Old health centre decision due

In a previous era—last November—Lucy’s presented their plans for the old health centre and St Paul’s House. They are due to partially demolish the main building to construct nine new flats, with shops or offices on the ground floor. They are also upgrading the eight existing flats in St Paul’s house, of which five are owned by the Council, two by Lucy’s and the other by a private owner. A period of consultation in November produced only one public comment from a nearby resident—largely in favour but concerned about the potential traffic if the ground floor retail unit was a single large shop.

The City officers asked for some amendments. Lucys’ responded with changes which include ‘green roofs’, biodiversity enhancements in the garden terrace, and a change in the design of the Cranham Street frontage to make it more sympathetic to the existing housing. They also wanted the ‘Juliet balconies’ for the new flats to be larger, The revised plans went for public consultation last month. There were fewer comments this time, but the RSBP asked for ten nesting bricks for swifts.

The City Council officers are recommending that councillors on the West Oxford Planning Committee approve the plans, though with numerous conditions relating, for example, to sustainable drainage and to the materials used (including swift bricks). Officers have concluded overall, however, that the development “would preserve the character and appearance of the Jericho Conservation Area."

All the plans are available to view on the City Council Planning Site by clicking on THIS LINK, and then searching for 19/02531/FUL.

Even more exciting, we can now tune in to the West Area Planning Committee meeting where the decision will be taken. The meeting will be streamed live on YouTube on Wednesday June 10 from 3.00 pm. However, it is the second item on the agenda, so you might have to wait a while. To go to the City YouTube channel, click on THIS LINK