A controversial plan to build 300 homes on land to the South East of Woodstock were approved this week after a long campaign by Woodstock Action Group against the proposal.
After more than two hours of debate, councillors at the packed planning meeting at the council offices in Witney, voted 9 to 2 in favour of the proposal by Blenheim Estates and Pye Homes.
The final decision on the proposal to build 300 houses, plus retail shops, on the South East of the village of Woodstock will be made next week.
This is the last roll of the dice.
Woodstock Action Group (WAG) are calling for as many people as possible to attend this meeting to demonstrate the level of public opposition to valuable farmland being concreted over and the historic character of this 900-year-old town being lost forever.
The meeting will be held on Monday, 6 February at 2:00pm, at the West Oxfordshire District Council Offices in Witney.
Please go along and lend your support!
Plans for a care village and housing estate on the edge of Burford in West Oxfordshire have been allowed on appeal to help meet the area’s housing supply shortfall.
Hallam Land Management’s proposal for up to 91 homes, 78 assisted living apartments and a 90-bed care home in open countryside on the edge of the town was lodged two years ago.
The company’s application prompted around 450 written objections from local people, including many from the Help Preserve Burford Campaign, and was turned down by West Oxfordshire District Council on the grounds that the need for a development on this scale had not been shown and the infrastructure needed to support it was lacking.
But last week inspector Keith Manning gave the green light for the scheme, following a public inquiry last summer.
Need not Greed Oxfordshire recently asked Peter Jay, Chairman of Rural Oxfordshire Action Rally (ROAR) – a founding member of the coalition, to produce a short note on ‘Oxfordshire Affordability’.
This excellent paper (see below) examines the notion of ‘affordability’ in the Oxfordshire context and shows how, despite rapid and damaging development, we are not meeting the real needs of local people.
The final Strategic Economic Plan (SEP) Refresh is now online on the OxLEP website.
A quick read of the final version of the Plan makes it clear that the Oxfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership (OxLEP) have not compromised on the overall growth targets for the county (100,000 houses and more than 85,000 jobs in the next 15 years) and have put the responsibility for the figures squarely with the local authorities.
However, it is clear that thanks to our campaigning the document is much improved and includes reference to some of the concerns flagged up by NNGO and others at the public workshops and in our responses to the consultation, particularly regarding the natural environment, affordable housing and infrastructure pressures.
For example, in the section on ‘Our Vision’, the Plan says:
‘Oxfordshire will be on a trajectory for growth that is sustainable environmentally (taking into account climate change, carbon emissions, heritage, the natural environment and patterns of resource use), socially (reflecting the needs and character of communities) and economically (with businesses and others choosing to reinvest)’. (Our emphasis).
Critically the Plan recognises the ‘need to balance the opportunities for economic development with the possible compromise to the natural environment.’
OxLEP is the organisation responsible for championing and developing the Oxfordshire economy. Oxfordshire is the most rural county in the South-East. So surely you would expect OxLEP to have a well-developed rural strategy supported by the necessary Board level skills?
Sadly, that is not the case.
In July, OxLEP advertised for two new Board Members to join the LEP. The appointment was for Private Sector, Non-Executive Directors.
The Board is made up of representatives who are leaders in business, higher and further education and local authorities.
At the end of September the successful candidates were announced – Penny Rinta-Suksi, a commercial lawyer and Phil Southall, the Managing Director of the Oxford Bus Company.
Whilst they may be very capable in their own right, neither of these new Board representatives have any obvious experience of rural issues and limited environmental credentials.
Last August, the outline planning application put forward by Hallam Land Management for the development of land west of Shilton Road, in Burford, was unanimously refused by the West Oxfordshire District Council Planning Committee.
The proposal was for 91 houses, up to 78 assisted/supported living apartments, and a 90-bed care home.
There were three main reasons for the refusal:
• The isolated location of the site and its remoteness from Burford’s facilities;
• The poor quality of design, which would not reinforce or be reflective of the special characteristics of Burford as an attractive small Cotswold town, and the visually intrusive nature of the proposed development on a prominent edge of settlement site; and
• The lack of any agreed mitigation package to ameliorate the harmful impacts of development.
Major businesses, Chamber of Trade, and some 438 individuals lodged objections with WODC.
However, WODC’s decision was appealed by the developer and in July, a Public Enquiry began at which a Planning Inspector heard the appeal by Hallam.
The Public Enquiry resumes on 8 November, for four days.
Need not Greed Oxfordshire has taken the opportunity of the Witney by-election, to be held on 20 October, to ask all candidates their views on issues of concern to the coalition.
In our letter to candidates (see below) we asked – ‘Will you work with us to ensure a fairer balance between the needs of local people and those of landowners and developers?’.
The Oxfordshire Growth Board has this week published a list of numbers and locations for the allocation of Oxford’s unmet housing need around the Districts.
There has been no public consultation or adequate notice for the public to respond before the Board meets next week to sign off the plan.
A total of 14,850 further houses are to be spread around the county, beyond those already in the individual Districts Local Plans. The proposed apportionment is as follows: Cherwell – 4,440, Oxford – 550, South – 4,950, Vale – 2,220 and West – 2,750. These figures are derived from a ‘Spatial Options Assessment‘ which identifies allegedly suitable sites for housing in each District.
In a Press Release issued today (see below) the Need not Greed Oxordshire coalition condemns the process as undemocratic, saying it severely undermines the Local Plan process. Read more …
In a Press Release issued this week (see below), the Need not Greed Oxon coalition calls on all District and County Councillors to have the opportunity to speak out on the overly aggressive growth figures that will damage our county.
The coalition has learnt that the revised Economic Plan for Oxfordshire – the Strategic Economic Plan – which outlines plans for 85,000 new jobs and 100,000 new houses, is in most cases only likely to be considered by local authority Cabinet meetings, not at Full Council meetings.Read more …