The Labour Party says their candidate Anna Railton “will push for more truly affordable and council homes with play areas”.

Council policy is that play areas should be surrounded by buffer zones.

Bertie Park is a recreation ground. It has two play areas and a grassy buffer zone.

Everyone knows that Bertie Park Recreation ground is threatened. Anna will push for play areas, but what about recreation grounds? We have asked Anna about the difference between a recreation ground and a play area. She hasn’t replied yet.

The buffer zone is used for many different activities. If they build on the whole of Bertie’s buffer zone, what about free play? Why can’t kids at our end of the ward have a bit of grass to play on?

If Anna will only push for play areas, which recreation ground will they build on next?

I am Annie, and I am 11 years old. I really like Bertie Park. I go there almost every day. I find it very calming, and it feels like a safe place to be outside. I like to listen to music, go really high on the swings, and relax there.

As well as going on my own, I hang out with my friends there loads, and we really enjoy it. It is convenient, and there aren’t really any other places to hang out near enough. During lockdown when there was nowhere to go, me and two of my friends went nearly every day. The green space is also really good, we use it a lot to play games such as ‘it’ and have water fights. I personally usually stay in the playground, but the grassy area is very popular with the younger people who go there, such as my brother and his friends. It also has very good blackberries along the edge. The football/basketball/cricket pitch is also very useful, I practised bike riding and over arm bowling in it. Almost everyday after school there would be a football match or some people practising basketball there. The playground itself is also fantastic, with the basket swing and swings almost always being occupied, while the climbing frame is great for dodgeball. We once fitted 11 people onto the basket swing!  

Without it, it would be very hard for a lot of my friends to meet up, as a lot of us can’t or don’t like to go to others houses, and also it would mean there wouldn’t be any outdoor places very locally that children mainly enjoy, so a lot of children would go outdoors a lot less, which would be bad for their mental health.

The Bertie Park “Consultation” is this Autumn.

Imagine you want a child to sleep before the baby sitter arrives. Don’t ask if they want to go to bed. The answer will be no. Ask a different question instead like: “Which bed-time story shall I read?” This is more likely to get them to do what you want.

What has this got to do with the Bertie consultation?

The council won’t ask us if they can build on our recreation ground. The answer will be no. Instead, they will ask how they can turn the waste-land behind Wytham Street into a wonderful community space.

Police and parents say that the waste-land is not safe for unaccompanied children. Parents with kids playing on Bertie cannot even see it! How could it be a replacement for the green space/buffer zone?

Click here for what happened in the last “consultation”. Click here for a quick summary of the other issues.

Our address to council on Monday 18^th (read here) received good applause from councillors. In reply, Alex Hollingworth said what he always says (read here). He also said that the consultation will take place this autumn.

Once again, Bertie Park featured in the Labour newsletter. Naomi Waite said:

As ever, I’m committed to supporting our community spaces …. Our community will face some difficult issues over the coming years. The plans to build social housing next to the playground and multi-games area in Bertie Park will be brought forward for consultation in the coming months.

As Bertie park is the only community space at the southern end of the ward. It is clear which part of the Hinksey Park ward will “face some difficult issues”!

Naomi has offered to find out why they chose to build on Bertie Park in the first place, and which other recreation grounds were considered.

She said that she wasn’t sure what she thought about buffer zones (i.e. the green space on our recreation ground), but said that she would find out how many of the council’s playgrounds have buffer zones.

Oxford desperately needs homes. Cllr Hollingsworth has told us:

It’s my view and the view of this Council that we – the current generation fortunate enough to live in this wonderful city – should do our best to make sure that our children both have places to play in their childhood AND the hope of being able to live in Oxford when they grow up and want to have children of their own.

Cllr Alex Hollingsworth

What do the council mean by “places to play”? The sacrifice that they are asking our children to make would mean a recreation ground without a blade of grass and a nature trail that neither police or local parents think is safe for unaccompanied children.

OCC say that they do not intend to provide homes for families within the city centre because the land is too expensive. If they are going to export their housing to this ward, we also need a safe place for our children to run and shout and play.

Bertie Park was mentioned in some Labour leaflets, but it was not on the ballot paper.

Some of our campaign members would never vote anything but Labour. The Labour Party has been in power in Oxford for so long that it can now govern by decree. Oxford City Council members refuse to meet with us, to keep us updated or engage with our arguments. If something is mentioned in a leaflet, candidates are obliged to support it. But it doesn’t mean that it is right. Or that it is legal.

Small, so easy to keep an eye on the kids.

Never floods, so use it all year round.

Good place to meet and chat.

Something for all ages.

Grassy area for anything from rocket-launching and roly polies to badminton and breast feeding.

Clean.

What does this really mean? It means that councillors have finally realised that they can’t just build on the playground and multi-use games area. The local plan says that “the existing Bertie Place recreation ground, including a replacement Multi-use Games Area” should be re-provided.

What does this really mean? It means that Naomi and Marie are committed to building on the buffer zone around the playground and the multi-use games area. The MUGA will be underneath somebody’s bedroom window. There will be no grass.

At one end of the ward, there is open air cinema and SOAP. At this end, Naomi is “working with police and cold harbour residents to tackle local anti-social behaviour”. How will building on Bertie Park affect anti-social behaviour?

We need council housing, but we also need recreation grounds. Naomi is a hard-working councillor, but Bertie Park is the heart of our community. Will we let Bertie Park be a casualty in the city council’s drive for a global Oxford? Or do we need an Oxford for the people of Oxford.

With the warm weather Bertie Park is back in full swing. Our community is using every square inch of park. This is the sound of spring.

This is what we will lose if they build on Bertie Park.

Interesting question: how many young people can you fit into a basket swing?

Oxford city council are carrying out a survey of Parks and Green Spaces. Here is the link. This needs to be completed by March 29th. Completing this for Bertie Park would be really helpful for the campaign, but you can complete this for as many parks as you like. The survey has 9 questions (it has no q 2!):

1 Do you ever visit any parks or open spaces? (Yes/no)

3 The name of the Park, Recreation Ground or Nature Reserve that you would like to comment on.

4 How do you normally travel there in the Summer?

5 How do you normally travel there in the Winter?

6 What do you value most about this park/green space?

7 What is your opinion of the facilities? These are listed (Good/fair/poor/no opinion)

8 We would like to know your top five priorities. The facilities are listed. One is high and five is low.

9 Are there any changes you would like to see in the park/green space?

10 Are there any other comments you would like to make about Oxford City Council parks/green spaces?