The plans return to the table
A controversial proposal to build 31 affordable homes on Bertie Park in Oxford will face renewed scrutiny next week, as councillors prepare to reconsider the housing development plans that has divided the local community.
Oxford City Council’s planning review committee is due to meet on Wednesday, 09 September, after 12 councillors called in the application for further debate.
The £9 million scheme, being brought forward by the council’s housing company, Ox Place, was approved in June. Council officers are now recommending that the committee approve the plans again.
In its report to councillors, the council said the proposal remained acceptable under national and local planning policies and that there were no adverse impacts sufficient to justify refusing the application.
But for opponents of the development, the issue extends beyond the number of homes being proposed. They argue that the scheme would come at the expense of one of the area’s remaining green spaces and could change how the park is used by local residents.
A park at the centre of the dispute
The campaign group Save Bertie Park has opposed development on the site since 2019 and says it intends to continue its campaign following the original approval.
A survey conducted by the group found that hundreds of people use the park, with respondents expressing concerns about the condition and quality of the space following development.
The council’s planning portal also records hundreds of objections to the proposals.
Among those opposing the scheme is Susan Barnes, who said she believed the development would remove an important place for children to play and for residents to enjoy open grass.
“I object to the proposed development 100%,” she said. “It is poorly thought through.”
Alice Wheaver said she was concerned about the potential effects on noise, light and community space, as well as the suitability of the site for housing.
“There are just better spaces for the local housing need to be fulfilled,” she said, arguing that the council should consider alternative sites.
The objections raised during the planning process have included concerns over parking, including issues raised by the community and police, as well as the loss or reduction in the quality of recreational and sports facilities.
Flood risk has also featured among residents’ concerns.
The case for building the homes
The council’s position is rooted in a very different pressure: Oxford’s shortage of affordable housing.
When the plans were approved in June, cabinet member for housing Linda Smith said the city’s housing crisis was affecting thousands of residents, including families facing overcrowding, high rents and a lack of secure affordable accommodation.
Of the 31 homes proposed, 22 would be council homes.
Smith said those homes could make a “real difference” at a time when around 4,000 households are on the council’s waiting list.
The council has also argued that the revised design responds to feedback received during the planning process.
Under the proposals, new play areas would be positioned at the centre of the development, while a new bridge and nature trail would provide access to an area of green space that the council says many residents do not currently use.
That creates the central question facing councillors next week: whether the public benefit of new affordable housing can justify building on a site that opponents regard as an important piece of existing community infrastructure.
A decision still to come
The planning review committee’s meeting will not simply revisit an abstract planning dispute. It will bring into focus competing pressures that are increasingly familiar across Oxford: the need to provide more affordable homes and the difficulty of finding land for them without affecting established communities, green spaces or recreational facilities.
For Save Bertie Park and other objectors, the argument is that this particular site should not be sacrificed when alternatives may exist.
For the council, the development represents an opportunity to provide much-needed affordable housing while redesigning the site with new play and public-realm facilities.
Councillors will now have the opportunity to consider those competing claims when the Bertie Park proposals return for review on 09 September.
Reporting contribution by Isabella Harris, Local Democracy Reporter (LDR) for Oxfordshire, covering local politics, council meetings and planning decisions across six councils in the county.
