Rushy Bank (Debate)

Fri 19 Jan 2018, 12:33

Glena, you can certainly add committee's approval of this application to the Lib Dem list if you wish. Having been to a few planning committees now I have yet to see a scheme rejected while being supported by its councillor. Despite the reduced role of the Young Dementia charity, concerns about its current funding, and the request that the home's use should not be restricted to Young Dementia care, Liz gave committee an assurance that this would be a Young Dementia home.

Liz also quoted Affordable Housing list numbers gained in councillor meetings which are much higher than those which WODC Housing is circulating. Liz said that there were 178 families on the waiting list in Charlbury. WODC Housing has sent me numbers showing 120 households registered as looking for Affordable Housing in Charlbury, including 52 single person and 25 two person households. 81 of these 120 households are described as low need/adequately housed and have no local connection to Charlbury. Of the 28 households with a local connection to Charlbury, only 5 households are not low need/adequately housed. Over the 12 months to October 2017 there were 15 Affordable Housing vacancies in Charlbury, suggesting even without new supply, these 5 households might have to wait an average of 4 months. Maybe this should go on the Good News thread.

Liz also told the committee that there was no plan to deliver social housing anywhere else in Charlbury. To my knowledge there are currently 24 Affordable Houses under construction at Little Lees and off Woodstock Road, and up to 20 proposed at Jefferson Piece, a proposal which I have understood our councillors also support. When the units at Little Lees and Woodstock Road are let, it will be interesting to see how many of the tenants have a local connection. As the inspector told WODC this week when he cut all the AONB housing allocations from the Local Plan, the AONB should only be developed to meet identified need arising within the designation, and he concluded that there's no evidence that that exists.