PEOPLE living on Oxford estate say they have been ignored in plans for a multi-million-pound regeneration project. Blackbird Leys residents took to a parish council meeting to vent their frustration with Oxford City Council and its housing development partner Catalyst over the plans to build 290 new homes on the estate – some of which they say will be too expensive for local people. The £100m redevelopment will provide new shops, new homes, and upgraded community facilities. But throughout the meeting, parish councillors and residents highlighted several problems with the plans. Issues ranged from not providing affordable houses to key workers, creating further divides between those in privately rented homes and those in council houses, as well as building on green land in the area.
Estate being ignored on multi-million regeneration plans for Oxford s Blackbird Leys thisisoxfordshire.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from thisisoxfordshire.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Campaign to save The Wheatsheaf âlong way from victoryâ
MUSIC lovers are celebrating after plans to turn Oxford city centre’s last real gig venue into flats were withdrawn. But they say their campaign to save The Wheatsheaf, off High Street, is a ‘long way from victory’ – with fears it may never reopen. The battle is now on to reopen the upstairs venue it and prevent it being left empty and unused. Its owners had submitted plans to Oxford City Council to turn the first-floor venue into nine student flats, a shared kitchen area and common areas. But in an unexpected change, the application was withdrawn following concerns from council officers who are thought to have been recommending refusal on the grounds of the loss of a community facility, the poor quality of accommodation proposed, harm to a local heritage asset and inadequate consideration of refuse storage.
Campaign to save The Wheatsheaf long way from victory thisisoxfordshire.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from thisisoxfordshire.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Oxford Civic Society shares the dismay. Ian Green, chairman of Oxford Civic Society We support the city council’s aim, set out in the Oxford Local Plan, to facilitate a vibrant local economy and cultural diversity, and venues like the Wheatsheaf are an essential grass roots part of that, both in the city and beyond. A key component of the Local Plan is to ensure that the Oxford city region is a centre of innovation. We tend to think that innovation relates to scientific and technological developments, but it also applies to developments in the cultural arena. Contemporary rock, metal, indie, reggae and jazz bands presented and, in some cases, nurtured in The Wheatsheaf have been a grass roots feature of the UK’s hugely successful and internationally-renowned creative music industry.