Cogges link road row goes to the High Court (From The Oxford Times)

Cogges link road row goes to the High Court

11:10am Wednesday 2nd May 2012 in Witney

OXFORDSHIRE County Council has admitted it did not fulfil some planning requirements relating to the £20.5m Cogges Link Road.

James Mawle, who owns land needed for the scheme, has alleged work started unlawfully and will file legal papers to the High Court for a Judicial Review today.

If he is proved correct, the council would be forced to re- apply for planning permission.

The original permission, granted in 2009, ended on April 6.

The council started worked on the scheme, which will run from Oxford Hill to Station Lane, in March.

Mr Mawle said it was “absolutely mandatory” by law for the council to inform the public, through notices in the press and at the site, that planning conditions had been met. He also accused the council of failing to advertise new environmental information, which arose at the public inquiry.

Council spokesman Owen Morton said these were not advertised in the press or on site but said this did not automatically invalidate the planning permission.

He said details of the application and the environmental information were posted on the council’s website and were well known at the recent public inquiry.

Comments(19)

1fleetstar says...
11:27am Wed 2 May 12

the town needs this road when will this all end !!

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Trevor Craig says...
11:30am Wed 2 May 12

An expensive trip to the high court because someone at OCC has made a mistake. Will this person get the sack? I bet the answer will be no.

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Noodle999 says...
12:01pm Wed 2 May 12

The town needs *something* doing, but is it the Cogges Link Road? The traffic queueing for the Station Lane crossroads regularly tails back to Sainsbury's in rush hour and the traffic on Witan Way can often tail back to Sainsbury's roundabout, so what use is taking traffic and dumping it at the Sainsbury's roundabout unless they're all Sainsbury's shoppers?

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Lady Penelopee says...
12:43pm Wed 2 May 12

1fleetstar wrote:
the town needs this road when will this all end !!

Why?

All the Cogges link road will do is take traffic from one congested area to join another congested area.

£20Million so that drivers can avoid one traffic bottleneck and join another??

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kinchesh says...
1:01pm Wed 2 May 12

Yes, why indeed??
http://witneyfirst.c
om/ has results of a poll where the Witney candidates in tomorrow's election were asked if they are in favour of the CLR. Interestingly, not one said 'Yes'.

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1fleetstar says...
1:17pm Wed 2 May 12

Lady Penelopee wrote:

1fleetstar wrote:
the town needs this road when will this all end !!
Why?

All the Cogges link road will do is take traffic from one congested area to join another congested area.

£20Million so that drivers can avoid one traffic bottleneck and join another??

so what do u think will help witneys traffic problem ?

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Viper007 says...
1:31pm Wed 2 May 12

At the risk of a public lynching from one or two, this is all getting really boring now

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livedhereforyears says...
2:40pm Wed 2 May 12

Just get on and build the road - it's not just about congestion - when Bridge Street floods again or is blocked I would like the emergency services to be able to get to my house in a reasonable amount of time !!! and by the way everyone who bought a house on Madley Park got ripped off for the price by the developers who had to contribute to this road - wonder if they will refund some to us if the council has to pay it back - at least 3k each !!!!!

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BEN1146 says...
7:20pm Wed 2 May 12

Why does the town need this road when there is already a perfect road to do the job

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Porphyro says...
11:40pm Wed 2 May 12

Viper007 wrote:
At the risk of a public lynching from one or two, this is all getting really boring now

Or, more accurately, YOU are bored by it; we all have different boredom thresholds and different judgements about the importance of a local news story.

I'm mildly amused by the spectacle of the Conservatives avoiding all mention of the CLR in their election leaflets and failing to declare any support for it when asked directly by WitneyFirst.

Are they so embarrassed by their pet scheme that they dare not take responsibility for it?

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Viper007 says...
9:06am Thu 3 May 12

Porphyro wrote:

Viper007 wrote:
At the risk of a public lynching from one or two, this is all getting really boring now
Or, more accurately, YOU are bored by it; we all have different boredom thresholds and different judgements about the importance of a local news story.

I'm mildly amused by the spectacle of the Conservatives avoiding all mention of the CLR in their election leaflets and failing to declare any support for it when asked directly by WitneyFirst.

Are they so embarrassed by their pet scheme that they dare not take responsibility for it?

Actually, I think you'll find it's not just me, I'm just the only one that bothered to say it. It's not a personal attack on you Porphyro, though you seem to think any post is. Just wind your neck in a fraction and chill a little

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bodchris says...
9:33am Thu 3 May 12

Just GET ON WITH IT and build it. Fed up with all the queues in Witney. Then on with the next phase and build another bridge across the river between Crawley and the town. WE NEED MORE ROADS!!!

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the wizard says...
12:01pm Thu 3 May 12

If the trust is so against the CLR then why doesn't it build the Shores green option itself under a toll agreement with OCC, to get its money back, and then let the CLR go ahead. Everybody wins, options of routes, less congestion, more accessibility, and above all progress, rather than all this vacillating over "ifs and buts" and hypothetical arguments, none of which can be proven until either road is built.

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thehistorian says...
4:24pm Thu 3 May 12

livedhereforyears wrote:
Just get on and build the road - it's not just about congestion - when Bridge Street floods again or is blocked I would like the emergency services to be able to get to my house in a reasonable amount of time !!! and by the way everyone who bought a house on Madley Park got ripped off for the price by the developers who had to contribute to this road - wonder if they will refund some to us if the council has to pay it back - at least 3k each !!!!!

Not to mention the fact that there was a limit to the number of houses that could be occupied until the road had been built. This means around 75% of the residents of Madley park are 'squatting'

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livedhereforyears says...
4:27pm Thu 3 May 12

this argument isn't about roads it is about building more houses in East Witney which is not part of the town plan - the CLR would prevent the MFT from selling more land to developers. The Shores Green option makes the land available, makes the MFT richer and the town more congested as they will build hundreds of more houses - so if you think you are green opposing it think again.

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Kate Pollard says...
4:46pm Thu 3 May 12

If only the argument about the CLR was so simple. The CLR will cost in the region of 25 million pounds, possibly cause worsening of any future flooding in Witney and just move traffic from one congested area to another.
'livedhereforyears' is also being simplistic if he imagines that there won't be a great deal of building along the CLR if it is built.

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BEN1146 says...
7:51pm Thu 3 May 12

Ive lived hear for years this argument is about roads and houses being built on flood plains.......

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sadof cogges says...
4:13pm Fri 4 May 12

FYI Sainsbury's roundabout the point at which the Cogges link Road will connect to the main part of Witney was flooded along the river side during the flood of 2007 so I don't think it will provide another route for the emergency services that livedhereforyears would like. If you tried to get around Witney on that fateful day you would know the full extent of the problem. Many people in Cogges area realised this as they tried to get sand bags to protect the Blake School and their homes during the flood event. This why a road built on a high embankment across an area now proven to have flooded is not a good move. The flow of the water will be changed and water will find it's own way. If this road goes ahead all the computer modelling and experts won't be there when we have a flood event.

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the wizard says...
6:50pm Sun 6 May 12

sadof cogges wrote:
FYI Sainsbury's roundabout the point at which the Cogges link Road will connect to the main part of Witney was flooded along the river side during the flood of 2007 so I don't think it will provide another route for the emergency services that livedhereforyears would like. If you tried to get around Witney on that fateful day you would know the full extent of the problem. Many people in Cogges area realised this as they tried to get sand bags to protect the Blake School and their homes during the flood event. This why a road built on a high embankment across an area now proven to have flooded is not a good move. The flow of the water will be changed and water will find it's own way. If this road goes ahead all the computer modelling and experts won't be there when we have a flood event.

I think 2007 was a bit of a "one-off" in recent times in terms of severity but none the less things are going to go that way we are told. Bearing that in mind the CLR does provide a second river crossing WITHIN the town, something Shores green doesn't.
When folk talk about congestion at peak times I would suppose they are speaking of morning and afternoon rush hour. Now from my observations most of the Station Lane traffic in the morning is going from Thorney Leys traffic lights into the depths of Station Lane, so the traffic coming OUT of Station Lane and towards the A40 has a pretty free passage, much less congestion than that on Ducklington Lane, which I would presume is the current preferred route of many. Why they don't use the old A40 Burford Road heaven knows.
In the evenings the reverse trend is evident, with most traffic coming OUT of Station Lane, but the traffic flow from the A40 and towards Sainsburys is usually fine, so where is the problem in that, and the choice of two river crossings. Much better than relying on one river bridge which was almost swept away in any case in 2007. Road works anywhere in Bridge St or West End severely hamper all vehicles, including emergency vehicles, so if you live in Cogges or Madley Park and you want your Fire Appliance to leave town, traverse the A40 and Oxford Hill, I take that is ok, because there are road works in Bridge St again.
We need an alternative within the town.

[quote][p][bold]sadof cogges[/bold] wrote: FYI Sainsbury's roundabout the point at which the Cogges link Road will connect to the main part of Witney was flooded along the river side during the flood of 2007 so I don't think it will provide another route for the emergency services that livedhereforyears would like. If you tried to get around Witney on that fateful day you would know the full extent of the problem. Many people in Cogges area realised this as they tried to get sand bags to protect the Blake School and their homes during the flood event. This why a road built on a high embankment across an area now proven to have flooded is not a good move. The flow of the water will be changed and water will find it's own way. If this road goes ahead all the computer modelling and experts won't be there when we have a flood event.[/p][/quote]I think 2007 was a bit of a "one-off" in recent times in terms of severity but none the less things are going to go that way we are told. Bearing that in mind the CLR does provide a second river crossing WITHIN the town, something Shores green doesn't. When folk talk about congestion at peak times I would suppose they are speaking of morning and afternoon rush hour. Now from my observations most of the Station Lane traffic in the morning is going from Thorney Leys traffic lights into the depths of Station Lane, so the traffic coming OUT of Station Lane and towards the A40 has a pretty free passage, much less congestion than that on Ducklington Lane, which I would presume is the current preferred route of many. Why they don't use the old A40 Burford Road heaven knows. In the evenings the reverse trend is evident, with most traffic coming OUT of Station Lane, but the traffic flow from the A40 and towards Sainsburys is usually fine, so where is the problem in that, and the choice of two river crossings. Much better than relying on one river bridge which was almost swept away in any case in 2007. Road works anywhere in Bridge St or West End severely hamper all vehicles, including emergency vehicles, so if you live in Cogges or Madley Park and you want your Fire Appliance to leave town, traverse the A40 and Oxford Hill, I take that is ok, because there are road works in Bridge St again. We need an alternative within the town. the wizard

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Cogges link road row goes to the High Court (From The Oxford Times)

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