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To: Mr Bob Price, Leader of Oxford City Council

Save badgers : abandon Seacourt Park & Ride plans

Oxfordshire Badger Group urges Oxford City Council to abandon plans to extend the Seacourt Park & Ride in Oxford. Planning application Ref/16 /02745/CT3 must be withdrawn.

Why is this important?

Oxford City Council wants to extend the Seacourt Park and Ride onto Flood Plain land that it owns beside the Seacourt stream. The proposals are contrary to the Council's own policies and costs are spiraling. The Council claims the extra 700 parking spaces are needed urgently. Yet it intends to cut capacity at the nearby ‘underused’ Redbridge Park & Ride by 270 spaces. Seacourt will become Oxford's largest Park & Ride yet is often closed due to floods. The Council has a duty to preserve the Oxford City's Green Belt for posterity yet seems determined to destroy it.

Badgers and other wildlife thrive on this rich and delightful open space. They survive the periodic floods but will suffer immensely if the Park and Ride is extended.

It is not reasonable to permanently destroy a locally important, unspoiled, abundant wildlife habitat for short term gain. We urge Mr Price to tell his Council to withdraw this application. It must commit to cherish and preserve environmentally rich green field areas such as this.
Seacourt Park & Ride, Botley Road, Oxford

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Updates

2017-10-11 12:47:43 +0100

Oxfordshire Badger Group Members will be presenting this petition on your behalf at High Noon on Tues 17th October. Your support has helped us persuade to Bob Price, Leader of Oxford City Council to meet us personally in the Council Chambers. We'll be making the most of this opportunity to put our case and make a splash in the news.

Led by a badger dressed in scuba gear, we'll be joined by Dominic Dyer, CEO of the Badger Trust and leading representatives of the local community. Together we'll highlight how ludicrous this plan to build on flood plain really is. The irreparable damage it will do to a precious unspoilt habitat within the City. Thanks to you our petition is getting mentioned every time Seacourt makes the news. We have local Councillors on our side. The council will decide whether to approve this plan at the end of October. It's far from a done deal but this really is our last chance to influence their decision

2017-08-24 11:52:38 +0100

Oxford City Council’s (OCC’s) application to extend Seacourt Park & Ride was submitted Oct 2016. OCC should respond to the objections in September but has still to provide information required by the Environment Agency. We don’t know when the application will be considered or if there will be further consultation.
Matters are complicated by a separate Environment Agency Flood Alleviation Scheme. This includes a large bund at Seacourt that will have a big impact on the badgers. OCC are lobbying to put the bund behind the houses north of Botley Road rather than supporting the badger friendly option supported by the Environment Agency.
The Oxford Mail (15/08/17) quoted Cllr Bob Price replying to fears of ‘huge traffic problems’ when the Westgate Centre opens: “We’d like to have Queen Street pedestrianised & the Park & Ride in place”. Clearly OCC still want the Park & Ride extension. The threat to the badgers is as great as ever, we’ll keep fighting for them. Thanks for your support.

2017-02-07 08:51:53 +0000

1,000 signatures reached

2017-02-03 17:24:34 +0000

Our campaign and petition had great publicity in the local Oxford papers this week. The article talks about our experience of development threats. If Seacourt goes ahead it will be one of the worst we have witnessed.

http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/yourtown/oxford/15066133.__39_It__39_s_black_and_white_____we__39_ve_reached_crisis_point__39___badger_group_urges_action_to_save_beloved_burrowers/

Oxford City Council could reach a decision whether to go ahead with the Park and Ride plans in February. Please share widely and help us get as many signatures as possible.

Thanks for all your kind messages of support, they encourage us to keep speaking up for our badgers.

2016-12-31 16:18:24 +0000

500 signatures reached

2016-12-20 17:11:00 +0000

100 signatures reached

2016-12-19 20:12:38 +0000

50 signatures reached

2016-12-19 18:36:36 +0000

25 signatures reached

2016-12-19 17:32:20 +0000

10 signatures reached