The Head of City Development has submitted a report which details a planning application for the installation of a memorial stone at Bonn Square Oxford.

The proposal is to erect a memorial in Bonn Square to the volunteers from Oxfordshire who died in the International Brigades in the Spanish Civil War

Officer recommendation:

The Committee is recommended to refuse the application for the following reasons:

1. The proposed memorial stone, by reason of its height, width, depth, design, material and location, is considered inappropriate in size and would appear visually intrusive and over-dominant in Bonn Square. In addition it would detract from the setting of the adjacent listed buildings and in particular the Tirah Memorial. The development as proposed would be harmful to the setting of the listed building No.1 New Inn Hall Street, the Grade II listed Tirah Memorial and the Central (city and University) Conservation Area. This harm would be less than substantial, and without an overriding public benefit the proposal is considered contrary to Policies CP1, CP8, CP10, HE3 and HE7 of the Oxford Local Plan 2001-2016, Policy CS18 of the Core Strategy and the NPPF.

2. The proposed memorial stone would result in the cluttering of the public open space, which is contrary to the aims of the West Area Action Plan in relation to Bonn Square. Due to its location close to the end wall of No.1 New Inn Hall Street would increase the feeling of insecurity and reduce natural surveillance, leading to an area conducive to littering and potential for crime, contrary to the principles of ‘Secured by Design’ and Policies CP9, CP10 and CP12 of the Oxford Local Plan 2001-2016 and Policy CS19 of the Core Strategy and WE5 of the West End Area Action Plan.

The Head of City Development submitted a report (previously circulated, now appended) which detailed a planning application for the installation of a memorial stone in Bonn Square, Oxford to the volunteers from Oxfordshire who died in the Spanish Civil War.

Colin Carritt, the applicant, spoke in support of the application.

The committee considered the application for the war memorial and in particular its size and location, and the impact of this on the uncluttered space of Bonn Square, the nearby listed building and memorial, and in relation to policy WE5. The committee were concerned about the detailed design of the memorial, the proposed location, its size and whether this application represented the best design and siting of the memorial in relation to the entirety of the public space of Bonn Square and its surroundings.

A motion to defer the application for more information and further discussions was seconded and carried on being put to the vote.

The committee resolved to defer consideration of the application to allow officers and the applicant to:

1.    Consider options for the location of the memorial and their merits;

2.    Given that the memorial was to sit in a key public open space, to submit a detailed design to the design panel for comment;

3.    Submit an amended application with details of design, detail, materials, finish, size, location, and any necessary mitigation measures taking into account the advice given.