DORIC said they had listened to the community and made improvements to their proposal for the development of West Way but having seen the full planning application I can only conclude that they have not.

Do Doric not realise that by adding a gym into their plans they are putting our local swimming pool at risk? Membership fees at the Brookes sport pool on Harcourt Hill heavily subsidise the pool, so if residents start using a new gym it will not be financially viable to keep the pool open. And I wonder how local B&B owners feel about the addition of a budget hotel to the plans?

Anyone who has looked at the planning application (rather than Doric’s artists’ impressions) can see the scale of the proposal is still enormous and the height still dwarfs the surrounding buildings. The residents of Field House still stand to lose their homes, traffic congestion would still be made unbearable and the much-loved Elms Parade building would still be flattened.

I urge everyone who cares about the future of our community to visit the Vale of White Horse’s website, or the West Way community concern shop in Elms Parade, to see the plans for themselves and submit their comments to the Vale during the next six weeks.

EMILY SMITH
Sycamore Road
Botley
Oxford