Oxford City Council has agreed to changes in the way it handles consultation over planning applications following an independent review of what should have been an non-contentious development, but which found that the process had been rushed and arrangements flawed, leading to ‘major protests, including a petition to the council to review its decision’.
The review covered the issues surrounding proposals for new student flats on a brownfield site in Roger Dudman Way near the riverside in the Castle Mill area of the city, and was carried out by former Royal Town Planning Institute president Vincent Goodstadt. He found that although the planning authority had met its statutory and legal requirements the process had been rushed and there had been flaws in the consultation arrangements.
He pointed out that the scheme should have been one of the least contentious major developments in Oxford. The site was a disused rail sidings. The site has been identified for at least 15 years as suitable for student accommodation.
‘Yet despite having followed due processes it has resulted in major protests, including a petition to the council to review its decision,’ he noted.
He found that a series of decisions, assumptions and judgments made by the council ‘resulted in inadequate consultation on the proposals; and a less detailed assessment of the proposals than there could have been’.
The report said: ‘These led to a series of decisions which resulted in a level of consultation and discussion that was not representative of the standards applied elsewhere in Oxford,’
Peter Sloman, chief executive of the city council, said: ‘I agree with the report that, with the benefit of hindsight, the council and other organisations could have done more in this particular case. We want all the developments in our city to be of the highest quality.
‘I also accept the report’s recommendations for improving aspects of the service. I am pleased that the report acknowledges that improvements are already under way and that the service is committed to learning from experience and not waiting for an external prompt into action.’
Among other measures the report recommended greater use of IT in assessing the design of schemes and the involvement of design review panels.
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