New bridge application 'followed proper processes'

Campaigners say a small woodland will be destroyed to make way for the bridge

A council has insisted it followed proper processes when making a planning application for a new £10m bridge over the River Thames.

Oxford City Council gave the go-ahead for the Oxpens River Bridge linking Oxpens Meadow to Grandpont Nature Park in May.

At a full council meeting on Monday campaigner Dan Glazebrook accused the authority of failing to conduct a legally-required environmental impact assessment.

The council later released a statement saying it had followed correct procedures.

It said the planning application included "ecological, environmental risk, arboricultural and biodiversity assessments", a public consultation, and was "reviewed before finalisation and submission" to the local planning authority.

It also addressed other criticisms, stating that options for the bridge's location were explored before the current one was selected, and that the project would deliver a net biodiversity gain.

The bridge would also "improve the choice of routes for people accessing the area now and in the future", and was mainly funded by the Oxfordshire Housing and Growth Deal which was an "appropriate use" of the grant.

The Oxpens site is being redeveloped by Oxford City Council and Nuffield College

But Friends of Grandpont Nature Park described the council's response as a "series of obfuscations and half-truths" and an "excruciating defence" of the bridge.

It added: "The small woodland which will be destroyed to make way for the bridge is one of the most biodiverse parts of the Grandpont nature reserve, and its construction will result in irreversible biodiversity loss on the site."

Campaigners also claimed that the council's statement that the bridge would help improve the transport infrastructure to "accommodate additional needs across the city arising from growth" was a U-turn.

Previously, the authority specifically described it as a "key policy requirement to unlock the growth potential of the Osney Mead site".

The area is currently being regenerated with a revamped railway station, a new neighbourhood at the Oxpens site, and Oxford University plans for an innovation quarter at Osney Mead.

Campaigners marched to the headquarters of Oxfordshire County Council to hand in a petition against the bridge last month.

The county council, which is yet to approve the bridge, thanked campaigners for their efforts and said it was looking into the matter.