6 Dale Close garden was a buzz most of the morning of 5th June 2021, as pickers came and went and others joined us for coffee and biscuits. It was a joy to chat with friends, some of whom we have not seen for a long while.
Author: SENDRA
LITTER BLITZ 2021
The OX-CLEAN 2021 SPRING CLEAN EVENT was held on Saturday 5 June.
SENDRA members turned out in force on a beautiful sunny day to clean up the area. 18 members were ably helped by 6 enthusiastic young people. A BIG thank you to everyone who took part. We were pleasantly surprised to see only a small amount of litter this year. There was only one report of drug paraphernalia. Two needles were found, plus several pieces of broken glass on the old railway bridge. Our safety was paramount and no sharps etc. were collected. Instead, we took photos of builder’s waste, broken bottles etc. and these were reported to Streetscene via our contact at the Civic Society.
SENDRA – History
The SENDRA History Pamphlet written in 2008 by Mary Hodges is available to download here: SENDRA – A Brief History of an Oxford Parish
There is also a leaflet celebrating the history of St Ebbe’s shown here:
WESTGATE….another view
Margaret Maden
Ian Green has provided, here, a clear account of how SENDRA was involved in the development of Westgate; a consultation of high quality.
My own views about Westgate, then and now, differ perhaps? I believe the consultation was effective, even if we didn’t succeed in everything we recommended. Having a ‘back door’ into John Lewis is a good for us and everyone approaching from the city’s southern neighbourhoods? Having a large shopping mall which is accessible, clean, sheltered and well provided with seating is a welcome addition to Oxford’s city centre? One SENDRA member, when consultation started, expressed a commonly held view – ‘we don’t want a bog standard shopping centre’. We haven’t been landed with this have we?
20% of the ‘retail outlets’ are restaurants and the roof level variety is impressive, with great views, from Norwegian KUPP in particular, of our estate and the HInksey Hills beyond. Views from the roof’s eastern side of Oxford’s ‘dreaming spires’ are rewarding. Having a good quality cinema is a singular asset, as is a Blackwell’s bookshop, and our refurbished County Library at the main entrance; a welcome civic element.
The information panels distributed around the Centre, describing Westgate’s Franciscan origins are well constructed, illustrated and written, even though less engaging or impressive than the real in situ remains. Key artefacts and displays from the excavation are available in the County Museum.
The four reputable architectural firms employed for 4 sectors promised more than was delivered; the ‘dreaming spire’ over the main entrance is a joke? The centre still has a ‘fortified castle’ feel to it with its south and east frontages particularly off putting, but the open ‘24/7’ walkways into and out of the Mall are helpful and welcoming.
During the pandemic, the shelter offered during bad weather and the availability of seating for social encounters and chats were clear benefits. Sainsbury should be awarded a medal for managing to stay open before, during and after both Westgate’s construction and the pandemic.
However, the pandemic has emphasised how the further rise of online shopping threatens all physical shops and high streets. The future of Westgate is further questioned by this large scale trend. Sad that a (mainly) well designed and conceived centre should be thus out of time; an anachronism perhaps – as Ian Green suggests?
What exactly, will we instead have as our ‘back door’? Perhaps, at least, the weekend traffic jams – cars awaiting access to John Lewis’s underground car park will end. Should we petition the Franciscan order – its return might be the best solution?
Photos in the Snow Competition – 2021
It was such fun watching some of our younger and not so young members having fun in the snow, lifting our spirits. We are pleased to announce that the prize for the best ‘Snowy Photo’ goes to Caroline Shelvey for the picture of her Snowman. John Stobbs’ dog walker was runner up and Annie Wooton’s treescape came third.
Litter blitz (March 2017)
Saturday 4 March 2017, fifteen SENDRA residents turned out for the OxClean Litter Blitz. Two stalwart residents recovered a couple of bicycles and a shopping trolley from Castle Mill Stream, one of which was stolen before the City Council recovered all the litter from Thames Street (but not before this photo was taken).
Following the Litter Blitz, residents met for coffee, cake and biscuits. Lemon drizzle cake went down especially well as did the Malawian recipe banana bread.
A clarification about non-return valves
The SENDRA committee has just received this valuable clarification about non-return valves from Alan Alcock. We think it may be useful for all members to read it.
Dear Chair,
I don’t know who suggested the installation of non-return valves. No doubt the committee’s advice is well-intentioned. However, it seems to me to be misguided.
I shall try to explain. In my front garden is a manhole where the soil and waste pipe from my house joins the drainage system. Everyone has something similar. Now, imagine that the river level rises to such an extent that it fills up the system and overflows into my garden, your garden, the street etc.. Let us suppose it eventually reaches the level of my ground floor, our ground floors. Note that this is the level of the effluent inside my soil pipe which can rise about another 40cm before the ground floor WC overflows inside my house. Note also, however, that the effluent is already starting to enter my/your house via the front door, or any other door at ground floor level. Any non-return valve fitted on my soil pipe has been by-passed. So the installation of one of these gadgets achieves nothing. I therefore think that you and your committee should withdraw your advice.
On a more general note, I was encouraged by Chris Knight’s recent paper on flooding. It seems to me both sensible and positive. So why are we making questionable proposals to mitigate flooding as if it is likely? Old habits….?
Best wishes.
Alan Alcock
SENDRA meeting with Laing O’Rourke
SENDRA members have been invited by Laing O’Rourke, the construction company that is building the new Westgate center, for a short discussion about environmental monitoring.
The meeting took place on the 11th of March (2016) at the site offices. There were the Project Liaison Officer, the Sustainability Manager and two members of SENDRA.
SENDRA explained that there were concerns about possible worsening of noise, vibration and air quality due to the presence of the constructions. Laing O’Rourke representatives showed how the site is being constantly monitored thanks to two electronic equipments. Details about noise levels, dust and vibrations were discussed. All the figures and graphs shown by Lang O’Rourke proved that the measurements were below the fixed thresholds. The data was shown as daily or weekly averages, which do not exclude the possibility that occasional peaks get over the thresholds. SENDRA members were assured that, when peaks are detected, an alarm is produced so that corrective measures can be taken.
In conclusion, SENDRA members were satisfied by the levels of dust, noise and vibration being shown and were reassured by the monitoring measurements being put in place. Laing O’Rourke promised to publish regular updates about the measurements and to mention if any “exceptional” event might produce spikes and what actions are taken to keep them under control.
Results of the air quality measurement campaign
The results of the air quality measurement campaign are available for all SENDRA members.
We took two samples at two different sites: Thames Street and Dale Close of Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2), a typical product of combustion, especially of diesel engines. NO2 is sadly known for it effects on human health, as this sheet from DEFRA explains well.
The results of our measurements are as shown in this table:
| Sample Number | Site | Date and Time ON | Date and Time OFF | Exposure Time (Hours) | Total μg | μg m-3 | ppb | Bias Adjusted |
| OXF/15A/NA1S1 | 8 THAMES ST OXF | 10/01/16 12:36 | 10/02/16 19:17 | 750.68 | 1.13 | 21.6 | 11.2 | 17.928 |
| OXF/15A/NA1S2 | DALE CLOSE OXF | 10/01/16 12:43 | 10/02/16 19:10 | 750.45 | 1.36 | 25.9 | 13.5 | 21.497 |
Note: bias is 0.83
Both measurements are much less than the limit for the annual mean of 40 microgrames m3 of NO2. It has to be considered that our monitoring was only a ‘snapshot’ of one month, the situation could change over time or there could be peaks that are not detected with this technique. Nonetheless, these measurements give an indication that, at least for what regards NO2, air quality is satisfactory in our area.
To confirm these measurement, we can have a look at the official county’s figures. If we select the measurements done in Thames Street at the height of Trinity Street, you can see that the numbers are always below the threshold of 40 and consistent with our measurement.
In the future, it would be interesting to observe what are the level of noise and dust, especially since the works at the Westgate have started.
SENDRA and Clean Air UK measure air quality in the area
Some SENDRA members are worried about the impact of the Westgate developments and the increasing levels of traffic on the quality of the air they breathe.
SENDRA has established a collaboration with the Network for Clean Air UK, an Oxford based association that organises programmes of citizen science projects to measure air pollution. Network for Clean Air has kindly offered SENDRA two diffusion tubes for measuring the concentration of Nitrogen Dioxide, one of the main air pollutants generated by combustion engines.
Tubes were installed on the 10th of January 2016 in two locations: Thames Street and Dale Close. This way we will be able to compare the level of exposure to pollutants between homes close to the main roads and those a bit more inside.
The installed tubes will be removed at the beginning of February and sent to a lab where they will be analysed. Results will be distributed to SENDRA members as soon as they are available.
SENDRA 