People in blindfolds are looking for new probation offices (From The Oxford Times)

People in blindfolds are looking for new probation offices

10:21am Thursday 2nd July 2009 in

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Sir – Regarding the leader (June 25) in which you stated that Thames Valley Probation (TVP) should be able to find a more suitable place than Mill St for their large probation centre.

True, they are engaged in a new search with a six-week window, but it is transparently obvious that to find a large building (17,000+ sq ft) and assess the refurbishment needs/costs cannot possibly be achieved in this time scale.

It is clear to see that TVP can conveniently claim after six weeks that Trajan House (Mill St) is still the only viable option as none of the new sites meets their needs.

A rushed new search process will not allow time for them to assess how they might make the new sites work for them.

And why six weeks? How many of your readers would set themselves just six weeks to find a new home, irrespective of the limited choice available?

A homeowner forced to find somewhere new would rent to give time for a proper search.

TVP have to move out of Albion House (their Oxford City base) and there are plenty of cheap rents available in buildings of a suitable size — why don’t they do this, and then search properly? The answer, because they have all the plans drawn for Trajan House and are determined to locate there.

So if you see people wandering around the city in blindfolds it is odds on that they are conducting a property search for TVP.

Robert Mitchell Oxford