Oxley Woods Living

Life in an Oxley Woods eco house

 
 

Posts Tagged ‘RSHP’

 

Success!

February 27, 2012

Great news from earlier this evening – Milton Keynes Partnership voted unanimously to refuse the Taylor Wimpey planning application!

Committee members had visited the estate this afternoon before the meeting. They made positive reference to this in their comments, stating that the experience of seeing the site had made the case for refusal even stronger.

The Taylor Wimpey representatives asked for a deferral in order to have more time to negotiate about aspects of the application, but the committee didn’t accept this. Instead they agreed with us and the planning officers present that a fundamental revisions of the designs and a whole new planning application would be required.

A big thanks to all the residents of Oxley Woods and our neighbours from elsewhere in Oxley Park who submitted letters of objection – it was worth the effort!

So what next?

Residents continue to want to see a high quality completion of the site. RSHP are willing to do the work and the sub-contractors are here on site at present. We are ready to play our part in making this option a success.

Could Taylor Wimpey yet change their minds and agree to complete the original scheme? Let’s hope so.

If not, perhaps Homes and Communities Agency should look for another company to do a better job?

 

{guest post by Chris}

Winning!

February 17, 2012

So now it is official.

Planning officials at Milton Keynes Partnership have today recommended that the Taylor Wimpey / CMYK proposals for the completion of Oxley Woods be refused planning permission.

Milton Keynes Council Development Control Committee will give their views of the proposals on Monday 20th February, and we expect them to back the recommendations of council officials. [Warning: 6Mb file]

The MKP committee will then reach a decision at its meeting on Monday 27th February. The report for that meeting is now available here.

Residents from Oxley Woods have been joined by neighbours from elsewhere in Oxley Park in opposing these plans – over 40 objections were submitted.

So what comes next?

We will certainly look to continue our dialogue with Homes and Communities Agency, MK Council and MK Partnership to try to secure a high quality completion for the Oxley Woods estate.

But the big questions now lie with Taylor Wimpey. They took a decision back in 2009 that they didn’t want to complete the site with the award-winning RSHP designs. That’s a real shame, and a waste of three years.

If Taylor Wimpey wants to reconsider we will be willing to give our input. Residents here have great ideas on how our homes could be further improved. And we’ve already shown our willingness to help sell them. How about it?

 

{Guest post by Chris}

RSH+P back Oxley Woods residents

January 12, 2012

Oxley Woods residents had a busy time over the Christmas break, scrutinising the new Taylor Wimpey proposals and spotting many inaccuracies and omissions.We also met with planning officials to ask questions about the planning process.

In the course of our discussions, we picked up that it had been suggested to planning officials that the original architects Rogers Stirk Harbour and Partners (RSHP) didn’t want to be involved in completing the site.

Now that just didn’t chime with what we knew from our positive engagement with RSHP over the past year. We’ve worked with them to host visits to Oxley Woods from interested architects, BBC Radio 4, a TV company, and the mayor and councillors of Tower Hamlets council. We knew first hand the passion and commitment that RSHP have for their Oxley Woods scheme.

And now we have that confirmed in writing from RSHP themselves. Ivan Harbour has once again taken the trouble to write to Oxley Woods residents to share RSHP’s views on the designs put forward by Taylor Wimpey. He also reconfirms their continued willingness to develop alternative designs for the site based on the original concept.

All Taylor Wimpey has to do is ask… how about it?

Attached are Ivan Harbour’s letters to Oxley Woods residents from March 2011 and January 2012.

110309_Ivan_Harbour_Oxley_residents_letter

120109_Ivan_Harbour_Oxley_residents_letter

{Guest post by Chris}

Wimpey Make Official Move to Trash Oxley Woods Plans

December 12, 2011

Updated, planning details can be found online at MK Partnership, click here to see the planning details.

A planning application for 26 dwellings has been received today at Milton Keynes council.

Nothing spectacular there, but these 26 dwellings are the neither here nor there brick and render clad houses which Taylor Wimpey wish to build in place of the 23 remaning, undeveloped houses of the RSH+P designed, multi-award winning, government backed, flagship Oxley Woods development, as originally planned and promoted to would-be residents buying into this development (still being promoted as of last month as a 145 home development by Wimpey themselves, truth in advertising?!).

We’re waiting on more details, but a letter will be on its way to “all Oxley Woods residents by the end of the week” and will outline a statutory “21 day consultation period for comment”.

So that’s 21 days, over Christmas and New Year, when they know people will be very busy and it will be hardest for their own customers to object to their plans to trash the community we all bought in to Wimpey’s “good word”.

Nicely timed Wimpey, not devious at all. And while you’re at it, why not try further profiteering by adding three more homes, just to rub salt into the wound?

Apparently the fact that Wimpey have timed their move as such will be taken into account, some leeway may be granted, but still… If only Wimpey’s distain for residents could be part of the consideration for planning, but it isn’t, more’s the pity. So much for the season of goodwill.

More discussion for residents is ongoing in the residents forum here at Oxley Woods Living, a meeting may be arranged to discuss how to go forward against Wimpey.

Fore more on the history of Wimpey’s moves to dump Oxley Woods, see the Oxley Woods Future section of the blog.

Oxley Woods “a runaway success” says Wimpey…

November 15, 2011

Further indications that either Taylor Wimpey are prepared to commit to completing the award winning 145 home Oxley Woods development has arrived courtesy of Steve Rolt, Regional Sales and Marketing Director for Taylor Wimpey South Midlands.

Either that, or further indications that Taylor Wimpey will say anything to anyone to suit their current position, telling the public one thing, and planning authorities, suppliers, residents and architects another. But surely they wouldn’t be so blatantly duplicitous, right?

So let’s accept this as great news worth celebrating!

In what appears to be a Taylor Wimpey endorsed press release, promoting the “last few remaining” (wait, what, they can’t count to 145, can they?!) homes at Oxley Woods published at Easier Property the aforementioned Steve Rolt, Regional Sales and Marketing Director for Taylor Wimpey South Midlands, had the following to say:

Our high-quality new build homes in Milton Keynes at Oxley Woods have been a runaway success with style-conscious home-buyers looking for a truly special place to live.

These stunning properties in Milton Keynes are a design-led triumph, being created by the architects behind Paris’ iconic Pompidou Centre and London’s O2 Arena.

The article in general is well written and a lot of the positives certainly ring true, this place is, overall, a triumph and we adore living here.

But for Wimpey to wax lyrical on one hand while on the other telling current residents they can’t finish the site because of poor sales, higher costs and other issues, well you can draw your own conclusions as to what kind of company they are.

Furthermore, you can draw your own conclusions regarding those in positions of power who claim to support good environment, good neighbourhoods, and pioneering design on one hand, yet seem prepared to let Taylor Wimpey steam through with their plans to destroy a pioneering, award winning community with their only defence being higher profitability. It stinks, it really does.

So come on Steve Rolt, Regional Sales and Marketing Director for Taylor Wimpey South Midlands, I call for you to join us and fight for the completion of Oxley Woods as planned, it’s clearly won your heart and backing, so help us change your company’s mind and get this site finished!