Oxley Woods Living

Life in an Oxley Woods eco house

 
 

Posts Tagged ‘taylor wimpey’

 

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.

An open letter to Steve Rolt of Taylor Wimpey

November 15, 2011

Dear Mr Rolt,

As Regional Sales and Marketing Director for Taylor Wimpey South Midlands, I am certain you will be aware of the developments (or lack thereof) which have taken place at the multi-award winning, RSH+P designed Oxley Woods housing development, of which Taylor Wimpey have many times openly expressed their pride.

As one of the more “established” members of the development, I have personally been very active in the community. Our own property suffered from many problems, and we have an established blog and forum community now at http://oxleywoodsliving.co.uk and as another sign of how well this development is evolving, and taking pride in the houses you have built and sold, there is now even an Wiki for residents to share advice at http://oxleywoods.wikia.com/

Despite our issues, we have encouraged others to buy here, and would do the same given our time again. Oxley Woods is exemplary in so many ways, is very brave, beautiful, and somewhere Taylor Wimpey should rightly be very proud of.

In spite of this, as you are probably well aware, the powers that be are doing all they can to abandon the scheme far ahead of completion. Senior management at Taylor Wimpey appear hell-bent on destroying their good image, and rejecting the faith and good wishes of the local community they helped to established, by dropping the award winning homes in favour of far more traditional looking and/or “hybrid” building designs, which fall far short of the image Lord Rogers and his architectural firm have set forth.

You can imagine then, how delighted I and some fellow residents were to hear you express the views published by Easier (and no doubt other outlets) this past week. http://www.easier.com/96711-cutting-edge-milton-keynes-property.html

As Regional Sales and Marketing Director for Taylor Wimpey South Midlands you have a unique insight into your company that we as residents do not have, and to hear you declare Oxley Woods as a “runaway success” and a “truly special place to live”. When you wax lyrical about the “innovative, energy-saving designs and construction techniques” it reminds me of days past when Wimpey had a sales office on-site occupied by enthusiastic sales staff who appeared to believe they really were establishing a new way forward, something with potential, something to be proud of. I am so happy this spirit lives on within yourself, despite the actions of others in your organisation.

And it is these words, your pride, your passion for our homes and the Oxley Woods development which has lead me to make this request of you.

Please Mr Rolt, please do everything within your power to support our lobbying of Taylor Wimpey to finish the 145 home development as originally envisioned, proposed and sold to us here at Oxley Woods. Please back your words with actions and contact all those in senior management you can, to tell them they are wrong.

You are the Regional Sales and Marketing Director, you know what sells, you must believe these incredible homes have a market, you must know it is wrong for your company to abandon their goals, to run away from innovation and step back into the mundane. You can help us make this happen Mr Rolt, you sell these homes, tell your bosses what you’re telling the public in your press releases, that Oxley Woods is a runaway success, and to drop it now would be a travesty.

Thank you for your kind words regarding our estate and our homes. Please take this further and back us internally, it could really help turn a corner. You love this place, we love this place, do not let those in your company who wish to destroy it win.

Thank you.

Kind Regards,

Paul Mullett.

Please note this is an open letter, published at the time of writing. Your email address is publicly listed by Taylor Wimpey via a quick Google search.