Sir – With its proposal to sell a corner of Bury Knowle Park for housing, Oxford City Council appears to have come up with a cunning plan that will enable it to capitalise on this and other parks.
The steps are, firstly, fence off part of a park to use as a parks depot.
Secondly, use the area for long-term storage and let it become a bit of an eyesore.
Thirdly, designate the area as brown-field and hence appropriate to use for building.
Lastly, ask the council’s own planning department to grant permission for a housing development. The outcome is a piece of land, which in the Bury Knowle case, is valued at £400,000. To make things even better, the proposal put forward is for ten flats but no parking spaces, so increasing the pressure on the existing, very small car park at Bury Knowle. Presumably, though, the council could then enlarge the car park and introduce parking charges, as at Cutteslowe, to give a nice little earner.
In a few years, the St Clements precedent implies that part of the car park could be zoned for housing or student flats, so bringing another windfall. Where will it end?
Shame about Bury Knowle Park, though. It’s currently an attractive and popular amenity and all credit to the council for the way it has improved and maintained the area. It would be even better if amenity and environmental considerations could outweigh economic advantage and persuade the council simply to incorporate the unwanted depot back into the park.
John Jeffs, Headington