I.2 Moreton Road
General Overview
Moreton Road is an extremely pleasant suburban road. The houses are ideal for family life.They are perfectly situated for local amenities. The high quality of the architecture and the very green and leafy nature of the road all contribute to a good community spirit and a very stable community.
There is a strong building line set back from the road allowing generous front gardens, the original covenants having stipulated that the houses could not be built closer than twenty feet from the road.
The houses are mainly two storey with hipped roofs, giving a feeling of light and openness.The Edwardian planning of the road is very attractive. The original houses have stayed remarkably intact with hardly any extensions and very few external modifications. They have bay windows and retained their original (mainly) sash-windows.
There is one attractive1930s house at the east end on the south side of the road and next to it some ugly Oxford University flats, an extension of the corner Banbury Road house, and lockup garages in what was the garden. Four late twentieth century houses have been built on vacant plots on the south side of the road.
Diamond Court is a block of retirement flats at the north east corner of the road. The block is on a larger scale than the original houses but the facade has been broken up with render and brick, and stepped to fit in with them. The appearance of the building is softened by mature trees in the front garden.
History
The Ordnance Survey map of 1898 shows a farmhouse and farm buildings to the north east of the land that became Moreton Road. In 1905, after the death of Henry Bull of Maids Moreton House, the land on the south side was sold for the construction of five houses to cost no less them £1000 each. The OS map of 1919 shows most of the houses in the road had been built by then. A Carmelite Convent built on the site of the farmhouse was itself demolished in 1988 to make way for Diamond Court.
Issues
-Traffic congestion is a problem. The 3000 vehicles that pass up and down the road every day cause tail backs, noise and atmospheric pollution. Two twenty mph roundels painted on the road have caused a small reduction in traffic speed but further traffic calming measures are needed. It is hoped that the Woodstock and Banbury Roads Corridor Study will address the road’s traffic problems.
-Residents have to stay alert for proposed developments that involve demolition of any of the Edwardian houses which would damage the character of the road, there having been three such issues since 2009.
-Parking signage posts are unnecessarily obtrusive.
-The tarmac pavements and kerbs are in poor condition making it difficult for wheelchairs.
-Marked cambers of the road and pavement cause car doors to jam and cars ground as they enter and leave driveways.
Assets
-Architect (Frank Mountain, Symm and W.H. Warwick) designed Edwardian houses, still fully intact.
-The road has seen considerable modern development in recent years and yet it has managed to retain its Edwardian character.
-Front gardens of sufficient size to allow for car parking without affecting the pleasant feel of the road.
-Leafy and green appearance of the road.
Guidance for new development
-Demolition of the original Edwardian houses should be strongly resisted.
-It will be important to ensure that any development is of high architectural merit and in keeping with the surrounding buildings.
-The leafy appearance created by the front gardens to be protected.
-Care to be taken with regard to garden walls and railings.
