Councillors want Garth Park eco house eyesore removed

1:30pm Monday 28th January 2013 in News By Sam McGregor, covering Bicester. Call me on 01869 250197

Councillors want Garth Park eco house eyesore removed Councillors want Garth Park eco house eyesore removed

PLANS to retain an eco demonstration house in Bicester for another year have been given short shrift by town councillors.

The house in Garth Park, which was originally given two years’ planning permission, was used to show the green technologies that will be installed in properties at the planned 5,000-home eco-town at North West Bicester.

But it has been branded a “blot on the landscape” by local people, who now want it removed.

Cherwell District Council has applied to extend the planning permission of the eco house for another year, from December 2012 when permission ran out.

Bicester town councillors say they want the house removed from the public park soon after the end of May when the lease runs out.

The town council does not receive rent or other payments, nor is it responsible for any utilities.

Chief officer Sue Mackrell said: “In simple terms Cherwell District Council is very well aware the lease arrangement expires at the end of May.

“We are working closely with them, prior to the end of May, to determine the exit strategy of the building.

“Planning permission ran out in December 2012 and it is currently there without permission, but they do have the lease arrangement to cover the period until the end of May. After the end of May they will be there as trespassers technically.”

Conservative councillor Richard Mould said the house was given planning permission because the eco project was still several years away from any demonstration buildings.

He said: “What the building has done is demonstrate to people what’s available and what they can do.

“A number of people have visited and taken up insulation offers and I think it has served its purpose.”

Labour’s Les Sibley said: “Now planning has been granted for the eco town exemplar and the first phase coming on stream, they should be given their marching orders come the end of May. The proper location for this house is where the houses are being built.”

Lynn Pratt, Conservative, said: “It has been a blot on the landscape since day one, it should be on the site where the houses are built.

“People like Kingsmere (developers) have not come along and said can we put a show house in your park. It should be removed as soon as possible.”

Cherwell District Council is expected to make a decision on the application by February 13.

  • A date has still to be set for work to start on the first phase of the eco town, at farmland off Banbury Road, which includes 393 homes, a eco pub and business centre

Comments(23)

scampbird says...
2:03pm Mon 28 Jan 13

Well this is impressive - it's a blot on the landscape at Garth Park and yet wold be perfectly ok where the houses are going to be built? Talk about council double standards. The whole eco town idea was a nonsense from day one. Why wasn't Kingsmere built with these green credentials? How can we be green when we're apparently happy to let Tesco build a massive new store, when we can let Sainsbury's rip up perfectly nice trees from the town centre? Give us a break from these idiot local politicians.

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Myron Blatz says...
2:29pm Mon 28 Jan 13

What's all the fuss about? Just bulldoze the unoccupied temporary house in Garth Park, or use it as a night shelter for the homeless in and around Bicester! As for, the new 'Eco Town' expansion of Bicester, have public transport services been agreed yet (one presumes buses every four minutes, like wot Blackbird Leys gets?) or are the 'eco' tenants and residents supposed to skip, run, walk or cycle everywhere?

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to ny w says...
2:32pm Mon 28 Jan 13

Couldn't agree more.Just think there are 394 of these 'eye sores' due to be started on the exemplar site.
Cherwell are punting on a loser before the traps open. If the ECO TOWN, to be built to code 5 sustainabilty, is such a good idea, why isn't all new housing in Cherwell built to the same standards? Answer- No developer would touch it with a barge pole. It is left to the government and Cherwell to pump prime the funding to get it off the ground!!
Dead duck !!!!

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Braganca says...
2:49pm Mon 28 Jan 13

Since this temporary house will bear little resemblance to those built in the so-called ecotown it was always a waste.of space. Cherwell planners have been given the runaround. They cannot stand up to the well-funded architects and developers..

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to ny w says...
2:51pm Mon 28 Jan 13

Braganca wrote:
Since this temporary house will bear little resemblance to those built in the so-called ecotown it was always a waste.of space. Cherwell planners have been given the runaround. They cannot stand up to the well-funded architects and developers..
It is not the planners at fault here at Cherwell.

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snert says...
3:00pm Mon 28 Jan 13

“We are working closely with them, prior to the end of May, to determine the exit strategy of the building."

I love marketing spin-doctors. I have a great "exit strategy" for the eyesore. It's called a gallon of 4 star and a match. Shimples.

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to ny w says...
3:23pm Mon 28 Jan 13

....but the 'politicians'.

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Grunden Skip says...
4:02pm Mon 28 Jan 13

This Chalet would not look out of place in The Austrian Tyrols, are the council saying that Bicester is more beautiful?

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Sid Hunt says...
5:25pm Mon 28 Jan 13

It doesn't look that bad to me - I am sure there are bigger blots in/around Bicester.

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oafie says...
6:45pm Mon 28 Jan 13

Dear God!....If that's what they call an eyesore...try living in the 'real world'

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oafie says...
6:45pm Mon 28 Jan 13

Dear God!....If that's what they call an eyesore...try living in the 'real world'

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to ny w says...
7:26pm Mon 28 Jan 13

oafie wrote:
Dear God!....If that's what they call an eyesore...try living in the 'real world'
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. One certain fact that the national developers wouldnt exactly say it has kerb appeal.

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Severian says...
11:35pm Mon 28 Jan 13

I don't see what all the fuss is about. The Bicester Eco-Town should have started building about a year ago (it hasn't) or in the Autumn (it didn't) or this spring (still waiting)!

Surely by May they will be onsite, so they can just demolish the Garth "eco house" and move it onto the eco-town as a hut for the builders. At least that way someone would get some use out of what proved to be an expensive waste of time and money.

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Myron Blatz says...
2:47am Tue 29 Jan 13

Maybe they should call it 'echo town' or 'ghostie Town' since nothing has apparently started yet? What beats me is that the area is apparently crying out for houses to buy at affordable prices and social housing, yet there seems little or no urgency in building anything - or are developers just playing the old 'waiting game' for the housing market to pick up, and make even bigger profits?

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steve1955 says...
9:23am Tue 29 Jan 13

it should stay as a monument to the eco conmen when are they gonna start any answers from cherwell councillors who support it?
if they take it down it can be the town bonfire in november?

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to ny w says...
11:27am Tue 29 Jan 13

Myron Blatz wrote:
Maybe they should call it 'echo town' or 'ghostie Town' since nothing has apparently started yet? What beats me is that the area is apparently crying out for houses to buy at affordable prices and social housing, yet there seems little or no urgency in building anything - or are developers just playing the old 'waiting game' for the housing market to pick up, and make even bigger profits?
If you think that is going to happen, then you are going to be disappointed. Around 270 of the 394 exemplar are to be sold on the open market or as shared ownership. The minimal part of the site is houses for rent (social housing).
A2 Dominion, whilst they are a 'Housing Association', are acting as developer on this site.
Without £12m of public funding to pay for infrastructure costs it wouldn't happen anyway.
I don't think the people of Cherwell understand, or perhaps care, the nitty gritty.
Cherwell, internally, are reporting an April/May commencement at the earliest. Yet more delays that challenge the commercial credibility of this scheme.
Until A2 Dominion actually complete the land purchase, Cherwell's kite flying exercise is at risk.
Time to smell the coffee folks.

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Professor Nohair says...
11:44am Tue 29 Jan 13

Time for an 'exit strategy' for the whole eco town farce. If it's a blot where it stands why is it not going to be hundreds of times worse when hundreds of blots are placed in prime beautiful greenfield countryside? Hundreds of people condemned to live in a stranded 'exemplar'. An exemplar of how to get it wrong on every level, and of course faceless business types will get the profit and council tax payers will get the bill.

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Severian says...
12:01pm Tue 29 Jan 13

Looks like the whole Eco scheme is falling apart and our Councillors want to get rid of the evidence as quickly as possible. That way they will be able to disclaim all responsibility and have no trail of broken promises back to them.

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bicester born and breed says...
12:06pm Tue 29 Jan 13

Looking at Cherwell Planning meeting agenda (31/01/13) it states that there was no comment from the town council regarding this planning application, so why are the town councilors saying something different to the press.
Also why did the council not charge a fee for this show house to be built in Garth Park in the first place.

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Severian says...
5:08pm Tue 29 Jan 13

"Chief officer Sue Mackrell said: “...We are working closely with them, prior to the end of May, to determine the exit strategy of the building. "

My exit strategy for most buildings is to open the door and walk out of it. (Unless her husband arrives home early, in which case my exit strategy is to dive out of the window).

I assume though that Sue actually is using political speak for "We are trying to work out what the **** to do with this millstone that Barry Wood landed us with and no-one wants any more."

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steve1955 says...
8:17pm Tue 29 Jan 13

Exit Strategy to developers,
Take the eyesore away Now
its as easy as that or do the want more meetings to discuss it so they can claim more expenses

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bart-on simpson says...
5:18pm Thu 31 Jan 13

Sorry, but this looks a house. Surely someone could buy it and move in. An eyesore? You should come to Olde Headington and see Martin Young's property!

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rebelyell says...
1:04pm Sat 2 Feb 13

Probably what will happen is CDC will put the project on hold to save face. Due to the current economic uncertainty that could be a long while. Look at the Kingsmere Development which has STALLED due to NO DEMAND.

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