Disappointing brief from British Waterways

The latest episode in the canalside development saga was acted out in May when British Waterways came up with a draft of the design brief for developers. From the Jericho point of view this was a let-down. It implied a block of mainly three-storeyed housing and a large restaurant, that largely blocked off access to the canal and left very little public space around the church. It also confined the community centre to the Council-owned Dawson Place garages site rather than integrating it with the rest of the development.

George Taylor, vice-chair of the Jericho Community Association, registered our disappointment in a letter on behalf of the Canalside Development Group. This was reiterated at a meeting of the Oxford Canal Forum held on June 21 at St Barnabas School. At this meeting Waterway Manager, Simon Ainley, said that any developer would be asked to consult with the community. Commercial manager Stuart Mills said that the next draft of the brief would take our concerns into account. We should get a better idea of what this means when we see the next version.

Meanwhile, West Ward Councillors Colin Cook and Jeremy Wynne have been working on a revision of the Oxford Local Plan, which establishes the pattern for future development. This would incorporate the Dawson Place site into the development and state that the Council is seeking to provide a community centre as integrated part of the development.