Energy project

Hospital Energy Project 3 – Public Communications

TonyOX3

Public communications

Let’s be honest; this hasn’t started well. Since the coloured paint appeared in the affected streets back in June and word got out that it was to do with a heat pipe linking the two hopsitals the Trust has been stubbornly mute. Requests for more information by Councillors and local residents, particuarly Highfield Residents Association, have been turned down by  the Trust on the grounds that “we’re still in legal discussions”. This position continued as visible construction work started in the JR grounds and interest – and concern – grew. As well as my reports the story was picked up by the local press and radio, and on the local e-democracy forum.

The information released on Monday gave points of contact for any questions:

There is also a website which reproduces some of the slides from the press briefing.

Since then the twitter account has been silent. The correct facebook name is actually OUHospitals and there doesn’t seem to be anything about the project there (I may be wrong as I don’t do facebook and I’m not familiar with its layout). Enquiries to the email address get a standard response promising a reply by Monday 7 December, and the telephone number is the Trust’s Estates Department general enquiries who know nothing about the project.

It’s hard to be polite about this. The Trust’s handling of external communications on this project can at best be described as inept. It is certainly counter-productive. It only fuels the uncertainty and genuine anxieties felt by residents and others who will be affected. I can only plead with the Trust to get this under control before they lose all hope of keeping local opinion on side.

The latest news is that a public meeting is being arranged by local councillors and Highfield Residents Association on Wednesday 9 December at 7pm. The venue is to be confirmed but is expected to be All Saint’s Church House in New High Street. The organisers are hoping that the Trust will be there and be able to make a start listening to people and answering their questions.

Headington Heatpipe #3

TonyOX3

Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has released much more detail today about the ‘heatpipe’ scheme, which they call the Hospital Energy Project.

I was able to go to the press conference, and came away with two main thoughts. Firstly that the overall project is much bigger than I, and I’m sure anyone else outside the Trust, realised, as we have so far only really been aware of the heat pipe. I think they have a very good story to tell about this. Secondly, I think the disruption to local roads is going to be worse, possibly a lot worse, that people realise.

I will have another chance to discuss the project with the Trust later this week, and plan to write a fuller report after that. Meanwhile, you can find information on their website (here and here) and by following their new twitter account @OUH_Estates. I expect the e-democracy forum will attract some comments too!

Headington Heatpipe #2

TonyOX3

Since I wrote a fortnight ago about the heat pipe being installed between the JR and the Churchill, work has been going ahead and a bit more information has come to light. Here’s what the work in the JR grounds looked like last week.

As you see, the trench is about a metre deep here. Obviously the depth will vary once the digging starts in the public roads depending on how the pipe negotiates its way over, under or round all the other services buried there.

We now know that the two pipes (a flow and a return) are 150mm steel pipes with a factory fitted insulated coating taking the overall diameter of the pipes to 280mm (about a foot).

The heat pipe link is part of a larger scheme costing £14.8m, funded from a Government grant [correction 1/12/15 – the funding is not from a Government grant, it’s from somethig called the Carbon & Energy Fund which has access to commercial loans for “green” projects], designed to upgrade the heating and hot water systems at the two hospitals. The scheme is designed to save energy, reduce reliance on the national grid especially at times of high demand in the winter, and to reduce carbon emissions. [Source: OUH NHS Trust Board meeting, September 2015].

These are worthy objectives, which makes it even more of a shame that the Trust has chosen not to talk to the people who live in or near the areas affected – Sandfield, Latimer, All Saints and Stapleton Roads – or the general public in these parts of Headington. There are understandable concerns about access to properties, disruption, parking, possible road closures, congestion and so on. The lower end of Sandfield Road is already an obstacle course used by residents, rat-runners avoiding the Headley Way traffic lights and people going to Beech Road, the Manor Hospital and the Beech Road flats. The corner of Latimer and London Roads may be a building site at the same time as the pipe is being laid there – or maybe not. The trouble is no-one knows.

I expect these issues can be resolved, but while the Trust remains silent rumours will circulate and anxiety will grow. The story was covered on BBC Radio Oxford this morning, where the presenter said they had asked the Trust for a response but they had declined to appear on the programme. An announcement has apparently been promised, and possibly some kind of exhibition, but why this didn’t happen two months ago is a mystery.