Neighbours grumble at village's snarl-up (From Oxford Mail)

Neighbours grumble at village's snarl-up

12:00pm Saturday 5th May 2012 in Oxford By Damian Fantato, covering Summertown, Jericho and North Oxford. Call me on 01865 425429

Neighbours in a village within Oxford have complained about traffic chaos caused by a building site.

The Bricklayers Arms in Old Marston is being converted into a four-bedroom house, with five new homes being built in the grounds.

But construction lorries going down the narrow streets have often got stuck.

Parish council chairman Charlie Haynes said: “It is an absolute nightmare.

“You get these big lorries and diggers and some people cannot even get out of their drives.

“I tried to get around past St Nicholas Church and it took me 25 minutes.

“We would like the construction drivers to be a little bit more considerate to the people who live in the area.

“Maybe they could spread themselves out a bit more rather than having such a large amount of big vehicles down a lane.”

Mr Haynes said the problem had been made worse by the fact that there are no parking restrictions in the area and the number 14 bus also stops near the site. Old Marston is a conservation area and Oxford City Council considers its “narrow, enclosed lanes” a positive feature of the area.

Another resident, Roy Jones, said: “Over the last few weeks we have had lorries stuck in Mill Lane and traffic caught in Church Lane because someone parked a car there.”

Final orders for The Bricklayers Arms were called in December 2010 and the city council gave planning permission for the redevelopment at the end of last year.

Old Marston resident Nils Bartleet said: “It is a big site and a difficult area to deal with but that is their problem. They took it on.”

Aylesbury-based developer Rectory Homes said no-one was available for comment on the issue.

City council spokesman Louisa Dean said the developer had submitted information required by the planning permission, including a plan for how construction traffic would operate. She added: “We will be assessing the details of the plan, if necessary, in liaison with the county council as highway authority.”

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