Warneford Meadow Development
In This Section
Local MP Andrew Smith, Councillors and supporters of the campaign celebrate saving the Meadow
Warneford Meadow Location map of Warneford Meadow is a tranquil space close to the heart of Oxford, yet rural in character. The Meadow is more than just an area of rough pasture; for residents and wildlife it is a vital space within a crowded city. DRARA and other adjacent Residents’ Associations have objected to the developments proposed by the Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust. A group of local residents has banded together and formed the Friends of Warneford Meadow. Warneford Meadow is one of the hidden secrets of the city.
Seven hectares (eighteen acres) of unkempt pasture are bounded by a wildlife corridor and a scruffy orchard. It is a meadow that is well used but not trampled or manicured. And until recently it was not maltreated. Now development encroaches it from every direction and its very existence is under threat.That threat comes from the National Health Service, which submitted two outline planning applications for three potential uses of this green-field site. DRARA joined with Friends of Warneford Meadow, in objecting to the proposals, which have now been withdrawn pending the outcome of the Town Green Inquiry, which is on-going.
If development is finally agreed, the increase in traffic in the immediate residential area will be intolerable and it would result in significant loss of green and tranquil space within the City of Oxford and the whole Meadow, and its adjacent wooded boundaries, would be dominated by light and noise pollution.
The substantial loss of wildlife habitat would have a serious impact on Warneford Meadow’s role as a wildlife corridor.
The Oxford Strategic Development Control Committee (SDCC) considered three applications pertinent to the Warneford Meadow on Wednesday 25th April 2007. Following less than an hour of discussions about the nature and process of the planning applications for Park Hospital, Warneford Hospital and Warneford Meadow, 
Oxford City Council’s Strategic Development Control Committee unanimously adopted the following resolution.
1. To decline to comment on the principle of development on the three sites
2. To advise the applicants to withdraw the applications
3. For the Planning Officers to take account of the Oxford Local Plan and new material changes since the plan’s inception
4. In the light of the above that the Planning Office advises the applicants to submit new applications
Finance of the Trusts was generally considered not to be a planning consideration and Councillors found no clarity in the process, nor in the applications themselves.
A little victory!
Initially, the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Mental Health Trust and the Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals Trust appealed against the SDCC’s non-determination.
In July 2007, objections to this appeal were submitted by the Residents’ Associations in the immediate area of Warneford Meadow, which includes DRARA. A summary of the Residents’ Associations’ objections can be read here Summary objections; and the full paper here Full objections paper.
The “little Victory” is that the Trusts withdrew their appeal, and therefore the Planning Enquiry was cancelled.
Town Green Inquiry
The Warneford Meadow Town Green Inquiry eventually finished on Thursday, May 22nd 2008. It took fifteen days to complete, three full weeks spread over a period of eight months; this compares with the similar inquiry for the Trap Grounds which was completed in 3 days.
Paul Deluce’s application was opposed by the NHS, which owns the Meadow, and also by a Mr. Whitmey who appears to have a general dislike for Town Greens in principle. The two main sides called more than forty oral witnesses, mainly speaking in support of the application, and over 2300 pages of written evidence were submitted. The Inspector, Vivian Chapman QC, made at least two site visits. Our barrister, Ross Crail, put forward a lucid and persuasive case to demonstrate that for more than twenty years many local residents have freely used Warneford Meadow and Orchard for recreation and pastimes. The NHS denied this and argued that the recreational use was only sporadic and that the meadow’s main use is for commuters and local residents who only use the footpaths to go to and from the hospital, university and amenities in Headington and Cowley. They had difficulty in defending this position as they put forward the opposite case in the Footpaths Inquiry which was held in 2000 when three footpaths were successfully claimed on Warneford Meadow. At this Inquiry they claimed that the Meadow was used randomly for recreation and that there was no evidence of footpath use, ie people going from A to B. The NHS also claimed that bunds and signs went up in the late 80’s and early 90’s as a clear message to the local community that the Meadow could not be used “as of right”. This was more difficult to argue against as the NHS only made this claim when the inquiry was well advanced and whilst their evidence was weak it was difficult for us to prove that such things didn’t exist. However we produced several credible witnesses who denied that these signs and bunds were meant to, or in fact did deter recreational use of the Meadow
This legal process has been longwinded and intense and we are grateful for the immense amount of support that we have received from the local community. Many people have written witness statements and attended the hearings. Particular thanks go to those who presented their statements at the Inquiry who often had to endure hours of cross-examination. We are also grateful to our legal team, solicitor Alastair Wallace and barrister Ross Crail. Both have an impressive track record in Town Green inquiries and litigation, and they have been both professional and good natured even at times of great stress and tension. The drawn-out process has meant that the legal costs have trebled since the original estimates and will now probably total £44,000; we cannot be sure of the final figure until we receive the invoice from our legal team. So far we have raised £37,000 due to the incredible generosity of local residents. There will be a big push this summer to raise the remaining approx. £7000.
If you are able to help with a donation please contact David Sutton at 12 Hilltop Road (Tel: 248847) or attend one of our fundraising events. We should also note our special thanks to the Oxfordshire branch of the Campaign for the Protection of Rural England (CPRE) who have provided staunch support and allowed us to gain from the benefit of Gift Aid for larger donations.
We now await the report with the Inspector’s recommendations which we don’t expect until late summer. His recommendations will be made to the Registration Authority, which is Oxfordshire County Council, who will then make the decision on whether to register Warneford Meadow as a Town Green, but whom we would expect to follow his advice.
We will keep you up-to-date on developments as they happen and suggest that you also keep an eye on the website, www.friendsofwarnefordmeadow.org.uk. Please also get in touch if you would like to read the 21 page final submission that Ross Crail made to the Inquiry,which you can also find on our website.
What can you do?
Paul is seeking assistance in paying for the legal costs, which – as a result of the additional days of the Inquiry – rocketed up from the initial £20,000 to an estimated £37,000. But thanks to the generosity of a great many local residents, and the fundraising efforts of the local community, £35,000 has already been pledged. But more is still needed so if anyone is able to help (Gift Aid available for donations over £100) please contact Sietske Boeles, 108 Southfield Road (Tel:728153) or email FOWM@btinternet.com for further details. Forthcoming fundraising events can be found listed in the Events section of the website.
