Fight is on to save meadow

6:10pm Thursday 2nd October 2008

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Battle lines have been drawn in a bid to save an Oxford meadow used by the community for almost a century.

Residents living next to Oxpens Meadow alongside the ice rink — want it recognised as a Town Green to protect it from being developed as part of the West End scheme to regenerate the area.

Half the meadow, which was bought by Oxford City Council in 1923, is identified in the local plan as available for development. This would just leave a triangular section of land away from Oxpens Road, flanked by the River Thames and Castle Mill Stream, for community use.

Now St Ebbes New Development Resident Association (Sendra) wants to force the West End development blueprint back to the drawing board. The move would not affect the currently stalled redevelopment of the Westgate Centre on the opposite side of Oxpens Road.

Sendra chairman Mark Luntley, a former city council finance director, said he was confident they could win. He said: "If they take as much as they are proposing it just wouldn't be a viable space.

"We’re not trying to mess up the proposal for the Westgate or for the redevelopment of the area.

"We know it needs to be done, but this is the only green space in the area and will be even more important when the new homes, 65 per cent of them apartments, are built. "

Sendra will have to prove to Oxfordshire County Council that the meadow has been used for recreation for at least 20 years by local people.

Town Green applications are not without controversy.

Campaigners saved a slice of the Trap Grounds, near Port Meadow, from development when they took on the city council, which wanted to build houses on the land.

The costly case went all the way to the High Court, but the community campaigners eventually won.

And in Sunningwell, near Abingdon, residents fought a campaign to prevent development on land next to the village church.

In 1997, Sendra backed the successful fight against plans to build a leisure village, complete with a multi-screen cinema, bingo hall, and casino, on Oxpens Meadow. Peter Clark, County Hall's head of legal services, said the application had been received and the next stage would be to hear evidence from interested parties.

Sendra has collected more than 60 letters and statements from people who use the meadow regularly.

A city council spokesman said if development went ahead the remaining land would be enhanced with play areas, gardens and a wetland nature area.