Big protest greets boatyard inquiry

5:26pm Tuesday 12th August 2008

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ABOUT 200 people gathered outside Oxford Town Hall to protest against plans to build a new block of flats in Jericho.

Last year, the city council rejected Spring Residential's plans to build 54 one- and two- bedroom flats and a boat repair berth on the former Castle Mill boatyard site.

Today, planning inspector Ava Wood launched the inquiry into Spring's appeal against the decision.

The hearing is the second inquiry to be held to determine the future of the site, after Bellway Homes's plan was rejected three years ago.

Protesters included award-winning author Philip Pullman, whose His Dark Materials trilogy, and Lyra's Oxford, are partly set in Jericho.

He said: "This development in Jericho should not go ahead - parts of the city are already given over to great canyons of housing.

"I care about every square inch of this city, especially the bits that are under threat.

"So far, the planners have been sensible with Jericho. I don't want to see this valuable, interesting little corner of the city wiped out.

"We are not making a nuisance of ourselves - we are voicing the widespread feeling that enough development is enough."

Protesters staged the silent protest outside the town hall, armed with banners and placards, before some of them took their seats in the inquiry, which is being held in the Old Library.

Adrian Arbib, a spokesman for the protesters, said he was hopeful the scheme would be rejected because developers had failed to meet the council's 50 per cent affordable housing criteria.

He said: "Spring have put together a rain forest of material against us but they have not ticked the box on affordable housing."

The council's Local Plan states that all new developments must feature 50 per cent affordable housing, but Spring offered only 35 per cent.

Douglas Edwards, acting for the council, which refused the scheme on nine different grounds, said: "The appellant justifies its approach because it says that to provide more affordable housing would render the development unviable.

"The purchase price paid (about £4m to British Waterways), and the impact that now has on viability does not provide a proper basis to excuse the appellant's significant underperformance when assessed against the policy requirement for affordable housing provision."

But Jeremy Cahill QC, acting for Spring, said: "It is now three years since the Bellway decision and in the intervening period the site has remained derelict, and constitutes a wasted asset.

"The scheme delivers badly needed open market housing, together with affordable housing."

The inquiry is due to last six days.