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.

Will OCC be able to build on Bertie Park?

Bertie Park was in the Oxford Mail last week: Oxford protesters object to Council’s plan for homes on play park

On Wednesday 9th August, Oxford City Council Cabinet will be asked to agree to appropriate the land on Bertie Park under section 122 of the 1972 Local Government Act (here). They need to do this before they can build on it.

There is a problem. The law says that councils can only appropriate sites less than 250 square yards. Bertie Park is 7,894 square yards.

If they can’t appropriate the land, does that mean they can’t build on it? We will find out on Wednesday.

There are laws protecting recreation grounds. If can they build on Bertie Park, they can build on any recreation ground in England.

What next for Bertie Park?

Oxford City Council say that Bertie Park has been on the local plan for 20 years. This is what the notices on our lamp posts say:

This means that they can’t just build on Bertie. The proposals were supposed to go to the planning committee in August. Now it is October or November. The 1972 Local Government Act (here) says that they will have to “appropriate” the land first. This means they will have to do 3 things:

  1. Show that the park is no longer needed

2. Put an advertisement in the local paper for 2 weeks in a row

3. Consider any objections

Watch out for the consultation! But this time they will have to listen. Watch this space.

Meanwhile, they will be carrying out more very invasive investigations on Bertie Park on 24th & 25th July, “similar to what has happened previously”. Waste of money, or what? The picture above shows what it looked like when somebody removed the manhole cover from one of the holes they made last time.

What the Save Bertie Park Campaign said to Oxford City Council

Save Bertie Park address to Oxford City Council 17.7.23

Councillor Linda Smith replied on behalf of the council. You can read her reply here. There’s a lot that we would question. We have asked her to explain the last 2 paragraphs.

We think that the proposals will go before planning committee on 15th August. Watch this space!

Roughly 260 people objected to the Council’s proposals. 2 people supported. Here is the Save Bertie Park Campaign objection to the proposals: objection

Is Bertie Park underused?

Counting the number of people is not a good way to work out if something is needed.

  • Should you get rid of a bus route if there is no-one at the bus stop at 3 o’ clock in the afternoon?
  • Should you get rid of empty hospital beds?
  • A good cycle path is not one which is used by lots of people, but one which saves lives.

Oxford City Council policy is that everyone should be 400m away from a small park, and 750m away from a medium size park like Bertie.

Many local children go to Lake Street school. It has no grass. After school, many kids come to Bertie Park to run around and let off steam. One 19-year-old met his best friend playing football on Bertie Park at the age of 9. Bertie Park is a life-line to many: the mum whose son has ADHD, and the grandmother acting as a foster parent for her grandson.

How to find out if Bertie Park is underused: Come along. Sit down for a while. Enjoy the peace and quiet until the next group of young people arrives.

Noise Problems on Bertie?

The Bertie Park Planning application includes a Noise Assessment Report. The new development will include 31 homes, a small play area for kids up to the age of 5, and a Multi Use Games area (MUGA)

The current MUGA is 40m away from all houses. The new houses will be 12m away. Measurements show that there could be problems.

OX place hope that the MUGA will be only used during the daytime; that noise from the MUGA won’t go on too long, or be too loud.

If things go wrong, they suggest:

  • A simple way to report noise complaints, damage and/or misuse.
  • Restricting when the MUGA can be used.

We have a recreation ground where young people of all ages can gather. They can shout, and scream, and let off steam. How long will it be long before the new residents are driven to put out the “no ball game” signs.

Works on Bertie Park

The investigation work started today. It turns out to be really quite invasive. They have brought along gravel and concrete and are inserting pipes to measure the ground water. You can see all the kit, including a large skip to remove waste.

The plans have been submitted. There are already pages and pages of test results. But they are not waiting until August to find out if they are going to get planning permission. They are spending even more rate payers’ money on even more ground investigations.

OCC’s Senior Development officer told one of the campaign members that “they have no idea what is under there”.

If you want comment on the planning application, this link will take you straight there. We have until June 19th.

How much more do we have to take?

Below is a summary of a letter written to the Oxford Times by Councillor Smowton:

Click here for the full version. There are 4 problems with Councillor Smowton’s letter.

  1. Government Laws control the process to be followed if a council wants to build on one of its recreation grounds. It is far from guaranteed that plans will receive planning permission.
  2. For 2 years, OCC has done its best to pretend that it is not depriving children of a play space. Even if the buildings were as tall as the London Shard, it would not justify depriving children of a play space.
  3. OCC should not be pitting recreation grounds against social housing.
  4. There are 86 other parks and recreations grounds in Oxford. We are the only community that is being asked to sacrifice our park for social housing.