Canalside saga - current situation
In the hands of the administrators
The canalside redevelopment saga took yet another twist in February 2009 when Castlemore Securities, owners of Spring Residential, the developer which had bought the site, sank into administration under the weight of debts, which included a loan from HSBC for the £4 million-Jericho site. Now the canalside site’s future rests with the administrators, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).
One key question is whether they will sell Spring’s assets as a single package to another company, such as Berkeley Homes, or will be prepared to accept offers for individual sites. In whatever way the Jericho site is to be sold, its value has sunk, along with the rest of the property market, probably to somewhere between £1 million and £2 million. But, as both Bellway Homes and Spring discovered, acquiring the site is the easy part. As soon as they try to pile four-storey blocks of flats on the land they run into fierce and effective opposition, both locally and nationally.
For standard ‘volume housebuilders’ this site will be tough going. They will need to carry out a lot of remedial work on contaminated land while also complying with multiple conditions imposed following the two failed planning appeals. The inspector at the first appeal, in 2005, established the requirement of a land contribution for a new community centre, as well as the provision of replacement boatyard facilities, either on the site, or in an “equally accessible location”. The second appeal, in 2008, rejected Spring’s proposed alternative boatyard at Yarnton, while also emphasizing the need for a lively public square – and for sympathetically designed buildings that would respect St. Barnabas Church.
A number of groups have expressed an interest in this site. One is the Jericho Living Heritage Trust (JLHT), a charity, which united with the Jericho Community Association (JCA) to lead the community opposition to Spring at the appeal. The Trust has been raising funds for a community-led development. Stephanie Pirrie for the Trust says: “If we can buy the site we can protect it and preserve as much of the space as possible for community use”. The Trust has been generating a lot of interest, most recently from Stephen Bubb of the Adventure Capital Fund, which backs community enterprises. “Everybody now has to stay strong”, says Stephanie, “and realize that we can do it together. And the more people involved the better – even the smallest things can help”.
Another imaginative non-commercial possibility has also been raised – to have a development based on an eco-centre, along with a boatyard, affordable housing and a community centre. This would involve coming up with a costed plan that would satisfy a financial underwriter.
Commercial developers have also shown an interest. One proposal involves George Ferguson, former President of the Royal Institute of British Architects, who also gave evidence at the appeal against the Spring proposal. On the strength of this, he was approached by Bath-based developer, Future Heritage. Ferguson, says: “This site needs a cultural entrepreneur who will ensure that the community is at the heart of the development, along with enough commercial benefit to enable all this to happen. There should be facilities to take boats out of the water, along with boating-related enterprises. The community centre should not be marginalized, but be at the centre of the development.”
To consider these and other possibilities, four local parties, the JCA, the Church, the Jericho Community Boatyard and the JLHT have formed a Jericho Coordinating Group.
The JCA has already applied for outline planning permission for a new community centre on the site, to comply with the legal agreement reached with Spring concerning the transfer of land – a commitment which will pass to any new owner. Detailed plans for the centre would be drawn up later after further community consultations.
You can view the full planning application on the city council website using the reference 09/01203/OUT, or go there directly by following this link. It would be helpful for the future of the centre if you could make comments in support of this application for a much-needed community facility.
In July 2009 there were two major developments. The first was that the Environment Agency revised its flood map, which had the effect of placing much of Jericho, including the canalside site, into a potential flooding zone, which would reduce the development potential of the site.
The second was that Oxford City Council applied to the government for permission to make a compulsory purchase order on the site - an opportunity afforded by the Sustainable Communities Act of 2007. If successful, the Council could then borrow money from the government to take control of the site to make best use of the land for the community.