COUNCILLOR David Henwood (May 22) supports the developers wanting to open a Hungry Horse pub in Cowley whilst freely admitting that many residents are opposed to this development.

The question arises: who does he think he was elected to represent, the residents or developers?

Local concerns around the proposal focus mainly on traffic. Rymers Lane is already very busy for a residential road and some local cyclists have advocated cycle routes through Florence Park to avoid using it because they feel unsafe. This development would increase traffic on Rymers Lane.

Council officers are concerned about the safety implications of mixing car parking and HGV deliveries – and rightly so. Why then does the pub chain not look at alternatives such as free parking vouchers for their guests to use the two nearby, underused multi-storey car parks: Castle car park and Knights car park?

This would steer traffic away from Rymers Lane, make better use of an underused public resource and increase council revenue. Both car parks would need to open longer than their current times but the increased revenue should make this feasible.

Local residents claim that the area now proposed for the Hungry Horse car park had been allocated to social housing in the past.

Is the need for social housing in the Oxford urban area not far more pressing than the need for yet another restaurant? There is already a pub/restaurant just over the road.

The council should consider re-zoning and purchasing this site and building much-needed social housing for local residents alongside the existing housing on Rymers Lane.

HAZEL DAWE
Treasurer, Oxfordshire Green Party
Bulan Road
Oxford