A tale of three visions

The proposal for a new community centre in Jericho first arose around 20 years ago. Since then many things have changed, so earlier this year the City Council asked the Jericho Community Association to carry out a thorough Needs Assessment to update their information. 

This assessment indicates that if anything the demand for better facilities in this part of Oxford has increased substantially. On the City Council’s reckoning the ‘catchment area’ for community centre is that within a 15-minute walk –– which for the Jericho Centre include Jericho, Rewley Park, and parts of Walton Manor and beyond. 

Over recent years there have been a number of major housing developments, notably on the site of the former Lucy’s Iron Foundry and along what is now Oxford Waterside. Between 2001 and 2020, the number of dwellings increased by 30 per cent to 4,200, so that there is now a total population of around 10,000. These developments have provided welcome new housing but no additional community facilities, so this larger population is sharing the same social infrastructure as in 2001.

The current Jericho Community Centre was built in the 19th Century as the St Barnabas Church Institute and was envisioned to meet the congregation’s social needs. As this fell out of use, in 1980 there was a move to sell the building, but the then vicar Fr Michael Wright had a different vision and persuaded Oxford City Council to invest £75,000 and refurbish the building for broader community use. The plan was to provide public spaces and a café along with other rooms and art studios whose rental income would help cover running costs and maintenance of the building. 

The plan worked and Fr Michael’s vision was realized. The Church subsequent leased the refurbished building to the City, which in turn leased to what is now the Jericho Community Association, and since then the building has flourished under the management of the JCA. Most people are familiar with its halls and the café, but know less about the seven other rooms which house two low-cost counselling practices along with Art Studio Jericho, Healthy Oxford, Oxford Fairtrade, the Jericho Wharf Trust and Oxford University Motorsports – all of which help to pay the bills. 

The JCA Needs Assessment points out that the building has served the community well but it has many limitations, including no disabled access to most of the building and the lack of outdoor play space for young children. In 2005, the City classified the building as unfit for purpose as a community centre. Since then we have been patiently waiting for a series of developers to fulfil the requirements of the local plan for a modern community centre on the Jericho Wharf site. 

The Jericho catchment area may not meet the conventional definitions of social, cultural, and economic deprivation but there are clear needs that cannot be met from the current Community Centre. This is a densely populated area, with 50 persons per hectare compared to Oxford at 34. Some 17 per cent of houses are overcrowded. And while it is very expensive to buy houses, in 2011 around 48 per cent of the population were living in private rented accommodation, and a further 15 per cent in social housing. Around 28 per cent of the population are over-65 of whom three quarters are pensioners living in single households. 

To assess what these people need, earlier this year, JCA volunteers delivered around 2,500 leaflets around the area, supported by emails to members of the JCA, the Walton Manor Residents Association, and the Rewley Park Management Company. This generated more than 550 responses to the online survey, a remarkable 20 per cent response rate. Moreover, of those who started on the questionnaire 96 per cent completed it. There was also a survey of organizers of activities at the current centre. 

Half of the responses came from Jericho, one-third from Walton Manor, and the rest from Rewley Park, the Oxford Canal and neighbouring areas. Around three quarters of respondents had used the current community centre, but more than half had also used the Ferry Leisure Centre or St Margaret’s Institute. Around one third has used the West Oxford Community centre or Nuffield Health in Woodstock Road. 

Respondents were asked how they would use the new community Centre in Jericho. Heading the list was the café at around 90 per cent. But high proportions also said they would use it for exercise classes (74 per cent), musical events (61 per cent), a Jericho heritage exhibition (60 per cent), community meetings (58 per cent) and sports (42 per cent), and dance classes at (39 per cent). There were also needs for specific users such as older people’s groups, low-cost counselling, and parent and toddler and pre-school use. Around one quarter of households with children said they would use a new pre-school.

As part of the survey the JCA also consulted the Jericho Health Centre. Dr. Helen Salisbury said: “I am very conscious of the elderly without transport who live in Jericho, of whom there are quite a few. If you don't have a car and you don't walk well, is important actually to have somewhere you can walk to. There are also a lot of young parents in Jericho with young children who are stuck at home, for whom things can be very hard. As well as outdoor space you need indoor space for when it's cold and rainy.

“There's a lot to be said for places where people from all sorts of different backgrounds can naturally meet up. That is good for us all. If you only live in commercial spaces then you only meet people like yourself. Having a community that you can belong to requires a space for the community to exist in.’

To be self-sustaining in the longer term,  this community centre too will need rooms that can be rented out to provide sufficient income for running costs and repairs. This is why the planned new centre is larger with sufficient offices and working spaces. It is also being combined with the boatyard to realize an even broader vision as part of a waterside hub reinforcing the links between land and boat-based residents. 

The Community Needs Assessment will feed into the current planning consultation for the Jericho Wharf site, on which more information will be published shortly. The full results of the Needs Assessment are available here on Jericho Online.