The speech that stopped OCC in their tracks?

A couple of weeks ago October Oxford City Council was saying that appropriation of Bertie Park was “a paper exercise”.

On 7th November they released a report recommending that OCC cabinet should go ahead and appropriate the land on Bertie Park for housing.

13th November we sent our speech to the Council

14th November OCC agreed that we could deliver the speech.

15th November, three hours before the cabinet meeting, OCC pulled the item on Bertie Park from the Agenda. We couldn’t deliver our speech. They told people who went into the meeting they needed more time to consider legal issues.

17th November we were told: “Council is fully considering options and intends to report back to Cabinet – likely with an amended report – once it has done so.  We do not yet have a timescale for this, but would envisage it being early in 2024”

Was it our speech that made them drop Bertie Park from the agenda? You decide. You can read our speech here or listen to it here:

Meanwhile, OCC were supposed to carry out YET MORE investigations on Bertie Park today (22nd November) “to inform any potential development.” But they still don’t have permission to build on the site!

Cabinet Discussion Cancelled

3.00 this afternoon (Wednesday 15th November), at the very last minute, Oxford City Council have taken the approptiation of Bertie Park off the agenda for tonight’s cabinet meeting. There is no explanation.

The council’s report recommended the appropriation of the park.

The speech that we submitted challenged their arguments.

It is clear that something had to change. Watch this space!!!

Witness this important decision!

On 15th November, Oxford City Council will decide whether to appropriate Bertie Park Recreation Ground for building.

OCC have to appropriate Bertie Park before they can build on it. Appropriation is a legal procedure described in section 122 of the 1972 Local Government Act. This says councils can only appropriate land which is no longer needed … and that councils must consider the community’s objections.

OCC did not consider objections about the need for Bertie. They agree that Bertie Park is needed. They say they are going to reprovide the facilities. But they are going to give us a smaller play area and MUGA. They say that Hinksey Park, Deans Ham and Fox Crescent are all within easy walking distance. The green space will be reprovided as a nature trail on land that the police say is not safe for unaccompanied children.

We don’t think their arguments are sound. We will upload details of our objections here before the meeting.

Find out what the council will decide, and whether we will have to fight this in court. Join us on November 15th either at the Town Hall or online via OCC’s youtube channel.

Will Bertie Park be dropped from the 2040 local plan?

Whenever there is a new plan, it is sent to the Secretary of State for approval. They check to see if it is deliverable and if it complies with government guidance.

Previous plans for Bertie Park were always approved because they said “planning permission will only be given if the recreation ground, including the MUGA is moved.” But this is not deliverable. So the new plan can’t mention moving the recreation ground.

Government guidance says that you cannot build on recreational space unless it is replaced by equivalent or better provision in terms of quantity and quality in a suitable location. 80% of people we surveyed think OCC’s plans are well short of the mark.

If OCC still plans to shrink Bertie Park to 1/5th of its current size, their plans won’t comply with government guidance.

Bertie Park News

There’s lots happening. The environment agency objected to OCC’s plans for the bank of the stream. We submitted a complaint to the Local Government Ombudsman. And the council announced that it wanted to appropriate Bertie Park so that it could “regenerate it”. So we went to talk to the council again:

Address to council

What we found out:

OCC will have to amend their plans, so they will have to consult again. They won’t say whether the play area will have to be even smaller. We may have to wait months before it goes to planning committee. But we should find out about the proposed appropriation before that. The next cabinet meeting is on 18th. Watch this space!

Send Objections before 6th October

An advertisement (here) appeared in the Oxford Times on 21st September 2023 saying that Oxford City Council would like to appropriate Bertie Park for housing “in order to deliver the regeneration of Bertie Place Recreation Ground.”

… with apologies to those who are not Dr Who fans. There are lots of reasons (click here) why we don’t think they can or should appropriate Bertie Park. If, they succeed they will be able to do whatever they want with the land. “Any person wishing to raise an objection to this sale may do so in writing to“:

You can also drop it off at 122 Wytham Street. If you would like to add your signature to our objections contact savebertie@gmail.com. We will be collecting signatures on Bertie Park Friday 22nd and 29th from 3.30 – 6.00.

OCC hits problems with the Bertie Park Development

The Development uses the bank of the stream: On the local plan the Bertie Park development is 0.66 hectares. OX Place now say it is 0.77. We think this is because they moved the site boundary to include part of the bank of the stream. This is where the artist’s impression shows kids running round and people picnicking:

The Environment Agency have said that because development includes part of the bank, it will require a Flood Risk Activity Permit. They say that “a permit is unlikely to be granted for the current proposal.”

The new bridge: OX Place need to build a new bridge to give better access to the land behind Wytham Street. This will also need a “Flood Risk Activity Permit”. The Environment agency say it is unlikely that a permit would be granted for the current proposals unless OX Place can demonstrate that the bridge works will neither affect the stream or increase flood risk.

Sustainable drainage systems (SuDS). SuDs help prevent flooding by holding back rain water so that it doesn’t run-off straight away:

The Environment Agency have said that there has to be “a minimum of 1 metre clearance between the base of the infiltration point and the peak seasonal groundwater levels.” They have also said that SuDS “must not be constructed in ground affected by contamination.”

It is not clear how OX Place will meet either of these conditions.

Maintenance of Redbridge Stream: The Environment Agency say they also have concerns about access to Redbridge Stream for maintenance works as the wall of the MUGA might be in the way.

The development will need government approval. OCC will have to refer the application to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government before they are able to grant planning permission.

Please click here to see the Environment Agency guidance.

Do you object to the Bertie Park Development?

OCC have to appropriate the land at Bertie Park if they want to build on it. They can only do this if Bertie Park is not needed. OCC are now consulting their lawyers. They advertised their intention to appropriate Bertie Park, two weeks in a row in the Oxford Times, and asked for objections. OCC will be deciding whether to proceed at their cabinet meeting on 15th November. These are the objections we sent in:

Introduction

Members of the Save Bertie Park Campaign object to appropriation/disposal of their park for planning purposes for the following reasons:

  1. Bertie Park is not surplus to requirements. Explanation
  2. The community has by right had access to Bertie Park recreation ground for 85 years. Explanation
  3. The area of land you wish to appropriate is greater than 250 square yards. Explanation
  4. Access to Bertie Park is important for the health and well-being of our community. Explanation
  5. Without Bertie Park there will be nowhere safe for young people to gather/play. Explanation
  6. The Rivermead Park development was built without a playground of its own because Bertie Park was so close. Explanation
  7. Bertie Park is our only community amenity. Explanation
  8. Bertie Park is used by visitors to the campsite. Explanation
  9. The recreation ground will not be replaced by equivalent or better provision in a suitable location. Explanation

How can anyone make an informed decision if OCC are not willing to be honest?

When we talked to OCC cabinet on 9th August, OCC struggled to reply:

Dave Scholes, Affordable Housing Supply Corporate Lead, replying to our address to cabinet

The play area will be “relatively similar”. This is dishonest. All the current and the new play area have in common is a basket swing. Ours is the best in Oxford. The proposed basket swing is just sad.

“We could have up to 8 or 9 items of play equipment, pending safety requirements.” How is this possible? Earlier this year, we were told that the area of safety surface would be 173 m2 (68% smaller) … enough for 4 items of equipment, a set of stepping logs and a bit of space in between.

The proposed play area will cater for all ages. Since April 2020 all plans have shown a Local Area for Play (LAP). An LAP is for children 0 – 6 within a 1 minute’s walk. The architect said Fields in Trust guidance allows them to put the LAP 5m away from the block of flats. Bertie Park is a Neighbourhood Equipped Area (NEAP) for Play. It caters for children of all ages. Fields in Trust recommend 30m between the play area of an NEAP and housing.

Councillor Brown, Leader of OCC, Leader of Labour group replying to our address to cabinet

According to Cllr Brown, we got the wrong end of the stick because we took our information from the artist’s drawings …. I have spent hours trying to find out the truth from council officials and documents. Anyway. Who told the artist what to draw?

The plans have already been submitted. How can anyone make an informed decision if everything is still “indicative”, and no-one is willing to be honest?

See here for unedited video of the whole cabinet meeting.

Next Steps for Bertie Park

It doesn’t make sense to reduce our recreation ground to 1/5th the size while bringing more people into the area. We still don’t know why Bertie Park is the only recreation ground in Oxford being treated in this way.

At the cabinet meeting on Wednesday 9th August, OCC wanted to do 3 things:

1. Approve the project to build on Bertie Park.

2. Enter into an agreement with OX Place.

3. Start the process for appropriating the land on Bertie Park.

We said there was no point approving the project or entering into an agreement unless they can appropriate the land. OCC agreed. We pointed out just how difficult appropriation will be. Watch our speech below:

What happened at cabinet.

OCC have now started the process of appropriation. They will advertise in the local paper, and consider objections. They say:

“The Cabinet is under a legal obligation to consider all relevant factors including those raised in (our) objections in the decision to appropriate the land. As a result it is possible that the Cabinet will decide not to appropriate the land” on Bertie Park.

Unedited video of the OCC cabinet meeting on 9th August here.