The 2023 planning statement (PS 2023) said: “the proposed Development represents an exciting opportunity to remediate a contaminated site”. The 2026 Planning Statement (PS 2026) re-states the client brief which “assisted in guiding the design process;” the first of 6 design principles is: “To upgrade a currently underused site and aid housing need within the area” .
The problem is that there is no objective evidence that Bertie Park is underused. In materials for the 2022 consultation , OX place actually described “the public realm and the green open space” on Bertie Park as “well used,” but at the consultation, OX place representatives appeared genuinely surprised when we showed them the video below:
| NPPF 11 (b) strategic policies should, as a minimum, provide for objectively assessed needs for housing and other uses. NPPF 103: “Planning policies should be based on robust and up-to-date assessments of the need for open space, sport and recreation facilities (including quantitative or qualitative deficits or surpluses) and opportunities for new provision.” |
Technical Advice Note 9 (2025 p.5) states “Outdoor sport and recreation facilities shown on the Policies Map as protected by Policy G5 are in use and not surplus.” Bertie Park is not on the policies map. It was removed in September 2024 from the list of Oxford Parks because of the threat of development; local bye-laws no longer apply to Bertie Park. But TAN9 states that “other open spaces that are not protected on the Policies Map would need to be considered on a case-by-case basis, with strong evidence that they are surplus, if an attempt is to be made to argue that they are. It is likely this case would need to demonstrate a long-term lack of public access and/or use.”
- The Play Area Action Framework analysed the results of the 2005 Green Space Study which assessed the quantity, quality, and value of all green space in Oxford including play facilities. It identified 16 play areas as surplus to requirement, but proposed a refurbishment programme for the rest, including Bertie Park. The decommissioning of redundant play areas was in fact abandoned following consultation.
- The Green Infrastructure Study 2022 page 48 did not judge Bertie Park to be surplus to requirement, but highlighted its value: “In general, the smaller open spaces appear to be delivering fewer functions. Examples of smaller sites providing high numbers of functions include Bertie Park in New Hinksey…”
Save Bertie Park Oxford 