Issue 56 — September 2004
Bellway go to appeal
Guardian
article of 14 August 2004Bellway Homes have lodged an appeal with the Planning Inspectorate following the City Council’s resounding refusal of planning permission for development of the land behind St Barnabas Church.
This appears to be part of Bellway’s contractual agreement with British Waterways since the sale of the land will only be completed if planning permission is granted.
In the appeal, Bellway claims, strangely, that they have not received adequate information on the proposed Community Centre, when they have had this information from the outset and simply ignored it. The company also complains about having to offer 40% social housing, which is what the Council is currently asking for new developments.
As for the fate of the boatyard, they pass responsibility back to British Waterways. At present there is no date set for the appeal to be heard but it will probably be in Spring 2005.
The potential loss of Jericho’s boatyard hit the national press with a major article in the Guardian, on 14 August: ‘Author joins fight to save historic boatyard’. Philip Pullman who, as featured in the June issue of the Jericho Echo, sets part of his best selling Dark Materials trilogy in Jericho, wrote in an accompanying article: “I love the curious, and indeed somewhat gamey, character of Jericho and the Oxford canal; it’s always seemed to me like a window opening on quite a different world from the academic propriety of its near neighbour, north Oxford. It’s a watery, raffish, amiable trickster-like world of boat dwellers and horse dealers and alchemists. The character of this part of Oxford is very ancient, quite unique and now, alas, in some peril”.
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