This looks like someone's private house not a commercial property. Are you *sure* it's OK to take it over? That nobody's getting badly hurt financially i.e. paying for you to live there?

The place laid empty for at least 8 months (probably longer) before we moved in. The owner lives nearby. The property has a large and beautiful garden.

Hearsay (some from the owner herself):
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The building has been condemned because it doesn't meet fire regulations, has only an outside toilet downstairs, etc (not because it is structurally unsafe though). The owner wants to demolish it and rebuild much bigger, on the garden, thereby making a lot of money, but she hasn't got planning permission to expand like that.

Which does explain why it would be empty so long - no-one can officially live there because of the overbureacratic regulations, but the owner hasn't got around to rebuilding because she wants to expand onto the garden and is still struggling to get planning permission to do that.
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Anyway, regardless of the unconfirmed stuff, what we DO know for a fact is that the property has been empty and unused for a long time, and we are now making use of it. What could possibly be wrong with that?

Having done a bit of digging around I came across the following planning application to Oxford city coucil made in January 2004.

"Demolition of existing buildings and redevelopment of the site to provide 18 one and two bedroomed flats. Alteration to access to St Clements, car and cycle parking and landscaping"

It looks like permission for the demolition was granted in April 2004 but planning permission for the redevelopment has yet to be granted.

I hear the Town Hall in the city centre isn't used productively either. Its treated like the inner sanctum of the city coun. administrators. What shite! Its about time we took it back into public ownership and locked out non-elected officials. After all, we're supposed to be represented by elections, not "jobs for life" for friends of the nepotists. Any city or county council staff wanting to post bribery scandal information here are very very welcome. How did that service provider win all of those contracts? What about public toilets in the city centre - or are they being kept so sparse to force the poor out. Not everyone can afford to buy a £2 coffee to piss you know

Try the excellent bogs in the Town Hall, Papa Doc. Free & clean even if the door makes an odd noise. Town Hall's being redeveloped so go and comment on the plans to make it yours.

I'd second, third and fourth that! Its about time we stopped wasting council tax payers money on a bunch of nepotistic bribe-susceptible organised criminals. If it takes 200 people to run the City, then we must elect 200 qualified individuals: no more jobs for the old guard. Public sector jobs are treated like a free ticket for people in this city, and the whole country for that matter. I'd like to see all contract bids published after the contract is awarded, so the council can demonstrate best value - and give evidence that massive bribery is not taking place. Its about time exec. council workers bank accounts were rountinely check for non-PAYE payments too, especially those on the planning committee over the last 10 years.