Osney residents fight plans for centralised Oxfordshire probation centre (From Oxford Mail)

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Osney residents fight plans for centralised Oxfordshire probation centre

6:00am Wednesday 1st April 2009 in News By George Hamilton

A PLAN to open a probation centre which could bring hundreds of criminals to an Oxford street has horrified neighbours.

The Ministry for Justice is in talks to lease offices at Trajan House, in Mill Street, West Oxford.

It could mean up to 350 criminals visiting each week – with workshops for sex offenders and people convicted of domestic violence.

And a storm has erupted because neighbours are not being consulted.

The scheme does not involve a change of use of the building and therefore does not come under planning regulations.

Neighbours only found out about the scheme when an anonymous note was put through letterboxes.

Last night Dan Rawstrone, spokesman for a 50-strong action group set up to fight the plan, said: “It is completely underhand. This proposal is all about a megacentre.

“People are very anxious — it feels that this is a deal that has been done behind people’s backs.”

The idea is to centralise a large part of the county’s probabtion services.

The move has been criticised by Banbury MP Tony Baldry who believes it will “damage offender management” by taking the service away from local areas.

Probation services would be centralised at the new Oxford location, although Thames Valley Probation Service would keep an office in Bicester and create another one in Banbury.

Graham McCartney, assistant chief probation officer for Oxfordshire, said the service needed to find a new office as the lease on its existing Oxford base runs out next March. He said: “If and when I have got confirmation the Ministry has secured the building, I will talk to local residents about their concerns.”

Mr McCartney said the new office could open in a year’s time, and the three-storey building would house just under 100 staff.

Existing probation offices in Abingdon, Cowley and Banbury would be closed. Jobs will be cut, but Mr McCartney said it awas hoped this could be achieved by natural wastage.

Father-of-two Matthew Savage, from Barrett Street, which backs on to Trajan House, said: “We are not keen on having 350 offenders — possibly with convictions for violent or sexual crimes — walking down our street. I am absolutely outraged there has been no consultation on this. There are many elderly people here who are fearful of the sort of people this centre will attract. Everyone is horrified.”

The probation service currently deals with 1,500 offenders in Oxfordshire, 400 of which are in prison.

Mr McCartney said he anticipated about 350 criminals, whose crimes range across the whole spectrum of offending, would be required to report to the centre.

The new building could also host workshops for sex offenders and people convicted of domestic violence.

Mr McCartney said the probation service was not legally required to consult residents because the plan did not involve a change of use for the building.

l Neighbours fighting the plan are holding a public meeting at 4.30pm on Saturday at the Railway Club, Mill Street.

news@oxfordmail.co.uk

Comments(13)

Dan Rawstorne says...
8:06am Wed 1 Apr 09

Mill Street and surrounding streets are residential areas, dominated by vulnerable groups such as young children and older residents. A large probation centre is not appropriate for a residential area, particularly where sole access is along a narrow street.
2.A large probation service would have convicted criminals reporting into the area from outside Oxford (such as Bicester, Banbury & Abingdon). Probationers would be reporting here from courts across Oxfordshire but also from the Crown/Magistrates Court, some distance away. Probation services are normally adjacent to courts for efficiency.
3. The proposal would worsen traffic congestion, pollution and road safety on a no-through road with sole access through a narrow terraced street.
4. Crime would inevitably increase and put at risk vulnerable residents such as children, older residents and young people. 350 unaccompanied convicted criminals per week would be reporting here (e.g. paedophiles, violent offenders and burglars) having been released from prison on licence or as part of their sentencing.
5. Most unfairly of all, the local residents and others with an interest in the area have not been consulted at all on this proposal. The most we have been offered is consultation after the lease is signed, which amounts to no consultation at all. Local residents face the prospect of feeling unsafe on their own street and in their own homes, of the security and value of their property deteriorating.
6. The cost of policing the area and need for extra security (CCTV) outside Oxford City Centre will go up significantly in a residential area, where people are already concerned about anti-social behaviour. The cost of extra policing, carbon costs or costs to the taxpayer have not been factored into any financial analysis of the proposal.
7. The route from the courts to Mill Street is difficult to find for those with Sat nav, and even more complex by foot. The pedestrian route would take them past or near to at least two nurseries (Little Scholars and St Thomas’). What happens if probationers get lost?
8. The proposal represents a significant carbon cost for large numbers of probationers and staff travelling from other probation services which would be closed. The proposal results in job losses to other areas such as Banbury at a time when jobs are scarce in those areas. The taxpayer will have to pay the higher costs of train or other travelling costs for probationers.
9. The West End of Oxford is in the process of regeneration and redevelopment. The siting of a large Probation Service close to this development (with access from the courts taking probationers directly through the development), will undermine the West End project and deter investors.
10. Not on Mill Street – it doesn’t make any sense!

This is outrageous: So protest! Write to your MP and sign the petition at http://www.gopetitio
n.com/petitions/cari
ng-for-families-of-n
ew-osney.html

Mill Street and surrounding streets are residential areas, dominated by vulnerable groups such as young children and older residents. A large probation centre is not appropriate for a residential area, particularly where sole access is along a narrow street. 2.A large probation service would have convicted criminals reporting into the area from outside Oxford (such as Bicester, Banbury & Abingdon). Probationers would be reporting here from courts across Oxfordshire but also from the Crown/Magistrates Court, some distance away. Probation services are normally adjacent to courts for efficiency. 3. The proposal would worsen traffic congestion, pollution and road safety on a no-through road with sole access through a narrow terraced street. 4. Crime would inevitably increase and put at risk vulnerable residents such as children, older residents and young people. 350 unaccompanied convicted criminals per week would be reporting here (e.g. paedophiles, violent offenders and burglars) having been released from prison on licence or as part of their sentencing. 5. Most unfairly of all, the local residents and others with an interest in the area have not been consulted at all on this proposal. The most we have been offered is consultation after the lease is signed, which amounts to no consultation at all. Local residents face the prospect of feeling unsafe on their own street and in their own homes, of the security and value of their property deteriorating. 6. The cost of policing the area and need for extra security (CCTV) outside Oxford City Centre will go up significantly in a residential area, where people are already concerned about anti-social behaviour. The cost of extra policing, carbon costs or costs to the taxpayer have not been factored into any financial analysis of the proposal. 7. The route from the courts to Mill Street is difficult to find for those with Sat nav, and even more complex by foot. The pedestrian route would take them past or near to at least two nurseries (Little Scholars and St Thomas’). What happens if probationers get lost? 8. The proposal represents a significant carbon cost for large numbers of probationers and staff travelling from other probation services which would be closed. The proposal results in job losses to other areas such as Banbury at a time when jobs are scarce in those areas. The taxpayer will have to pay the higher costs of train or other travelling costs for probationers. 9. The West End of Oxford is in the process of regeneration and redevelopment. The siting of a large Probation Service close to this development (with access from the courts taking probationers directly through the development), will undermine the West End project and deter investors. 10. Not on Mill Street – it doesn’t make any sense! This is outrageous: So protest! Write to your MP and sign the petition at http://www.gopetitio n.com/petitions/cari ng-for-families-of-n ew-osney.html Dan Rawstorne