Installing the heat pipe

This will be the most visible, controversial and problematic part of the scheme for local residents and businesses. The pipe will leave the JR grounds at the corner of Sandfield and Woodlands Roads, go along Sandfield to the London Road, along London Road a short distance before turning down Latimer Road, down to All Saints’ Road, along there to Stapleton Road, from Stapleton onto Old Road, and finally down Churchill Way.

Except for the London Road and Old Road, each road will be closed off at both ends when work starts there. There will be ‘secure access’ (I don’t know what this means) for residents and those who need to get in and out. The pipe itself will be laid in trenches dug 120 metres at a time, so the hole in the road will progress down the street. We are promised that access to properties will be maintained at all times, but my impression at the moment is that none of the difficulties have been studied or thought through.

On the London Road one of the three lanes will be closed to allow the pipes to be laid. Two-way traffic will still be able to pass most of the time. Old Road is too narrow to keep two-way traffic, so there will be traffic lights controlling single-file working.

Working hours for the project will be between 8am and 5.30pm weekdays although the contractors have said they may work weekends if the project falls behind.

The work will be going on at at least two places at once. This is to complete the work as quickly as possible, but it brings more problems with two roads being closed at once. The schedule we have at the moment is this (though it might change now everyone can see where the problems might be).

All Saints’ Road

closed 4 Jan to 27 Jan

Stapleton Road

closed 11 Jan to 16 March

Sandfield Road

closed 1 Feb to 22 April

Old Road

single file 23 Feb to 13 April

London Road

working 9 March to 14 April

Latimer Road

closed 21 March to 30 June

Click to enlarge

As this chart shows, there will be times when Stapleton Road will be closed and Old Road restricted; Sandfield and Latimer Roads both closed with the London Road havinng traffic restrictions, and other potentially horrendous combinations. The schedule seems to have been drawn up by someone with no knowledge of Headington and its traffic problems, and the Trust and the County Council must surely revisit this with the input of local residents, businesses and institutions.

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.

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!