Developer appeals over refusal of homes near Witney

Manor Oak Homes applied to West Oxfordshire District Council to build 43 two-to five-bed new homes, including affordable housing, in North Leigh in September 2023.

It was refused by the council’s Lowlands Area Planning Sub-Committee despite a planning officer recommending approval.

The council said it was "a speculative housing development on a greenfield site on the edge of the settlement".

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It said: "In the context of the number of dwellings constructed in North Leigh in the last ten years" it represented "an unacceptable expansion of the village".

And it said it "did not avoid the coalescence" and loss of identity of the separate settlements of New Yatt and North Leigh.

Manor Oak Homes' is appealing the decision on the grounds the development "would represent a logical extension to the village considering the recent direction of growth along New Yatt Road".

In a hearing statement the developer argues that "there would be no harmful coalescence" of North Leigh and New Yatt "either physically or perceptually".

It says any landscape impact from the development of a greenfield site will be "limited" and would not outweigh the benefits of the development being built.

The site is not "any form of protected open space or open space of value" and it says it believes the council is unable to demonstrate a five-year supply of deliverable housing land.

This would require action from the council to deliver more housing.

Some 240 plus houses have been approved or built in North Leigh village since 2017.

The parish council said the proposed development would bring the total number to 1,000 “resulting in North Leigh hardly being classified as a village”.

30 residents attended a parish council meeting to protest against the plans and at least 60 residents emailed Manor Oak Homes directly to object.

One said: "There must be a limit to the development, and it is reasonable to argue that this has already been reached."

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North Leigh Parish Council stated: "There is insufficient infrastructure support such as doctors, dentists, school places and public transport locally."

It said the 80-plus extra cars its residents would use "would increase the already dangerous roads in the village".

Thames Water said a "Grampian clause" would be required to prevent occupation of the houses until there is sufficient sewage capacity at the Church Hanborough sewage works.

It is currently operating outside its legal permit and upgrade work is not scheduled for completion until March 2025.

The appeal hearing will take place on June 27.