes to avoid exactly this sort of problem.

Mathew Barlow, Chapel in le Frith. BBC Derbyshire 6/10/2025

The MUGA on Bertie park is now 40 metres from homes. It is good for 5-a-side football and basketball. OCC want to replace it with a new MUGA; 4m shorter, and 11m from homes. Even normal behaviour is antisocial when it’s too close to homes. OCC says it will deal with potential problems by restricting hours when the MUGA can be used, and making sure there’s “a simple method to report noise complaints, damage and/or misuse.”

Will Oxford City Council be forced to dig up their new MUGA? It is more important than ever that young people have a place to let off steam! OCC are consulting now. The consultation ends on Sunday. Previous blog here with details of OCC’s plans. Click here to have your say (takes 5 mins).

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