Isn't this beautiful? An old-fashioned canal barge potters past ancient Port Meadow on the fringes of Oxford. The view has been cherished and preserved by generations of those who love and appreciate the value of the landscape.
But here come the City of Oxford Planning Department - crass and architecturally-illiterate, indifferent to the appearance of the city, too idle to consider the impact on the view, plodding through their form-filling.
A big developer can make millions by dumping a huge block of flats bang in the middle of all this beauty. Standing in their way means work. It is much easier just to let them have their way. The residents have no right of appeal, so they can be ignored, and most of the councillors will do as they are told - just hint that an appeal will cost money out of their budget and they will approve anything.
This is what the man on the barge is looking at.
The man in charge of planning at Oxfrd City Council is called Michael Crofton-Briggs. Let him know what you think by sending him an e-mail at mcrofton-briggs@oxford.gov.uk
The councillors and planners will not stop here. For more on the plans to turn Oxford into Gotham City see Oxford plans its ruin on our sister site.
