Scrap Westgate redevelopment in favour of building homes, say Greens (From Oxford Mail)
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Scrap Westgate redevelopment in favour of building homes, say Greens
10:30am Wednesday 8th February 2012 in Oxford By Ben Wilkinson
Green party member Sushila Dhall outside the Westgate Centre, which she says should be turned into affordable housing
OXFORD Greens yesterday demanded plans to redevelop the Westgate Centre should be dumped in favour of hundreds of affordable homes because people were not “clamouring” for the £330m scheme.
The plea came as senior Labour councillors on Oxford City Council are today expected to agree to the latest negotiations for Crown Estate and the Land Securities Group to regenerate the centre.
Oxford Green party chairman Sushila Dhall said: “We don’t hear people clamouring for more car parking or chain stores.
“What we see is the desperate shortage of affordable housing in Oxford.”
But yesterday shoppers and the chamber of commerce said the city was in desperate need of a redeveloped Westgate to try to reclaim its prime position as a retail centre.
The long-awaited redevelopment is to include a John Lewis department store and a small amount of housing, with the latest hope of building starting in 2014 and it potentially opening in 2017.
But Ms Dhall said any redevelopment should include affordable homes and small independent shops.
She said: “It is on public land, originally built with public money, and giving it to chain stores is giving it to private sector hands.”
David Williams, leader of the Green group on the city council, said up to 400 homes could be built on the site.
He said: “The days of grand malls are over. In the last few years more and more people are buying online.
“People’s shopping habits are changing.”
Nigel Wild, president of Oxfordshire Chamber of Commerce, said the Greens’ idea was “ill thought out”.
He said: “It is vital it is a shopping site. There is space around the city for houses.
“This is a prime shopping location. It will draw people to Oxford and creates jobs in Oxford.”
City council leader Bob Price said the Greens’ idea was unrealistic.
Jeremy Ginaud, of Breton Crepe Company which trades outside the Westgate, said nearby shopkeepers would benefit from a better shopping centre. He said: “It looks old.”
An agreement is expected to be made at a closed session of the city executive this afternoon which will hand developer Westgate Oxford Alli-ance Partnership, a 100-year lease of the site and car parks.
Are the Greens right? Vote online at oxfordmail.co.uk
Comments(40)
Major Rhode-Werks
says...
11:11am Wed 8 Feb 12
Maybe if the flood gates hadn't been opened to all and sundry we wouldn't have quite such a housing shortage anyway.
farfrom_united
says...
11:33am Wed 8 Feb 12
Oxford is in dire need of improvement, not just to improve the experience of coming to the centre for locals and the people that work here but also at managing the tens of thousands of people that visit. The new centre may not be a silver bullet for all of these problems, but it has to help. Apart from the pedestrianisation of Cornmarket, no one has really addressed these issues for decades.
adfoz
says...
11:56am Wed 8 Feb 12
McDave
says...
12:31pm Wed 8 Feb 12
Oxford taxpayer
says...
1:58pm Wed 8 Feb 12
Bogdan The MeerKat
says...
2:17pm Wed 8 Feb 12
Mona2
says...
2:27pm Wed 8 Feb 12
Mullarkian
says...
3:02pm Wed 8 Feb 12
davyboy
says...
3:51pm Wed 8 Feb 12
LORD PETE MCVAY. OX2 6EG
says...
4:25pm Wed 8 Feb 12
davyboy wrote:If houses were to be built on that site, you can be sure that they will be only for those that can afford seven figures, there aint no way that poor people will be living there.
i hate shopping in oxford, and would rather go to MK or Reading. most major towns and cities have redeveloped their shopping centres, seemingly with the exception of Oxford. if houses are needed, and i'm sure they are, they should not be built in the centre, but on the outskirts, where families can have some space to live in without being squashed together.
Patrick in Devon
says...
4:37pm Wed 8 Feb 12
GaryOxford
says...
5:48pm Wed 8 Feb 12
Also Oxford doesn't need more affordable housing, it needs housing to become affordable, there's a crucial difference.
mandate
says...
7:43am Thu 9 Feb 12
With regards to the huge housing shortage. The solution could be to build attractive high rise apartments on the outskirts of the city. Naturally these would have to be built with consideration to the Oxford skyline.
In Leeds they have some really bright and modern tower blocks. These do not in anyway make the city look ugly.
Building these in Oxford would be an ideal solution for students and young people. This would also free up the many houses that are currently being rented by students. These vacated houses could then be rented to families.
Sid Hunt
says...
8:37am Thu 9 Feb 12
xjohnx
says...
9:54am Thu 9 Feb 12
Gunslinger
says...
10:22am Thu 9 Feb 12
JPOX28 wrote:And note that both of those towns have included improved and adequate car parking as part of those developments. The smaller towns now have short term 'free' parking to encourage shoppers.
Yeh go ahead lose even more people to us (Witney), Didcot And Bicester.
Oxford is not a prime shopping location anymore. And wont be unless the right development is built.
Small scale wont work. Take note of what Milton Keynes and Reading have done!!!!
Oxford seem to have been obsessive about keeping cars out at any cost, and indeed treating car parking as an 'easy' source of income (where else charges £1.50 to Park and Ride?).
EMBOX1
says...
10:39am Thu 9 Feb 12
mattyproper77
says...
11:18am Thu 9 Feb 12
mattyproper77
says...
11:25am Thu 9 Feb 12
mattyproper77
says...
12:16pm Thu 9 Feb 12
sparky123456
says...
1:52pm Thu 9 Feb 12
charlie8386
says...
5:54pm Thu 9 Feb 12
oafie
says...
7:12pm Thu 9 Feb 12
Affordable housing for those that need it and parking with realistic charges would bring more shoppers in without the need for more shops.
oafie
says...
7:14pm Thu 9 Feb 12
Victor Meldrew2
says...
9:15pm Thu 9 Feb 12
Andrew:Oxford
says...
11:17pm Thu 9 Feb 12
Victor Meldrew2 wrote:You're forgetting that the City Council have sold their interest in the Westgate Car Park to the developers.
Spending money on a redeveloped Westgate is a complete waste of money simply because the like of Bob Price have made it so financially unattractive to park or attempt to shop in Oxford - it's too late now, people have found other places to shop - a City destroyed for residents by their representitives.
Unless there is some secret restrictive covenant, the shopping centre owner will be free to charge a suitable market rate for parking.
The council will be getting a "turn" on the retail turnover of the shops instead.
simplicissimus
says...
11:07am Fri 10 Feb 12
mandate wrote:Yes.
I think that Oxford is in need of a total revamp. It is a tragedy that our famous city is so outdated with regards to it's limited shopping facilities. A new Westgate centre would be a good start.
With regards to the huge housing shortage. The solution could be to build attractive high rise apartments on the outskirts of the city. Naturally these would have to be built with consideration to the Oxford skyline.
In Leeds they have some really bright and modern tower blocks. These do not in anyway make the city look ugly.
Building these in Oxford would be an ideal solution for students and young people. This would also free up the many houses that are currently being rented by students. These vacated houses could then be rented to families.
Pyropete
says...
3:10pm Fri 10 Feb 12
Even better build more homes so even more people can drive out of town for a good shop.
Clueless!
Dilligaf2010
says...
4:32pm Fri 10 Feb 12
......Got a good point there GaryOxford
Chilaili
says...
5:07pm Fri 10 Feb 12
greengarden
says...
8:40pm Fri 10 Feb 12
mattyproper77
says...
1:46pm Sat 11 Feb 12
Pyropete wrote:You would rather see what? The existing scheme is ideal? The US model of anchor stores is guaranteed to work? Move to Reading or Milton Keynes?
Yeah well done Greens.... Don't build a shopping centre. Then we'll all use our big cars to drive to MK or Reading!
Even better build more homes so even more people can drive out of town for a good shop.
Clueless!
mattyproper77
says...
10:18pm Sat 11 Feb 12
LORD PETE MCVAY. OX2 6EG
says...
1:15am Sun 12 Feb 12
sparky123456 wrote:It seems like anything resembling the truth is deleted. Just be thankful it was only your post and not your account.
dear oxford mail. care to explain why my post, which focussed purely on the article without prejudice or abuse has been removed??? someone on your staff in league with the Green Party and doesn't like the truth??
LORD PETE MCVAY. OX2 6EG
says...
1:28am Sun 12 Feb 12
mattyproper77 wrote:You just killed your argument about market forces. Other Towns have big comfortable shopping centres because they make their clients (shoppers) feel welcome. Here we make them feel persecuted, by fining them if they happen to stray into one of the restricted areas, by creating artificial traffic jams that cause them to spend a lot of time wasted, and then charging over £20 to park for the day. No wonder the parties involved will not take a risk on the new centre. If this is to change then the persecution of the motorist has to stop. The traffic lights and road junctions need to be tweaked back, to allow traffic to flow, parking needs to be at a cost price, and not used as an exhorbitant tax, and a serious re-think by the powers that be is needed to ensure that P.C. nonsense is not allowed to dictate policy. Then, and only then can we have a new centre that will attract people away from other "friendly" shopping destinations. But then again maybe our leaders are happy to have hoards of people cramming our city centre spending £4 on a Skinny Latte and Lentil Baguette, but not much else.
Why are people blaming OCC for retail failure? ALL DEVELOPMENT IS PRIVATELY FUNDED. The Westgate hasn't been redeveloped yet because the applicants don't believe they can secure an adequate financial return at the present time, they couldn't give a monkey's about the people of Oxford. All this article states is that the Green Party raised the idea of revisiting the planning application - which has ALREADY BEEN GRANTED - as there is little chance of anything happening at the current time. You are witnessing market failure, in terms of the commercial offer and the lack of affordable housing, and still you people blame OCC. I guess parking rates could change, but I'm pretty sure pressure to reduce all other rates is so extreme, as people don't like paying taxes, that this is one way of raising finance for other services. The council can only legislate on USE CLASS, pretty much everything else is left to market forces. We have the free market you want, and this is what you get, so enjoy it and keep buying all that useless tat on your credit cards.
mattyproper77
says...
12:39pm Sun 12 Feb 12
mattyproper77
says...
3:43pm Sun 12 Feb 12
John Lamb
says...
12:54am Mon 13 Feb 12
They are now in the fortunate position of living in an ultra-modern house with all repairs paid for and being able to rent out their old houses and pocket the cash.
Plus they can sell their houses and pocket that cash too.
All thanks to something called the Ruarl Exemption Scheme/Yarnton parish Council and the housing department at Cherwell Council.
With over 3000 on the housing list it does seem...er.....strang
e doesn't it?
Try and ask them why they're giving out social housing to those with their own houses and see if YOU can get an answer....I can't.
LORD PETE MCVAY. OX2 6EG
says...
7:24pm Mon 13 Feb 12
mattyproper77 wrote:ERR do you actually read posts or just one word and then make inane comments? I make a few reasons why it won't be built AND successful.
McVay, you are a troll and I claim my £5. You are saying the ONLY reason the centre hasn't been built is the parking charges? What is PC nonsense?
JPOX28 says...
10:42am Wed 8 Feb 12
Oxford is not a prime shopping location anymore. And wont be unless the right development is built.
Small scale wont work. Take note of what Milton Keynes and Reading have done!!!!