Following criticism of the University by the Save Port Meadow campaign, for delays in a retrospective Environment Impact Assessment concerning the Port Meadow development, a spokesperson for the University has stated that it will be published next week.
Campaigners wrote to the Oxford Mail last week, claiming that the University has repeatedly pushed back the release of the assessment, which it agreed to conduct last year. They expect the report to outline “the effect of its inappropriate and over-sized development that has ruined Port Meadow”.
The letter reads, “This piece of work was originally expected by Easter, then by the summer, then after the summer, and yet we are still waiting. We have now been told it will be out ‘in the next few weeks’, but the University continues to be coy about precisely when.
“Since there is then an automatic six week consultation period, if the assessment is made available any later than the end of October, the whole process will roll into the Christmas holiday period when many people who might wish to express their views may well be away or otherwise distracted.”
The £21.5m Castle Mill development at Port Meadow has attracted controversy over the last two years, with notable figures speaking out against the accommodation complex. Oxford resident and fantasy author, Phillip Pullman, denounced the structures as “destructive, brutal, ugly vandalism”.
Former Lord Major, Alan Armitage, also criticised the development, writing in a joint open letter to the Oxford Mail that it “is already causing widespread public dismay.” He further claimed, “Failure to act would do lasting damage, not only to the setting of Port Meadow but to the reputation of Oxford as a civilised place that values and safeguards its heritage.”
A University spokesperson told Cherwell, “The voluntary Environmental Impact Assessment offered by the University and prepared by independent consultants will be published on Thursday 30th October. The document will be submitted to the city council so that it has all the information necessary to decide whether to discharge the outstanding planning conditions for the Castle Mill graduate accommodation buildings.”
They added, “There will be an opportunity for interested parties and members of the public to give their views on the document to the council. Copies will be made available to interested parties as well as through the city council.”
The first phase of the graduate housing complex was completed in 2004, with initial buildings established at the southern side of the site. From 2012, a one hectare site north of the pre-existing accommodation underwent development; criticisms were levied at these four to five storey accommodation blocks that obstruct the view of the Oxford skyline from Port Meadow.
Speaking of the University’s announcement, Matthew Sherrington, of the Save Port Meadow campaign, said, “It’s about time, having been a full year since the Save Port Meadow campaign forced the retrospective EIA out of the University by going to court.
One student commented, “Good on the Save Port Meadow campaigners for persevering over two years. I’m unsure what impact this EIA can have though—the development complex has been built. What can anybody do about it now?”
