Surfacing of the extension to Aristotle Lane

Dear Oxford City Council,

Aristotle Lane bridleway extension and adjacent land

Several years ago when the former pedestiran level crossing across the railway line was closed and a new bridleway bridge was placed over the railway lines joining Aristotle Lane with Port Meadow, new surfaces were created for the bridleway on both bridge ramps ("Land A") and, on the eastern side of the bridge, on an adjacent piece of land designated as a car park for the Trap Ground Allotment Gardens ("Land B"). Land B is also used by the railway company for access to its own property that is adjacent to railway lines. I have a number of requests for information concerning these pieces of land.

1. In respect of Land B, my understanding is that the City Council reached an agreement or agreements with the railway company that granted access to the railway land in return for the an undertaking by the railway company to maintain the surface of Land B.

1.1 Please confirm or deny whether such an agreement exists. If it does, please provide me with the name of the organisation which the Council has an agreement with and please provide me with a full copy of the agreement(s).

1.2 This ground was partially surfaced with perforated concrete hardstanding seeded with grass, with the remainder surfaced with crushed aggregate reinforced with with a plastic stabilizer grid. Unfortunately the surface was not maintained and in consequence, in the potholes that have formed, the plastic stabilizer grid has been degraded and has been lost. Please inform me whether the Council, its subcontractor ODS or any other organisation with which the Council has an agreement has responsibility for maintaining and, if necessary replacing, both the plastic stabilizer grid and for providing a level wearing surface.

1.3 Recently the railway company has installed a new transformer. In undertaking this work, a new set of gates were made so that there are now two gates between Land B and the railway land. Please inform me whether the installation of the new gates required planning permission and, if so, whether a planning application was made for this work.

1.4 In consequence of this work, the parking bay that now stands in front of the new site access gates (which was originally surfaced with the perforated concrete hardstanding) has been closed. Please confirm whether the Railway company has agreed to place perforated concrete hardstanding under the new parking bay.

1.5 Work is at present being carried out by the railway company that has involved laying a new electricity cable under this land. It appears that the trenches for this cable have been backfilled without using any ground reinforcement / stabilizer grid. Please inform me whether the railway company has any obligation to restore the condition of Land B to its as-built condition and whether the Council has required it accordingly to make good the land.

1.6 The railway company has left a redundant piece of equipment on Land B that appears to be the housing for a transformer. This partially blocks a parking bay. Please inform me whether the railway company has permssion to leave its redundant equipment on Land B and whetgher the City Council has requested its removal.

2. Concerning Land A:

2.1 My understand is that the Council has retained responsibility for maintaining the surface of the bridleway. As part of the planning consent, the construction of this bridleway required horizontal rests to be built at intervals to meet statutory requirements. Please confirm that in any instruction that has been given to ODS or other contractors that these rests are to be maintained.

2.2 It has long been known that the inclination of the ramps between the rests is too steep to resist erosion of the crushed aggregate surface of during heavy reainfall. Please confirm whether the City Council has undertaken / has instructed ODS to replace the surface with a material that will better resist erosion and thus stay safe.

2.3 As part of the planning consent for these ramps, handrails were put up. Some of these handrails are now missing. Please may I know whether the Council has responsibility for repairing these handrails and, if so, what steps it has taken to have them repaired and/or replaced

2.4 On the western ramp, both sides of the ramp are supported by grabions. Some of these have collapsed and may cause the ramp to become unstable and thus unsafe. Please may I know whether the Council has responsibility for repairing these grabions and, if so, what steps it has taken to have them repaired and/or replaced.

Any other information relevant to these requests will be appreciated. If for any reason the Council believes any of the information that I have requested is eempt under the FOIA, please kindly explain the justification for the exemption.

Yours faithfully,

Ian Salisbury

Dear Oxford City Council,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of Oxford City Council's handling of my FOI request 'Surfacing of the extension to Aristotle Lane'.

Thank you for the information you have provided. Using the numbering of my original request:

1.1 This land is not registered with the Land Registry. There is a small triangle of land at the foot of the eastern ramp that is registered by the County Council, Title No. ON221987. The remainder of the land appears not to be registered. The information on which you have claimed exemption is therefore incorrect and I shall be grateful if you would provide the requested information or deny that it exisits.

1.2 The answer you have provided does not answer my question (and neither does it answer question 1.1). Please provide the requested information or deny that such an agreement exists with any of the named parties.

1.3 Your website discloses no such application. My question is unanswered. May I please have this information.

1.4 As 1.3.

1.5 As 1.1.

1.6 This piece of equipment has now been removed. If you did, thanks for intervening on this.

2.1 - 2.3 Thanks for this information.

2.4 Thanks for this intervention.

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/s...

Yours faithfully,

Ian Salisbury

Dear Freedom of Information Team,

Thank you for your response.
Please follow this link https://docs.google.com/document/d/1AtcT...
I have outlined the subject land in red.
Yours sincerely,

Ian Salisbury

Dear Freedom Of Information,

No problem. Would you like to try this?
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1AtcT...

Yours sincerely,

Ian Salisbury

Dear Oxford City Council,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of Oxford City Council's handling of my FOI request 'Surfacing of the extension to Aristotle Lane' because I have not been provided with the information that I requested.

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/s...

Yours faithfully,

Ian Salisbury