Author Archives: Andrew S

Langford Life – from the archives…

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To mark the 25th Anniversary of the Community Centre, the committee wanted to make back issues of the “Langford Life” newsletter electronically. Paper copies have been scanned so they can be published on this website.

The Association itself came about following the first ever Langford Village Residents Public Meeting which was held on 26 November 1992 at Longfields School. More than 200 residents of Langford Village attended along with speakers from Oxfordshire County Council, Cherwell District Council, representatives of local schools, local councillors, the police and church leaders.

The then leader of Cherwell District Council, Cllr Douglas Spencer (among others), raised the importance of forming a residents association. Other issues of note were the provision of facilities including a school, community centre, doctors surgery, shops and a pub along with the necessary access roads. Completion of the ring road which went nowhere was a big issue – at that time there was no bridge underneath the railway line to London.

If local residents were to form an association it would enable them to be involved in local issues – running the future Community Centre, school and transport provision, the completion of roads and other infrastructure, the provision of amenities and policing etc. The general aim was that such an association would be involved in consultation at all levels affecting the future of the community.

A community association (as opposed to a residents association) was suggested in order to engage with a broader base of the population. At the subsequent meeting on 9 December 1992 it was agreed that the name of the new association should be the Langford Village Community Association.

The first “Langford Life” newsletter was published in January 1993. In the headlines then were Langford’s new bus service to be provided by Thames Transit and a second post box. Click on the image below to view it in full.

Although much has changed in 25 years many of the issues of today do seem rather familiar!

Langford Life Issue I

‘Oxfordshire Plan 2050’ – time running out…

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Time is running out to respond to the “Oxfordshire Plan 2050”. The plan is devised by the Oxfordshire Growth Board and represents the next stage of further extensive housing development beyond 2030. By 2031, more than 4000 houses are already in the pipeline for the area of Bicester south of the railway, surrounding Langford and Ambrosden. But by 2050 government wants up to 300,000 new homes in Oxfordshire.

The deadline for response is 25 March 2019 i.e next Monday.

The timing of this announcement is similar to the National Infrastructure Commission report ‘Partnering for Prosperity’ which was published just 3 days before the Budget on 22 November 2017. That budget effectively agreed the report without any consultation and set in motion plans for 1 million new houses in the Cambridge – Milton Keynes – Oxford Arc by 2050.

With government and media currently pre-occupied with other matters, this consultation risks slipping under the radar. The seemingly relentless drive for growth at any cost – 1 million new houses, 300,000 in Oxfordshire – would more than double the population of Oxfordshire in the space of 30 years and could be a castrophe. It is the justification for a new Motorway.

On budget day, the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government published a policy paper on the Arc, outlining the ‘government ambition and joint declaration between government and local partners’.

See link below:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-oxford-cambridge-arc-government-ambition-and-joint-declaration-between-government-and-local-partners

If you feel such growth is unsustainable, would like to respond to the consultation but are not sure what to say, you may wish to review the following link…

https://southoxfordshiresustainability.org.uk

Big Increase in Commuting to Oxford

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As the Public Inquiry into Phase 2 of East West Rail begins today in Milton Keynes I have been looking at the latest station usage data. Estimates of Station Usage for 2017-18, for all stations in Great Britain, were published by the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) in December 2018. There were almost 2 million entries and exits at Bicester Village station representing 51% increase in usage compared with the previous year.
East West Rail Phase 1 was completed in December 2016 and the latest estimates include the first full year’s data for Chiltern Railways’ Oxford to Marylebone train service.

Annual Estimates of Station Usage – data from orr.gov.uk

Station2017-18
Entries		2016-17
Entries		2015-16
Entries		Change since
2016-17
Bicester Village1,979,0001,311,000413,000+668,000 [+51%]
Islip34,10019,60010,500+14,500 [+74%]
Oxford Parkway939,000810,000275,000+129,000 [+16%]
Oxford7,984,0006,631,0006,565,000+1,353,000 [+20%]
Marylebone16,693,00016,667,00015,933,000+26,000 [+0%]
Bicester North 792,000923,0001,417,000-132,000 [-14%]

Nationally, usage was flat while the general trend across the south east was down. Several years of above average fare increases are now clearly having an impact. Yet on the Chiltern route, Banbury, Leamington Spa, Warwick, Warwick Parkway, Solihull and High Wycombe all showed small increases. Bicester North showed a 14% drop in usage while Birmingham Moor Street and Snow Hill also saw small decreases. On the North Cotswolds line and other routes into Oxford usage also fell.

It is clear that most of the 1.35 million increase at Oxford will be due to commuting on the new Chiltern service, particularly from Bicester. The 14-minute journey is attractive compared with the congested A34. While Oxford will have seem some growth from further afield, opening of the new Westgate shopping centre will also be a factor.

Locally there has also been some abstraction from Bicester North to Bicester Village. Despite the more limited car parking facilities, the train service between Bicester Village and Marylebone is now clearly preferred. And commuting to Oxford looks set to grow further when the service increases to 5tph from Bicester with EWR Phase 2 from 2023. Back in 2007-08 the equivalent figures for Bicester Town and Bicester North were 52,000 and 911,000 – how things have changed in 10 years…

Using the Defibrillator (Video)

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Users of the Hall may have noticed the yellow box situated on the wall to left of the entrance to the Langford Village Community Centre. This contains an Automated External Defibrillator (AED). An AED is a sophisticated yet easy-to-use device that could save a life.
 
 
Sudden cardiac arrest is a leading cause of premature death. It occurs because the normal electrical rhythm that controls the heart is replaced by a chaotic disorganised electrical rhythm – ventricular fibrillation (VF).
 
The quicker VF can be treated by defibrillation, the greater the chance of successful resuscitation. Every second counts as unfortunately the ambulance service is unlikely to arrive quickly enough to resuscitate most victims. 
 
An AED delivers a high energy electric shock to a victim in sudden cardiac arrest to restore the heart’s normal rhythm. The AED analyses the victim’s heart rhythm precisely and will only deliver a shock if it is required.
 
Many victims of sudden cardiac arrest can be saved if persons nearby recognise what has happened, dial 999 to summon the ambulance service without delay, perform Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and use an AED.
 
Click below to watch our short video explaining how residents can use the AED at Langford Village Community Centre.
 

Councillors push for level crossing funding

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The East West Rail scheme should be good news for Bicester overall. However, as residents will be aware, Network Rail have ignored the London Road level crossing in all of their consultations for Phase 2 of the scheme (EWR2). Officially the position of Network Rail and local councillors is that there are no plans to close the crossing. 

When the line through to Bletchley, Milton Keynes and Bedford reopens from 2023 it will result in at least 3x as many trains running (with the prospect of more to come in future).

Whether or not the road is actually closed, when the crossing is closed for 45 minutes in an hour (as seems likely) the net effect will be similiar. EWR2 significantly impacts on the level crossing, increasing congestion and effectively cutting off Langford Village from the town centre.

We have made it clear that simply closing the crossing (as many residents fear), or doing nothing is not an option. We and many others have been pushing for clarity on the issue. A solution is needed that will allow an accessible route into town to be maintained whilst removing the conflict between road and rail at the level crossing. 

The LVCA is objecting to the EWR2 scheme not just because of the lack of a solution at London Road but also due to the lack of electrification. 

Network Rail say in their statement of case to the forthcoming Public Inquiry that “the extended closure times are comparable to other busy level crossings around the UK which are considered to operate safely”. Some improvements to signalling are planned to be implemented as part of EWR2 which could reduce the cumulative barrier down time by 25-40 minutes per 24 hour period – i.e. up to 2 minutes per hour could be saved. These improvements could be implemented by 2022.

However, I will be pointing out that running just one extra train each hour wipes out any time savings. We already know there will be more trains than originally planned; building 1 million houses in the region will surely mean even more trains, and the railway through Bicester already has the capacity to handle more trains – both passenger and freight.

On 25 October the Oxford Mail confirmed our Councillors pledge to push for London Road level crossing funding. See also this article here.

Network Rail say they are “committed to working with Oxfordshire County Council (as the Highways Authority) to secure a permanent road solution (overbridge or underpass) for London Road Level Crossing”.

As I have said, such a solution appears not to be funded. And as was posted on this site in 2017 a replacement bridge or tunnel at London Road could cost more than £60 million. The cost is no doubt considerably more than it would have been, had it been implemented in 2015. Yet if a solution is delayed beyond 2023 the cost will sky-rocket. 

Whilst no announcement on funding was forthcoming in the Budget on 29 October, it does seem that things could be moving forwards at last and the elephant in the room is not going to be ignored. Getting it right first time is often the best and most cost effective way.

Cambridge to Oxford Expressway

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At the AGM I gave an update on the proposed Expressway between Cambridge and Oxford. This new type of ‘smart’ expressway will feel more like a motorway with signage on a blue background and some ‘Smart’ motorway features. It will have emergency refuge areas, a variable speed limit, active traffic management but no hard shoulder.

In November 2017, the National Infrastructure Commission published its report “Partnering for Prosperity” which talks about designing transport to unlock major housing growth. The report says that for the arc from Oxford to Cambridge to maximise its economic potential… “current rates of house building will need to double – delivering up to one million new homes by 2050″

Opportunities for growth include expansion of Milton Keynes to a population of 500,000 and development between Bicester and Bletchley, unlocked through the combination of East West Rail and the Expressway, with the potential to grow to city-scale.

Key to this Expressway is closing a 30 mile gap in the national strategic road network between the M1 at Milton Keynes and the M40. On 12 September 2018, the Government announced the preferred corridor for the Expressway from the M1 at Junction 13. It would broadly follow the route of East West Rail via Winslow and likely pass south of Bicester to the M40 and continue eventually to Oxford and Abingdon.

Expressway preferred Corridor B

The preferred route could be announced in 2020 – the first time the public get to have a say. The Expressway could cost £3.5bn and open by 2030.

It strikes me that there is no debate and no joined-up thinking on whether this motorway-on-the-cheap is a good idea, let alone whether a million homes is even feasible. Are there enough water resources to support another 2.4 million people regionally? Another 300,000 homes in Oxfordshire in the space of 30 years would more than double the existing housing stock, built up over hundreds of years! Councils have already been asked where they might put these extra houses. Local Wildlife Trusts say that the corridor selected is possibly the worst option and have launched a Judicial Review. Covering the countryside in concrete could be a catastrophe.