FRIENDS OF WARNEFORD MEADOW

FoWM Annual General Meeting

The FoWM AGM will be held on Thursday 10th May at Southfield Golf Club, beginning at 7.00pm.

This will be an opportunity to hear the latest news on the sale of Warneford Meadow and planned arrangements for managing and maintaining the site.

The meeting will conclude with a short presentation by local ecologist Judy Webb on the delicate Lye Valley/Boundary Brook/Warneford Meadow eco-system.

Read the FoWM 2011-12 Annual Report here: FoWM Annual Report 2012 (pdf, 109 K).

The FoWM Vision for the future of the Meadow can be found here: Warneford Meadow: The Future (pdf, 110 K).

Department of Health to sell Warneford Meadow

Friends of Warneford Meadow heard in August 2011 from the Department of Health that they had decided to dispose of the Meadow and that advisers had been appointed to assist in the sale process.

Having regard to the Government’s proposals in the Localism Bill for Community Right to Buy, the Department said that they will give Friends of Warneford Meadow the opportunity to confirm whether they would wish to make a bid. A bid to purchase the Meadow could be made by FoWM alone or in conjunction with other groups.

Friends of Warneford Meadow welcomes the sale, which shows that the Department recognise that there is no prospect of building on the Meadow now it is registered as a Town Green. We look forward to working with the Department and their agents, and with the City Council and with other bodies concerned to protect Oxford’s environment, to ensure that the Meadow is conserved and enhanced for future generations to enjoy.

For full details of the sale and FoWM's response, see the 2012 Annual Report (link above).

Beyond Magdalen Bridge: the Growth of East Oxford

By Graeme Salmon

ISBN: 978-0-9567565-0-3

FoWM Steering Group member Graeme Salmon is the author of Beyond Magdalen Bridge, a short account of the growth and development of the area of East Oxford including Warneford Meadow. At the AGM, Graeme introduced his book and described some of the fascinating history of our neighbourhood. More information about the book, including how to purchase a copy, can be found here: Beyond Magdalen Bridge Prospectus (pdf, 71 K).

All profits for the preservation and management of Warneford Meadow

Warneford Meadow - Town Green

The Meadow was registered as a town green on 6th April 2009. You can see the registration documents by clicking here: TG Registration Docs (pdf, 374 K).

What is Warneford Meadow?

Warneford Meadow is an 18 acre area of untouched and undeveloped open land behind Warneford Hospital between Headington and the Cowley Road.

In the early years of the last century, the Meadow was bought by the Warneford Asylum – as it was then called – to prevent the land falling into the hands of a speculative builder and thus retain a healthy environment for the patients.

For many years the hospital ran a farm, in part for the rehabilitation of patients. This included the Meadow and an apple orchard which was planted alongside it. By the 1960s, the Meadow was still grazed by a herd of dairy cows. Later, a local farmer paid to harvest the hay from the Meadow each year. The orchard has been allowed to run wild, yet it still produces an annual crop of many different varieties of apple.

Meanwhile, people from the neighbourhood used the Meadow as a place for recreation and enjoyment. By 2002, a number of paths across the Meadow had been confirmed as public rights of way.

Why has the Meadow been under threat?

In 2006, applications were made for outline planning permission for a high density development on the Meadow and other sites in the Warneford Hospital grounds. These were turned down and, before further plans could be submitted, a local resident applied to register the Meadow as a Town Green. Town Green status would mean that the Meadow could never be developed and would therefore be saved for future generations.

Objections were made by the NHS - who own the land - and a lengthy enquiry followed. Then the Inspector, Mr Vivian Chapman QC, recommended to Oxfordshire County Council that Warneford Meadow should indeed be registered as a new green.

You can download and read the Inspector's Report by clicking on the link below.

Report (doc, 451 K)

CONTACT US

You can phone, email or write.

FOWM Joint Co-ordinator: Andrew Carter, 35 Hill Top Road, Oxford OX4 1PD. 01865-426955

or

email us at info@friendsofwarnefordmeadow.org.uk

or contact any other member of the Steering Group who are

Andrew Carter, Chris Dunabin, David Sutton, Graeme Salmon, Anne Copley, Heather Armitage, Andrew Wilkinson, Andrew Lack, Kate Whitworth-Jones, Paul Deluce and Sietske Boeles.