Development of 50 houses on land north of Jeffersons Piece

Thu 7 Sep 2017, 15:21

One further objection point to consider is the current sewerage system at The Green and Jefferson's Piece. Designed and built in the 1970s using cost effective but not durable 'pitch and fibre' sewerage pipes, residents (including myself) have experienced serious blockage issues in recent years due to the pipes nearing the end of their lifespan and warping and collapsing. I'm not sure what the sewerage plans are for the proposed houses, but adding them on to this failing system would not be a good idea.

Thu 7 Sep 2017, 14:18

Today is the last day to have your say on this development folks:

publicaccess.westoxon.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=documents&keyVal=OTHCT5RKLSL00

Sun 3 Sep 2017, 10:55

So the word is that the applications on the other proposed local plan AONB sites in Stonesfield and Burford, both submitted well before the Jefferson Piece application, are being delayed and are not going to go to planning committee until November/December. I presume the expectation is that the local plan inspector will have issued his report by then. The expectation then would be that Jefferson Piece will be handled in the same way. Of course strictly speaking the consultation period still expires on 7th Sep.

Fri 1 Sep 2017, 13:59

Andy - West Oxfordshire's definition of affordable housing is set out at https://www.westoxon.gov.uk/media/89305/Affordable-housing-in-rural-communities.pdf . This particular application says "the precise tenure mix of affordable units will be agreed via constructive dialogue with WODC". In other words, it's all to play for: if you feel strongly that a particular type of tenure should be included, do lobby for it. The Town Council has argued for a mixture of tenures rather than just one type.

It's worth noting that the general advice the Town Council has received from WODC is to still ask for things even if you're opposing a planning application - in other words, it's perfectly legitimate to say "this shouldn't go ahead, but if it does, these conditions should be applied".

Fri 1 Sep 2017, 13:46

Hi Jim, that's extremely useful to know. Thanks.

Fri 1 Sep 2017, 11:40 (last edited on Fri 1 Sep 2017, 11:45)

Just to say this is not being ignored at Friends of Evenlode. The application at Hixet Wood is up first again next Monday and we want to make the point about proper weight being given to Conservation Area harm (in accordance with the law). Even before Janet's post I had a look at the proposed site from Jefferson Piece and entrance and I have discussed with a landscape consultant viewing the site from Hundley Way. As WODC is commissioning a full professional landscape assessment at the insistence of the Local Plan inspector there does not seem any need to do that independently at the moment. A representation will be submitted before the deadline of 7th and is likely to mirror a lot of comments made on this thread. Somewhat reassuringly the equivalent applications for local plan proposals in Stonesfield and Burford should have been at committee on Monday too but appear to be being delayed.

Fri 1 Sep 2017, 11:26

Hi Ruth, no problem!

If it does go ahead then I sincerely hope those in need of affordable housing in Charlbury will be able to buy them.

If it goes ahead and all or most of the affordable houses end up being bought by people from outside of Charlbury then where will the next large development of affordable houses be?

The developer would not tell me how the affordable housing would work.

Richard, do you know anything about how the affordable housing will work? Is it a percentage market discount or shared ownership etc? Is there a rough idea of how much the affordable houses will cost?

Ruth, just in case you're interested here is a link to the BBC reality check page on affordable housing. It doesn't look like it will necessarily be that affordable!

www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-38067626

Fri 1 Sep 2017, 11:07 (last edited on Fri 1 Sep 2017, 11:12)

I thought it would be worth repeating the post I put on the previous thread about this, as it still applies. Whatver site specific objections there may be, this proposal is surely premature. And to add, it is almost always the case - and hardly surprising - that the most vocal opposition to planning applications comes from those directly affected by them, if supported sometimes by interested organisations. That doesn't mean people who object to one application 'don't care' about people affected by other proposals, more likely it's a case of how widely they can cast their nets. For the record, there were objections to RB on highway safety / access grounds, even initially from OCC.

My previous post:
As many will know, the site was put forward by the WODC Policy team for inclusion in the new Local Plan as housing land.

At the recent Local Plan examination WODC accepted the Inspector's view (well they would, wouldn't they!) that further work was needed including a full Landscape Impact Assessment to assist in considering the site's suitability as well as looking (I hope properly) at the need for housing in the AONB - see here www.westoxon.gov.ruk/media/1643333/WOLP63-Letter-to-Inspector-3-August-2017.pdf.

As mentioned in my other post (Planning Matters) the Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group has recently commissioned a local Housing Needs Assessment for Charlbury, the results of which we expect to have next month.

I haven't personally reached any conclusions about the site itself, but at the very least there is a strong case for saying this application is premature pending the outcome of both those exercises.

Fri 1 Sep 2017, 10:58

Richard, just to be absolutely clear... I did not accuse everyone on Market Street of nimbyism!

My apologies to anyone on Market Street who may have taken offence!

I'm sure you understand that those who will be directly affected by the noise,traffic,dust,lack of parking,additional risk to their children and pets etc are probably a little fractious about this development!

I think if the Town Council is proposing access other than through the green during construction they should be sure that it is a realistic possibility.

I think it's fair to say that the immediate impact of this development on residents of Market Street will be less than that on residents of the Green. Clearly there will be an impact on residents elsewhere in the town as well during construction. I don't doubt construction traffic will affect parking in town and potentially damage pavements and sewers etc. This would be another good argument against this development I would have thought or at least for a slightly more holistic approach to development.

Fri 1 Sep 2017, 10:50

Thank you for posting the link, Andy. I have posted my support comment, which i know will not align with most peoples views on this forum (i am guessing the majority of which are already Charlbury homeowners). Whilst i can see that access issues etc will have to be addressed, this seems to be the best option we have had so far in providing 'affordable' (i do hate using that term!) homes to those that require them . As someone that also supported the Rushy Bank development, i do wonder where exactly Charlbury residents would agree that housing could be built.

Fri 1 Sep 2017, 09:36

I think that's a little unfair, Andy - it wasn't me who made the comment, but I'm not sure why those of us in Market Street should be accused of being Nimbys just for having an opinion on a Charlbury issue. (And to be honest we do have quite a lot of experience of heavy traffic here, not least when our sewer repeatedly blocked and overflowed due to the number of HGVs running over the drain cover on the pavement and dislodging the brickwork!)

Fri 1 Sep 2017, 09:18

Hi Janet. It appears there is a support comment on the WODC planning site now which simply states ":I support this application on the basis that there are far too few affordable houses in Charlbury. This application appears to promise a decent number of affordable homes.". This may well be the case, but I note that there are no specific details of how affordable these homes will be. I'd wager that few if any local Charlbury people will end up in these houses if they are built.

I also note that the comment is from someone living on Market street! I guess they won't be affected by the construction process then! Now that's Nimbyism!

Thu 31 Aug 2017, 22:15

Anyone who is concerned about this development should go up to Jeffersons Piece and look at the proposed access where the existing garages are. It is in a quiet cul de sac built as social housing originally and never intended as an access route for 50 homes. This access simply does not seem acceptable either during the construction or afterwards. If there had been joined up thinking when the planning permission for the Ditchley Road development (Kearsey Court) was given, an access road would have been built then...

Thu 31 Aug 2017, 17:00

No matter how many objections are lodged, the Planning Department has authority and the law on its side, to say yes to the proposal, from what I have gathered. There are masses of planning laws that they can use to override any objections, apparently. Nobody who comes along Pooles Lane can quite believe their eyes, and yet.... even with a massively supportive document from the Charlbury Conservation Society backing up the individual objections, the houses were given more significance (weighting, as I have recently learned) than the environmental arguments, which were morally and ethically, socially and environmentally, sound, if nothing else. So, in the light of our experience here, I am sorry to say that I don't believe that any number of objections will make any difference to this proposal. It all seems to simply boil down to a weighting game! I imagine that an amended proposal, should the initial one be turned down initially, as is the pattern of many of these things, will include getting permission to widen Hundley Way as an access road.

Thu 31 Aug 2017, 11:54

This is what this development will destroy...
drive.google.com/open?id=1MG5CKeujc1JZSMidDNa86dIuNdV1qE_xKQ

Thu 31 Aug 2017, 09:10 (last edited on Thu 31 Aug 2017, 09:11)

Not that West Oxfordshire District Council will gave a damn about this, but in terms of available facilities for potential newly-arriving residents:

• * Charlbury is FULL *

When families born and bred in Charlbury (of whom I am not one, I should add) cannot even get their kids into the school, then it is time to stop.

In my view, the only houses that should currently be built in Charlbury (and the ONLY houses for which planning permission should be approved) are lower-cost houses, for the purpose of allowing those born and bred here to remain here.

In the future, if some benefactor donates enough money to double the size of the school or something, then by all means reconsider.

Just my tuppenny hap'orth ...

Thu 31 Aug 2017, 08:38

If you wish to comment either way this is the link to the planning site...
publicaccess.westoxon.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=documents&keyVal=OTHCT5RKLSL00

Wed 30 Aug 2017, 16:45

Of course you may also wish to support this application as well. I'd be interested to hear why people might think this is potentially a good site for development.

Wed 30 Aug 2017, 16:25 (last edited on Wed 30 Aug 2017, 16:44)

Time is running out for adding objections to the development on the land north of Jeffersons Piece.

The deadline is Thu 07 Sep 2017.

Anyone who cares about Charlbury should object to this development for the reasons outlined by the town council on the planning site.

The council has rather bizarrely suggested that a construction access road be built off the Ditchley Road. Not sure where that would go exactly?

Through the gardens of Kearsey Court? I think the council should suggest exactly where they think this construction access should go... as it doesn't seem very likely based on discussions I've had with Ditchley residents.

You can argue that it's Nimbyism, or you can argue based on the facts that this is not an appropriate site for development in Charlbury for the same if not more reasons than Rushy Bank and Grammar School hill.

I get an uneasy feeling that certain parts of Charlbury care less about the safety of primary school children and residents of the Green, Ditchley Road and the Slade than they do about their view up the Evenlode (not that I particularly want to see development there either).