JERICHO ECHO ARTICLE
Canalside blueprint
Council vision for derelict site
September 2013
City Planners have detailed how they want to see the derelict canalside land behind St Barnabas Church developed. On September 11, the City Executive Board approved a draft Jericho Canalside Strategic Planning Document (SPD).
The SPD establishes how the key elements of the site should fit together. In addition to housing, these include a new community centre, a boatyard, a public square and a new bridge.
This site has had a tortuous history since 1992 when the Orchard Cruisers boatyard ceased operations. British Waterways (BW), which owned it, rejected a bid from the Jericho Community Association (JCA) and instead sold the land subject to planning permission to Bellway Homes. In 2005, thanks to community opposition, Bellway was refused planning permission and the site reverted to BW. The planning inspector also ruled that any developer had to offer land for a new community centre.
Meanwhile, Alchemy Boats, which had been renting the site for boat repairs, moved out and was replaced by an informal group of boaters. In 2006, BW forcibly evicted them, provoking a storm of protest. BW then sold the site, unconditionally, to another developer, Spring Residential. Spring signed a contract with the JCA for land for the community centre. Following more noisy protests against its dreadful housing design, Spring too was refused planning permission. But before it could try again it went into administration – owing money to HSBC.
In 2010, the JCA got outline planning permission for a community centre on the site, regardless of who developed it. This would combine the land contracted with Spring, and subsequently the administrators, and the adjacent Dawson Place site which the City has offered to contribute.
Meanwhile, enthusiasm had been kindled for another community bid. This time it would come from the Jericho Wharf Trust (JWT), which bring together the JCA, the Jericho Community Boatyard, the Jericho Living Heritage Trust and the St Barnabas Parochial Church Council.
The JWT is negotiating with the administrators to buy the whole site. But other developers may also be doing so. Unfortunately, there is a danger that while the JWT has a close understanding of the arduous planning requirements for this site – which reduce its commercial value – other developers, if not so well informed, could be tempted to pay too much. Too bad you might think. But developers have a habit of overpaying and then pleading that the site is ‘unviable’ and that some of the planning requirements should be lifted.
The idea behind the Strategic Planning Document is to make it clear what is required on the site and summarize all the information in one place.
One of the most critical issues is the size of the community centre. It will have to accommodate, for example, a multi-use community hall, a café and a playgroup with an external play area.
However, it also needs to be large enough to include small rooms to let out to other local organizations to provide rental income that will subsidize community activities. This business model is similar to that of the current centre, which is self-funding. In short, the centre must be ‘sustainably sized’. The Council does not have the funds to subsidize running a community centre here.
However, it is by no means clear that the draft SPD, as indicated in the plan above, has allowed sufficient space to enable any centre to be sustainable in the long term.
The draft SPD is now out for public consultation until October 25. You can see the Strategic Planning Document (SPD) in our documents section. If you believe it is vital to have a sustainable community centre, as envisaged by the JCA, please take the time to make your views known. You can do so on the City Council website at: [url=http://consultation.oxford.gov.uk/consult.ti/JerichoSPD/consultationHome]http://consultation.oxford.gov.uk/consult.ti/JerichoSPD/consultationHome[/url], or by sending an email to: planningpolicy@oxford.gov.uk.