To be honest Pat, I am most surprised that the trees weren't demolished the
day after the enquiry decided that we had lost our application for Town
Green Status. It's a wonder that Roy Darke wasn't there to see the first
tree fall, instead of pretending he thought work had only started on the
highway side . On the other hand, of course he wouldn't be there, he only
shows his face if he can boast he had a hand in something popular with the
folk involved - and this CERTAINLY WAS NOT POPULAR!!! And before he start
another blog with the words -"Barbara Stone gets it wrong again" [ that was
only because we've got him taped]. His crafty little innuendos about us not
liking Barton and not wanting houses built - with Oxford Mail's News column
stating "An attempt to prevent an access road to a planned housing estate in
Barton from being built, has been unanimously rejected - this is an
unhelpful attempt to try to frustrate the development of Barton Park on the
other side of the By-pass." didn't help. How dare he insinuate that we were
attempting to prevent or hold up the building of houses. We have ALWAYS
made the point that we have absolutely no objection, as far as we were
concerned, they could build 2,000 there if they so wished - but don't
sacrifice Northway's peace, safety, pollution barrier, noise barrier etc.,
and then have the nerve to say it will benefit us. A left in, left out
should have at least been tried before deciding on all this destruction and
at such financial cost!!!
Still, he boasts a new Community Centre, when to my mind, it would have
been good to bring us all together to decorate and renovate the one we've
got. Also, another of his wonderful plans for ANOTHER play area, which he
boasts is being used so much [maybe that has something to do with it being
right next to the school, where and the children have a few rides while
Mums have a chat,] when he could have improved the play area we have in
Foxwell Drive [which will now be pretty close to this new link over a busy
by-pass - great!
Tens of thousands of pounds of our money has and will be spent whether we
like it or not. If we believe what Mr. Darke tells us, this would be a
complete waste of money.
Firstly, when we complained about the shortcut- come rat run through
Northway, he DENIED THE RAT RUN and said it will only be buses and emergency
services and that more buses would benefit us [We don't need more than the
good bus service we already have!!]. Then in December, when one of his pet
schemes was thwarted to "STOP EXISTING RAT-RUN or at least, make it safer
for local residents by working to slow down traffic, secure safe crossing by
the school and make the route more unattractive for motorists who try to
avoid Headley Way traffic jams...........! How come it can be a rat-run
when it suits you, but poppycock when we suggest it.
Lastly, Mr. Darke insisted, when trying to pacify us, that a road with
traffic lights across a very busy By-Pass, will be closed to all traffic but
buses [no mention of Emergency Services this time!] To add insult to
injury, after spending so much money and time, he then implied that it will
probably be a long time before buses come through, as the Bus Company will
decide if there is a suitable route, then it could be some time before they
can ascertain how many people are likely to use the buses anyway, the they
MAY commence a service!!!!!!!!!!! Should be have to put up with all this
upheaval and wasted money, for a bus route that may run, IF the Bus Company
decide on a route and IF enough people will use it. The lies are never
ending. Northway shop keepers were told it would increase their sales - WHO
WOULD TAKE A BUS FROM BARTON AND GET OFF WITHIN MINUTES TO BUY FROM A
NORTHWAY SHOP? Especially as the new Barton Estate will be so wonderful -
and very good luck to them, sincerely mean that, just leave
us out of it. Doesn't he realise how it hurts when plans are made for
linear trees to act as barriers from pollution and noise over there, when
yesterday they destroyed ours and will be adding traffic lights where people
will be forced to stop and add more noise and more pollution for us. They
will stop at nothing, as long as they get their way.
Sorry Pat, I didn't mean this to be so long.
Rest of post
-----Original Message-----
From: roy darke
Sent: Friday, April 10, 2015 10:25 AM
To: <email obscured>
Cc: oxford-hm@forums.e-democracy.org
Subject: Re: [Oxford-HM] Access road from Barton to Northway Estate
There is preparatory work to create the new bus link through to Northway
from the by-pass. This entails removing growth which will be in the line of
the new bus link. It is being done at this time prior to the bird nesting
period. It is part of the work covered by the planning applications that
have been passed by City Council to create nearly 900 new dwellings at
Barton Park. An application to the County Council to make a Town Green of
the strip of green along Foxwell Drive was unsuccessful following a public
inquiry and County Council decision. My observation is that the work so far
has been on the highway side of the boundary fence to Northway although some
trees and green growth will be lost on both sides of the fence when the
junction is built. There is some local rumour that the junction would not
be built until the end of the development period. That is erroneous and has
never been claimed by the Council. The first Reserved Maters application
approved a few months ago was for the A40 junction and infrastructure work
on Barton Park which is the logical sequence for site development.
Roy Darke
Sent from my iPad
> On 9 Apr 2015, at 20:09, Pat Hartigan
> <<email obscured>> wrote:
>
> Can anyone shed light on why the trees that protect Northway Estate from
> the A40 have today been cut down? We now have a gap which exposes the A40
> and has caused much consternation as we weren't aware that this was
> happening so early in the Barton project.
> I suppose most folk on the estate thought that the access road would be
> one of the last steps of the project as only buses & emergency vehicles
> would be using it.
> That aside, why destroy trees in which birds are currently nesting &
> producing young?
> My final observation is that the gap is not in accordance with plans,
> unless they've been changed. So if someone knows why the gap has travelled
> east it would be nice to know.
> Lack of knowledge is not going down well and it's feared the access road
> will be used for unplanned traffic through our estate with other unknown
> changes following on.
>
> Pat Hartigan
> Northway, Oxford City
> About/contact Pat Hartigan: http://forums.e-democracy.org/p/pathartigan
>
>
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Roy Darke
New Marston, Oxford
About/contact Roy Darke: http://forums.e-democracy.org/p/roydarke
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