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Tents 'blight on landscape'

8:44pm Wednesday 13th June 2007

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Oxford's mushrooming 'Tent City' for homeless people is under threat after increasing complaints about it blighting the landscape.

The encampment of just a few tents has been alongside the Thames towpath on private land at Osney for about three years.

But in the past few weeks it has swelled to 15 tents - and now Dennis Price, the self-styled leader of Tent City as it has been christened, is building himself a wooden home.

Locals and towpath users are now complaining about health hazards and feeling intimidated, while Oxford City Council is investigating if it breaches planning laws. If it does, the campers could be evicted.

But Mr Price said they would not be moving on because there was nowhere else to go.

Father-of-three Peter Marsh, 49, who lives in Osney Island, said the presence of the homeless people could be intimidating for those walking along the towpath.

Mr Marsh said: "The camping site should be broken up and the people should be moved on and council officers should do it.

"I'm a member of Osney Island Boat Club and I canoe on the river with my daughters and there are bits of raw sewage floating in the river.

"The tents are an eyesore when you come into Oxford by train - it is the first thing that catches your eye as you come into the city."

Maureen Ergeneli, 66, who also lives on Osney Island, added: "I think it's an eyesore.

"I often walk my dog down there and the people living there are usually quite friendly, but when friends come to visit me from overseas I feel ashamed because they look aghast when they see it."

When the Oxford Mail visited the site yesterday, Mr Price - alias Snowy - said he had moved between a number of locations over the years including Oxford, Worcester, Cardiff and Swansea, and now wanted to stay put.

He added: "I am building a home out of wood on a pontoon so that my belongings will not get wet. This is my home and I plan to stay."

Mr Price, 59, said he other campers were setting up a chemical toilet at the site.

Peter Bonney, 68, is a volunteer at Headington-based Churchill Community Association and provides food and clothing for the homeless.

He said: "These people are not doing anyone any harm and they should be allowed to stay.

"There is not enough room in the hostels in Oxford."

Michael Crofton Briggs, head of planning at the city council, said it was agricultural land and the council was investigating if people living on it was a change of use.

Ultimately its enforcement action could include breaking up the camp, but spokesman Louisa Dean said that was a long process.

Mr Crofton Briggs added: "The land is Green Belt and a protected landscape site. Any action that we take will involve the landowner and the tenant.

"As a council we have also been working with our partner agencies to try to resolve this situation."

Susanna Pressel, Labour city councillor for Jericho and Osney, said she had received complaints about people feeling intimidated.

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Mick McAndrews, Oxford says...
12:31am Thu 14 Jun 07

Fine let us move them on but where are they going to go? I suppose it is rather unfortunate that the patrons of the Osney Boat Club have their view of the countryside tarnished by the reality of other peoples existence... insofar as those coming into the city via train then what they viewing is also the reality of what it means for some people to live in the City of oxford..... It is not all dreaming spires.....

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Mike, Oxford says...
12:55am Thu 14 Jun 07

I am sorry if it offends a few people but I am tired of hearing the same old stories about where will they go. These sort of actions I agree mare the countryside and we must strive to maintain the ideallic countryside setting. Granted these people may not be affecting anyone in basic terms but it is the thin end of the wedge. Let something exist and someone will come along and push the boundaries further. As the Australians would probably say 'If you dont like it, go soemwhere esle.' We bend over backwards in almost all situations to be PC, when we should be saying the same. This is England I'm proud to be brisitish and all that goes with it. If you dont like it go somewhere else. I like all those old fashioned views and 'STANDARDS'. We all like to see and welcome change, but I say, not at the expense of standards. It is all to easy for these to be dropped, it is far harder to raise them, even for the easy issues.

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kenny bishop, oxford says...
1:20am Thu 14 Jun 07

Are these scroungers paying rent to the landowner?

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barton bill, says...
1:49am Thu 14 Jun 07

set up tipis for them...they look nice...and create composting toilet facilities

it could be made to work

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Amy, West Oxford says...
7:43am Thu 14 Jun 07

Who's saying these people don't have British views and `standards'? They seem nice and polite enough to me, which can't always be said for people living in some of the houses around here. Being able to afford (or pretend to afford whilst being unable to cope with mounting debt) traditional or 'standard' housing does not mean one's moral standards are any higher than those of someone who lives in a tent.

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Viv, Oxford says...
8:41am Thu 14 Jun 07

What a nasty whiff of NIMBY-ism. These people should be applauded for taking the initiative to solve their accommodation problems rather than rely on handouts from the council in the form of hostels, shelters and council houses. In that respect they're the exact opposite of 'scroungers'.

I'd rather live next door to such a community than someone like Kenny Bishop who obviously has no compassion for his fellow human beings that have fallen on hard times.

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peter mcfeely, cowley says...
9:59am Thu 14 Jun 07

people from abroad look aghast cause we have such a homelessness problem in this country/city if mrs ergeneli is ashamed of this then why dont she move elsewhere

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jessica, oxford says...
10:16am Thu 14 Jun 07

totally agree with what Mike said - and also, if i lived near there I would feel very intimidated having to walk past a group of people who appear to have made their home there.

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Jenny, Oxford says...
11:20am Thu 14 Jun 07

Hiding the homeless won't make the problem go away. Of course visitors are horrified; everyone should be disgusted that so many live in desperation on the fringes of such a wealthy society. Homelessness needs dealing with in a positive way. These people are making the best of their situation; they need help, not condemnation.

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KP, Oxford says...
11:32am Thu 14 Jun 07

As a woman, and Botley is my home, I have had to stop walking my dog along the river for being intimidated and also stop cycling to work and back along this route. Suddenly finding yourself alone with a group of men weeing in public view is scary enough. Lets face it, some of these characters have issues which have resulted in not being able to fit into a normal society. It is scary. I always give to charity and never ever judge a person until fact is proven, but you cannot get away from the intimidation factor for a lone woman.

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Realistic, says...
11:57am Thu 14 Jun 07

As someone who has worked in the homeless sector in Oxford since 1991, I can see no benefit in this kind of rough sleeping continuing. There is no reason why anyone should have to sleep rough in Oxford, with all the services offered, in the long term. There are occassions where people are sleeping rough intermittently and these can never be resolved.
If people CHOOSE to live this lifestyle, and not address (with the help of the myriad of support services available to them) the issues surrounding their homelessness, then they must be prepared to do so on approved sites, with adequate facilities to handle daily living.

If people are there with no choice, then they should engage with services (including street outreach, hostels, resettlement services, etc) to get into hostels, and related accommodation ASAP. Supporting this type of living does no one any good in the long term. Ignoring local people or accussing them of nimbyism is helps no one, least of all the rough sleepers.

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Victor, Oxford says...
1:04pm Thu 14 Jun 07

Fire-hose the lot of them!

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Teddy, Botley says...
1:21pm Thu 14 Jun 07

What an eye-sore. I hate seeing people live in a community, trying to cope with basic needs. Why don't they get a house like us proper people. They should also have a car, only normal people have cars.
I can't believe they go to the toilet in a field, that's quite astounding! There are so many places to go to the toilet at all hours of the day. I use my un-suite bathroom. The way they intitmidate people for being there, this is unbelievable. As a fully developed man I feel this threat on our women needs to be sorted. I'd like to put on my suit of armour and protect our women as they are in such terrible danger from this sort.
I can only see my house prices going down now!


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What selfish people, Osney says...
2:11pm Thu 14 Jun 07

Teddy in Botley...ur a ****

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Matt, Osney says...
2:22pm Thu 14 Jun 07

Truth is that these people are unstable and anti-social alchoholics and druggies- often to be seen dealing in and around Osney Cemetery.

For those praising their initative, perhaps they would offer their gardens so my kids don't have to step over the cider bottles, roaches and needles every morning.

The hostels have a zero tolerance policy, which is why they prefer getting wasted in the fresh air.

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dave, bradford says...
3:06pm Thu 14 Jun 07

what a set of bullys. picking on people who have to live in a tent.

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Rupert, Oxford says...
3:27pm Thu 14 Jun 07

I paid a lot of money for my house in this area. These homeless folk may end up effecting the price of my property/investment. Is there anyway these folk can be moved on to somewhere where they want be noticed? Out of site out of mind. I think they would like to be left alone anyway.

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Matt, Osney says...
5:46pm Thu 14 Jun 07

Dave et al.

They don't have to live in a tent. Its a choice. Oxford has more than enough provision for the homeless due to bleeding liberals

These aren't hard up ex squaddies or the divorced fallen on hard times. Go down there - have a look.

Crusties, pikeys and addicts to a man.

Stop apologising for these serial self abusers.

I **** myself laughing when their tents got flooded out earlier in the year.


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Nigel, Oxford says...
7:52pm Thu 14 Jun 07

This situation has to stop, otherwise we'll have every Tom, Dick, and Harry pitching up a tent so they can get a nights kip. We have to think of our property values! We pay a lot of money in interest payments for our property investments, the last thing we need is these low-life scum bags ruining it for us. I don't understand why these scum bags don't move out of the country or live under a bridge where they can't be seen. The Police should move them along - preferably to France.

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Sarah, Oxford says...
9:57pm Thu 14 Jun 07

There are plenty of fac ilities in Oxford for the homless. There is no reason for these people to be living there. Just as with gypsies no one has the right to just go where they like - otherwise there would be chaos.

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Felicity, Oxford says...
3:24am Fri 15 Jun 07

As an Oxford resident, I find these tent people disgusting and a blight on our beautiful city. We all work hard to buy our houses, and I don't want the value of mine put in jeopardy by a bunch of losers. I read somewhere that the prisons are full, so putting them there is not an option. We need to start thinking outside the box to fix this problem before it gets out of hand. What is we draft a new law that will allow us to deport these people to some other country? I read somewhere that we did this before a long time ago, and we sent people to Australia, just a thought.

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dave, bradford says...
7:21am Fri 15 Jun 07

i think its superb. i hope it does drop the value of your homes and you all end up in neg. equity for being self-centred and greedy. in fact for my holidays i might buy myself a tent and set up there. great stuff!

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Realistic, Oxford says...
9:46am Fri 15 Jun 07

So what do you think of the Reconnesction Policy in Oxford Dave, which these rough sleepers are victims/products of? I am sure they don't think it is 'superb' to be in the position they are.

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dave, bradford says...
10:15am Fri 15 Jun 07

i think the reconnection policy is a spectacular waste of tax-payers money. along with 'Michael Crofton Briggs' salary and probably 90% of his over-bloated publicly funded department. sack the lot and build some more housing and we might be heading in the right direction.

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Teddy, says...
1:17pm Fri 15 Jun 07

Felicity wrote:
As an Oxford resident, I find these tent people disgusting and a blight on our beautiful city. We all work hard to buy our houses, and I don't want the value of mine put in jeopardy by a bunch of losers. I read somewhere that the prisons are full, so putting them there is not an option. We need to start thinking outside the box to fix this problem before it gets out of hand. What is we draft a new law that will allow us to deport these people to some other country? I read somewhere that we did this before a long time ago, and we sent people to Australia, just a thought.
Glad to here people are on board with my way of thinking. I can't stand the site of these people who 'choose' this way of life. Just imagine what people are thinking when they are on the train into Oxford from London. I can hear 'Dirty Oxford'...'I'm not buying a house here...it will only go down in value'
There are many more on my side here and we should get rid of these scum in some way. In my grandfather's day we would of just shot them, but that's PC culture for you. Austraila isn't far enough!!!!! Won't someone realise I have to protect my wife and children from this mob. They should get real jobs and proper homes. Like all us decent people!!!!

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dave, bradford says...
2:06pm Fri 15 Jun 07

teddy, it sounds like those people need protecting from you and not the other way round. people who havent done anything to you yet you call them scum, want to either murder them or send them to the other side of the planet. i think it's you that's the problem.

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vic turner, eynsham says...
8:03am Mon 18 Jun 07

I would like to pick up on the point made by mick andrews about the views by the patrons of Osney boat club on tent city as it has been named. I have been a member of Osney marina for nearly 11 years and most of us feel sorry for people having to live in this situation. we have not seen or heard of any problems from these people and they do keep the place tidy. our biggest concern should be that the council should do a bit more for thees people and make there condition better still

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Hi, Oxford says...
3:30pm Mon 1 Sep 08

The only people against these homeless are those who are worried about the price of their properties going down, not because they have done anything. Greed is a wonderful thing do you not think.

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The camp at the side of the towpath in Osney The camp at the side of the towpath in Osney

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