Proposed development at Rushy Bank, Forest Road

Thu 5 Mar 2015, 11:09 (last edited on Thu 5 Mar 2015, 11:11)

Mike, my own objection is as much about the bad process which has led to the bad site choice as it is about the site itself. A planning decision to breach an established hard boundary (the river) should surely only be made through a proper strategic planning process not an ad hoc application. That strategic planning decided last year that this field is too remote even to merit consideration and the planners should have given the applicant clear guidance that their strategic conclusion as of last August is definitive. We don't know what they have told Rushy Bank (we should probably take what we've been told they have said with a pinch of salt), and the planners can't stop someone making an application: the upsides for Rushy Bank are so substantial they are probably happy to risk a planning fee.

That strategic planning should also be giving communities their housing targets. Given its conservation status and the fact that its resident population is actually contracting, I would have thought that Charlbury's allocation should be very low. Then the town as a whole, with good advice on sensitive planning, could make some of the hard decisions about where it would like to see any development needed through a neighbourhood plan. The town council has just taken the positive decision to do a housing needs survey which Rushy Bank were aware of but have decided to pre-empt with their application.

Because you need proper process to know what if any development you need and then to choose the most appropriate sites I don't really want to just throw out alternatives but for what it's worth I think the town needs to look at the quarry. To respond to the inevitable nimby accusations I contacted the quarry owners in January to understand what the position is and there is an ultimate desire to see it developed but it appears this is constrained by the Site of Special Scientific Interest designation which has been applied to a 30 acre area for some limestone formations. Perhaps the town could look into helping the owners try to get the restriction narrowed to a smaller area to give it options for the future. I would have thought that could be achieved within the term of the next Local Plan i.e. before 2029.