Cuckoo in the nest: the IWCA in the council chamber
Battling obesity: slicing the cost of replacement leisure cards
Blackbird Leys councillor Lee Cole’s motion calling for the £5.00 replacement fee for Slice cards (providing reduced-price access to the council’s sports facilities) to be reduced to a nominal 50p charge was approved at the 12 September Executive Board meeting. Cllr Cole said, ‘We should be encouraging people to get involved in sports and fitness activities as a way of improving health and tackling levels of obesity. The £5 charge was a strong disincentive for those on low incomes to get a replacement card if the original was lost, particularly if they had a concessionary card that only costs £2.10 in the first place.’
Thrift Place renovation starts
We are pleased to report that following the IWCA’s question to council in the summer about the redevelopment of Thrift Place, work has now started on converting the derelict flats into two houses. The site was also secured recently after the IWCA complained to owners Bromford Housing Association that hoardings had been torn down.
Council throws good money after bad
Last year when the IWCA voted against a housing development on the Trap Grounds in North Oxford because the area is on a flood plain and the developer had no plans to deal with this, Labour tried to attack the IWCA for being ‘against social housing’—a ludicrous claim given our record. Now the council’s Strategic Management Board has highlighted the financial risks involved in taking the matter to the House of Lords (as the result of a NIMBY protest) without having tested the site for ground water levels to see if it was viable.
Leys Independent, issue 30, November 2005
| 
