Waterways Management Company
Annual Objectives for the Management Committee 2019-20
1 Install stone weirs
in the balancing pond of the watercourse and carry out silt clearance as
required. 2 Complete the transfer of the freehold of relevant parts of the estate freehold from Berkeley Homes to the Waterways Management Company 3 Renew the paving slabs with a more durable solution in priority areas around apartment blocks. 4 Maintain the trees, shrubs and other vegetation of the common parts of the estate. 5 Reduce the alders in Frenchay Road and plant a replacement for the felled tree as an example of any future choice of tree there. 6 Respond as
necessary to any proposals for a Controlled Parking Zone across the estate. 7 Keep a watching brief on issues of noise and air pollution from the railway line. Council Plans for parking across the estate We are all aware of the problems caused by parking by commuters and others across the estate. The WMC Committee thinks that this will only be solved ultimately by a residents parking scheme and it will be pressing for this. In the meantime the County Council, which is responsible for the adopted roads on the estate, proposed new parking arrangements to solve the immediate safety issues in Frenchay Road and by the nursery in Elizabeth Jennings Way. The scheme for Elizabeth Jennings Way was implemented and has been successful; however, following comments from residents the Frenchay Road proposal was withdrawn for further consideration. Subsequently the county council has put forward a proposal for a Controlled Parking Zone across the whole estate. The first stage of consultation on this proposal with individual households across the estate ended in December 2018 and at the time of writing we are waiting to hear if the council wishes to take the proposal forward to the next stage. If it does it will produce detailed plans for further consultation before making a final decision. May 2019 Character Assessments and Development Guidelines Railway line noise monitoring There has been some concern that Network Rail has not and will not adequately monitor the greater noise levels, particularly from the increased freight trafic, generated by the upgraded Oxford to Bicester and Marylebone railway line that runs by the Waterways estae and through Wolvercote. Therefore in 2018 the Waterways and Wolvercote Action Group, made up of representatives from the Waterways Management Company, the Waterways Residents Association and Wolvercote residents, crowdfunded the money to pay for an expert in the field, Giles Parker of Sound Barrier Solutions, to carry out some authoritative real life noise measurements for a week in the gardens of five properties next to the line, two on the Waterways estate and three in Wolvercote. The group would like to thank most heartily all those who contributed. The report that resulted is listed below as a file beginning Sound Barrier Solutions... The intention is to provide authoratitive base-line figures of actual noise levels experienced now, so that as rail traffic increases, as we expect it to, in the next few years, espeially heavy freight traffic operating 24/7, we will have a way of clearly demonstrating any increase in noise in a way that cannot be challenged and so be able to make a stronger case for increased noise mitigation. May 2019 |
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