'I just hate it' says man of house he wants to bulldoze (From Oxford Mail)

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'I just hate it' says man of house he wants to bulldoze

6:00pm Thursday 29th September 2011 in News By Damian Fantato

Conservation groups are against plans to demolish this 19th century home and replace it with flats

A Headington man with a history of battling the council has become embroiled in a fresh planning row after applying to demolish a house he can’t stand the sight of.

More than 30 years after buying a house in Old Headington to make the perfect family home, Martin Young has asked Oxford City Council if it can be demolished.

Mr Young has hit Oxford Mail headlines before after challenging the city council’s backing of Oxford Brookes University’s new £132m campus.

And in 2010 he also stirred controversy again when he attempted to turn a patch of land at Long Wall into a rubbish tip.

But his latest plan has met with opposition from conservation groups as 29 Old High Street lies in the heart of the Old Headington conservation area. Mr Young, 66, has applied to demolish the now vacant 19th century home and replace it with five three storey terraced houses.

It came after the city council ordered him in August to take action to improve the property.

He said: “I have a strong emotional block towards going anywhere near it. It has affected me quite badly.”

When asked how he would redevelop the house without going near it he said: “I will cross that bridge when I come to it.”

The property developer, who lives in Headington Hill, bought the property in 1978 with the intention of turning it into a family home if he married. He never did and ended up only sleeping in the property while he worked at his nearby mother’s house.

Mr Young then moved in with his mother Evelyn when she needed 24-hour care. She died last year at the age of 98 and he has remained at the family home in Headington Hill.

The Old Headington property has been vacant for five years and he said he cannot stand the sight of the building. He said: “The house, in my view, is no longer relevant. The development will be absolutely sympathetic to the conservation area.

“If you ask anyone with an open mind they will agree that it is a site for redevelopment.”

Stella Welford, of Friends of Old Headington, said: “We do not think it is a good idea because it is within the conservation area.”

The property is listed by Save, which campaigns for threatened historical buildings, on its annual Buildings at Risk register.

Save spokesman William Palin said: “We are concerned to hear of any building which is featured on our list being demolished.

“The buildings which we select are chosen because they are interesting or important. It is a particular concern to us that this building is in a conservation area.

“We would expect the council to resist any plans for demolition until the application has satisfied the strigent conditions which are required as part of the planning process.”

A spokesman for the city council said it imposed the improvement order as the property had fallen into a severe state of disrepair.

The spokesman added: “It was issued as a last resort after we had tried to work with the homeowner to bring the house up to a satisfactory standard. We have a remit to bring empty properties back into use and a standard for properties in conservation areas.”

Comments(26)

grumpyofwhitecross says...
6:40pm Thu 29 Sep 11

I fail to see how 5 three storey houses can replace 1 and still be sympathetic, given it is in a conservation area and the footprint of the existing house is not very big !!! What about parking ???