It is with a reluctant and heavy heart that I’ve decided to campaign for the University and the Labour-run city council to rectify the disaster of the Port Meadow flats.
As an environmentalist first and foremost, the fact that these human sheds were ever considered appropriate appals me, but I am also a pragmatist. I know to rectify this catastrophe will be expensive – though I doubt as expensive as the University would have us believe.
It will also reduce the number of accommodation units in a city with a housing crisis – though only by 38 rooms.
These are both deeply regrettable but unless we draw a line in the sand now this will happen again and again.
The University have shown astonishing arrogance verging on contempt for Oxford’s residents.
It only produced their “voluntary” Environmental assessment after the Save Port Meadow campaign took them to court. It then, predictably, stated the cheapest option was the only one it was prepared to consider – and all before the new consultation had even started.
Meanwhile, Labour have run this city for the last six years and allowed the planning arrangements locally to become so dysfunctional that the consultation on the Roger Dudman Way application “failed” – the verdict of the independent inquiry by Vincent Goodstadt into the fiasco. This major planning shambles took place on Labour’s watch and they show no evidence of making any meaningful changes to the system.
So unless we are prepared to say enough is enough now, we’ll be back in this situation before too long. Oxford deserves better.
Tim Bearder
Liberal Democrat Candidate for North Ward
Today’s letters
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