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Banbury to cover over Oxford Canal

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From Cherwell District Council Website:

Outline planning permission for the redevelopment of land adjacent to the Oxford Canal comprising; the demolition of the Castle Quay Shopping Centre northern car park and the General Foods Sports and Social Club; change of use of part of the ground floor of the Castle Quay Shopping Centre southern car park and associated works; the erection of a retail foodstore (Use Class A1), hotel (Use Class C3), cinema (Use Class D2), restaurants and cafes (Use Class A3 and A4) and altered vehicular and pedestrian accesses, landscaping, construction of infrastructure, car parking and associated works, including glazed canopy over the Oxford Canal .........

 

Will they ban chimney smoke and diesel fumes?

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GUMPY Veteran II

GUMPYDonate to Canal World

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But the Oracle is just a building by the Kennet, a bit like Castle Keys.

 

MtB

Last time I went through there you seem to go through the middle of the shopping area.

 

Why am I defending JW it was his simile!

Edited by Loddon
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MtB Veteran II

MtBDonate to Canal World

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Last time I went through there you seem to go through the middle of the shopping area.

 

Why am I defending JW it was his simile!

 

Ok then, the Oracle is a building on each side of the Kennet, each a bit like Castle Keys!

 

There is no covering over of the river.

 

 

MtB

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David Schweizer Veteran II

David Schweizer

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Yes, excellent point!

 

But I bet Tooleys will take it over, just like they have with 75% of the width of the cut outside their yard.

 

MtB

 

And they are most unpleasant to the point of being offensive if you ask them to move a boat in order that you can get through. Last time we went through there were three boats abreast outside th dock and one more on the towpath leaving less than 7ft to get through.

 

Apparently they are "trying to run a business" and I was just "a bloody complaining idiot who couldn't steer a boat!"

Edited by David Schweizer
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Mike Tee Experienced

Mike Tee

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The initial post describes it as a glazed canopy. It won't, I would think, obstruct the passage of boats, so ignore it. If the canopy gets discoloured / stained by engine exhausts and stove chimneys, so what? That just means the designers didn't think it through. Good spot to test your audible warning device.

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kitman Community Regular

kitman

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Will they ban chimney smoke and diesel fumes?

 

It's a good point, but I think the canopy will be too high to be effected by fumes, it looks like it will be coming off the roof of BHS. My Grandad attends various Cherwell Council meetings, I will ask him whether he knows much about it.

 

It seems like it will be a nice development for the town, I love what they have done with Spiceball sports centre, so hopefully this will be in the same style. It will add some diversity to that part of town, it will be good to have a modern cinema in town and some new restaurants and bars. One thing though, GF Social club is a useful part of the town, it's used for weddings, parties and the like. If that goes then it would be nice to have a similar place in the town to fill the gap.

 

I shouldn't think that this development will happen for a good few years anyway. There will be the same sort of arguments going back and forth as there were when they planned Castle Quay in the 90s. i.e. the new shops will detract business from the high st shops. In this case it will be the restaurants in Parson's St that will be objecting. Parson's st is a superb part of the town with restaurants, pubs and bars.

 

In terms of it effecting Tooley's, I don't think the Dock is part of any new development.

Edited by kitman
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Higgs Influencer

Higgs

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I shouldn't think that this development will happen for a good few years anyway. There will be the same sort of arguments going back and forth as there were when they planned Castle Quay in the 90s. i.e. the new shops will detract business from the high st shops. In this case it will be the restaurants in Parson's St that will be objecting. Parson's st is a superb part of the town with restaurants, pubs and bars.

 

In terms of it effecting Tooley's, I don't think the Dock is part of any new development.

 

Castle Quays isn't that old and didn't look that bad 3 years ago. I worked near Banbury for over 7 years. My home town of Derby, like Banbury, had a mall that wasn't what you'd call huge, just big enough. Then Westfield's came along, and it went big. It has really destroyed the use of the town centre. The older parts are struggling.

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kitman Community Regular

kitman

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They started to build Castle quay in around 99/2000, it's tacked onto the existing Castle Centre (our older mall). I remember breaking into the building site with some mates one night after the pub around xmas time. The half finished building was all lit up inside with fluorescent lights, the stairs for three levels were in place and beyond that scaffolds reached up the very top where the sky lights are now. We climbed all the way to the very top of the structure and looked down over the town. Stupid students eh?!

 

Re. the new development. I think as you say the worry will be that the existing businesses will suffer and the beautiful buildings in the old town, that they occupy, will fall into disrepair. The Olde Reindeer on Parson's St, for instance, has been a pub for centuries. Cromwell was said to have planned his siege of Banbury castle from the Globe room which is at the back part of the pub.

 

Where near Banbury did you work? Banbury is a superb small town, personally I wouldn't live anywhere else. I've lived in a few other places when I was a student, but mainly Banbury and surrounding villages for 30+ years.

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Hawkmoth Rising Star

Hawkmoth

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I wonder just how much it will impact on the boating. We like Banbury, only been about 3 times in 8 years, but it's a great spot to stop for a bit of shopping. I just hope that it doesn't get some of the traders complaining about boat engines or stoves.

Bob

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kitman Community Regular

kitman

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Well the Castle Quays tried its hardest to turn its back on the water and putting all its rubbish and services that side.

I was told often that the original plan was to have the shop frontages looking over the canal and create a shopping plaza there. However the businesses on the high st were worried that it would draw shoppers away from the centre of town so the mall was focused in the direction of the high st, making the canal 'the back' end of the shopping centre.

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