Change of heart cheers West Oxford probation centre campaigners

7.19.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Sat 5th Sep 2009

Trajan House, Mill St, is due to be constructed on this site next to the Thames in Oxford.

A meeting of West Oxford residents has enthusiastically welcomed a statement by the owners and developers of Trajan House in Mill St that they have broken off negotiations with Thames Valley Probation Service (TVPS) about the possibility of a new mega-probation centre being established in this residential street of small terraced houses. This follows a very effective campaign, actively supported by the local Lib Dem MP Dr Evan Harris and Labour and Lib Dem councillors.

The Trajan House site from Mill St

The residents of Mill St and other streets in West Oxford, while admiring the good work of the TVPS, had objected to the complete absence of consultation about their plans. Research which they have done has shown that where probation centres have been sited in residential areas elsewhere in England, there has generally been an increase in crime and anti-social behaviour nearby.

Trajan House, right next to the Thames, has planning permission. Though construction work has yet to start, the completely new four-storey office building is expected to be ready for occupation in about April 2010.

Having announced some months ago that they would be taking a lease on Trajan House, and moving probation officers from centres in Oxford, Abingdon and possibly other parts of Oxfordshire, TVPS has announced recently that they were putting these plans "on hold" for six weeks while they reviewed other properties which may be suitable. Some of the alternative sites may also be in West Oxford, which means that this campaign may not yet have completed its work.

Alan Armitage, Lib Dem County Councillor for West Central Oxford, said: "This has been a remarkably effective campaign, and its leaders deserve hearty congratulations. As a result of a referral from the campaign, the National Audit Office recently agreed that consultation, though not a legal requirement, would have been appropriate, and they also expressed doubts about the suitability of Trajan House. The meeting Evan Harris set up with the Minister of State, which I attended, was also useful in forcing TVPS to revisit the available sites in Oxford. The campaigners have succeeded in raising enormous sums of money, in case a legal challenge would prove necessary, and have achieved high visibility in the media, including the BBC and national newspapers. I have to hand it to them - they didn't put a foot wrong. I hope the community spirit they have forged will grow and achieve other things for the communities in West Oxford."

The campaign website is at www.wocamp.co.uk