Power to the people (From Oxford Mail)

Power to the people

7:00am Monday 22nd February 2010 in

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WHEN chief probation officer Gerry Marshall revealed Macmillan House had been chosen for a new Oxford headquarters, perhaps he should have been waving a white flag.

The unveiling of the St Aldate’s office earlier this month signalled the end of controversial proposals to build a mega-probation centre in a residential street in west Oxford – and defeat for Thames Valley Probation service.

For almost a year, people in Mill Street fought the proposal, which would have led to the conversion of Trajan House to cater for 350 offenders.

But the victory echoed one of a series of recent wins for people power across the county – with one campaigner suggesting that protests are taken more seriously now.

From the fight to save patches of land from developers to beating plans for waste incinerators, Oxfordshire folk have pulled together to hammer home their messages.

Rosemary Preston, an honorary fellow of the Centre for Research in Ethnic Relations at Warwick University, said a multi-pronged approach to their campaign made it difficult for Thames Valley Probation to make progress.

“Thames Valley Probation did not have a clue about the range of skills that were available among residents in the street,” she said.

“They certainly could not see the multiple directions we would take the campaign in.”

One of the first decisions that West Oxford Campaign Against Mega-Probation Centre (Wocamp) made was to contact other community campaigns, including the battle to save Radley Lakes, and the fight to save the Trap Grounds – a patch of scrubland near Port Meadow in north Oxford used for years by residents.

In both these instances, lobby groups succeeded in fighting off proposals from developers.

In the first instance, a determined campaign led to npower backing down from a proposal to dump ash in lakes, which residents claimed were part of a popular open space.

At Port Meadow, the city council wanted to build social housing on the site, but was forced to back down after the land was declared a Town Green.

Mrs Preston added: “The advice from Catherine Robinson, who led the fight to save the Trap Grounds, was crucial.

“She advised us we could need £60,000 in case we wanted to take the case to a judicial review and the High Court.

“We managed to raise about £20,000 quite quickly and that gave us hope that more money would be forthcoming if we needed it.

“By talking to other campaign groups we also realised that the same firm of solicitors was involved more or less every time.”

Mrs Preston said Wocamp received invaluable advice from Radley Lakes campaigners, who advised them to make sure every different social group was represented.

Campaigners trying to protect Warneford Meadow in Headington from development were also contacted by Mrs Preston.

Now that the battle has been won, the fighting fund of about £20,000 is expected to be refunded to donors.

And Mrs Preston is hoping that the community spirit in Mill Street and the surrounding area will not fade away, and that the Railway social club nearby can be relaunched.

“One of the reasons for our success was that we reached out to everybody and the campaign straddled the social range,” she said.

“At our last meeting, an 80-year-old bricklayer came up to me and said, ‘20 years ago, they would have walked all over us’.”

Susanna Pressel, Labour city councillor for Jericho and Osney, said: “It was remarkable to see how the Mill Street campaigners learned from previous campaigns and shared knowledge.

“They were superbly organised right from the start and called on the expertise of different people in the area including lawyers, planners and fundraisers.

“I hope future community campaigns will look at how residents worked together and we will put all the information on a website so that they can see exactly what steps they took.

“A Mill Street residents’ association will also be set up as an offshoot of the West Oxford Community Association.”

Oxford West and Abingdon MP Dr Evan Harris said the Mill Street campaign and the fight to save Radley Lakes were similar because they were research-led.

“In both cases, campaigners did their homework and were not superficial in their approach,” he told the Oxford Mail.

“Through me, Mill Street residents were able to meet government ministers, which must have had an impact on the approach of Thames Valley Probation service.”

Callum McKenzie, of Sutton Courtenay Against the Incinerator, said: “We have worked very closely with residents in Ardley to show we are all committed to ridding Oxfordshire of an Incinerator because none of us wants to be accused of ‘nimbyism’.

“It makes good sense for different groups to talk to each other about how to take on big business.

“I sat in on some Radley Lakes meetings and was able to see how they worked hard to get media coverage both in newspapers and online.”

Residents in Wolvercote, who are contesting the Northern Gateway business park development at Pear Tree, were quick to recognise the hallmarks of a successful campaign last year.

They picked the brains of Mill Street residents in October – months before probation bosses finally threw in the towel.