Oxford desperately needs social housing, but at what cost? There is a reason why government policy says that you shouldn’t build on recreation grounds unless they are replaced. Building on Bertie Park would have a major impact on the everyday lives of families at this end of the ward. It is only right that they know the facts.

There is a problem when policy is not formed by debate, but decided along party lines. It then becomes necessary to make the facts fit policy, rather than produce policy which fits the facts. The facts become enemies.

We put posters up in the park making the facts clear. Since the start of the survey, they are now being torn down.

We have heard that people have been instructed not to fill in our survey. What are we asking?

Progress is slow, but the response so far is massive. We will obviously share the results of our survey with the council, but we won’t share names and addresses. That’s only reasonable. If the council need, for any reason, to verify our data, we will only share it with an independent agent under our supervision.

Oxford City Council want to replace Bertie Park “like with like as far as the space constraints allow”. The new recreation area will have everything it has now. It will have a play garden, a Multi-Use Games Area and space for free play. But everything will be much, much smaller. There will also be a small wildflower meadow with a path and a couple of benches. This is not safe for unaccompanied children as it can’t be seen from the park. It is more suitable for dog walking or drug dealing.

This video shows just how busy Bertie Park can get :

We asked how many children the new recreation area was designed for. The new play garden is designed for families with children aged 0-6 within a 1-minute walk.

So, where will all the other kids play when they come out of school? We will let you know as soon as we find out.

If the new recreation area can’t cater for all ages, it won’t be a community space.

Oxford City Council has a policy that “existing open space, sports and recreational buildings and land … should not be built on unless the loss resulting from the proposed development would be replaced by equivalent or better provision in terms of quantity and quality in a suitable location”. (Green spaces, biodiversity, and open-air sports)

This is taken word for word from UK government policy. (Government National Planning Policy Framework. Section 99)

Are the new proposals equivalent to or better than our current recreation ground?

The new plans show that there is very little space for anything. The new MUGA (Multi Use Games Area) will be 24m long. This is 4 metres shorter than our current MUGA. It is only marked out for basketball. There are no goal areas! Putting them in would make it even shorter. There will be steps down into the MUGA, and seating on two sides.

The play park is so small that there is only room for 4 items of play equipment. There are benches at one end otherwise the playground would be under the windows of the flats. The playground is no longer flat so there are disabled access paths and shrubbery. We can’t re-use our basket swing as there is just not enough room.

We now have the plans for the Bertie Park Development. You have until the 18th of November to tell Oxford City Council what you think. Click here for the council’s plans and click here for the survey.

One question asks what we would prefer for communal space on site A. Both the MUGA and play area will be smaller than before. This will give us a little strip of grass. Taking down the fence at the edge of the park gives access to the bank of the ditch. This is really steep. How do we want to use this new communal space?

The only space for free play will be on site B:

This will not be visible from the play area and MUGA. The police have said that this is not safe for unaccompanied children. It is difficult to understand why our community no longer deserves a recreation ground. If they build on Bertie, which recreation ground will be next?

Click here for the Save Bertie Web Site

“The reason (Bertie Park) was considered above other parks in the city was because it was previously a landfill site so was designated as a Brownfield site – a site that had previously been developed. The site was also allocated for development before any play equipment had been installed”.

Statement relayed to the campaign 18.10.22

There are a couple of problems with this.

• Bertie Park recreation ground has been part of our community since 1938. Local residents say it has always had play equipment, except during the war when it was used as allotments. 
• Bertie Park is not a brownfield site. The council’s own definition of brownfield land “excludes open spaces and land where the remains of previous use have blended into the landscape, or have … amenity use and cannot be regarded as requiring development”. 2036 Local Plan. p217
• OCC did not use waste for landfill in this area, but land-raising to prevent flooding. It is not fair that our area can’t have a recreation ground simply because most of it is built on landfill.
• If Bertie Park was “considered above other parks”, this means OCC considered building on other parks and recreation grounds as a way to solve Oxford’s housing crisis. If they build on Bertie, which recreation ground will be next?

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.