Residents’ ‘no’ to new homes (From thisisoxfordshire)

Residents’ ‘no’ to new homes

2:21pm Tuesday 16th March 2010 in

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RESIDENTS have formed a group to fight plans for building on land to the north of Witney.

Developers Gleeson Strategic Land (GSL) and Taylor Wimpey, which were also behind Thorney Leys, have put proposals for 1,400 homes on Hailey Road out to public consultation. Included in the plans is a West End Link road, new schools, and flooding defences.

The site is also included in West Oxfordshire District Council’s proposed local plan, which sets out where land can be developed.

The North Witney Action Group has been formed to fight the plans.

David Musson, chairman of Hailey Parish Council, said: “It is almost certain that 1,400 new homes in North Witney would bring in the region of 3,000 additional cars to the locality and the town centre.

“It is impossible to justify or be confident that a West End Link road will ease traffic and congestion with this volume of additional cars. Once cars have crossed the river, they will still need to use the congested roads into town and to find parking.”

He added: “The importance of the gap between Hailey and Witney has been frequently pointed out in the planning strategies of the district council, including in the current core strategy documents. This development would clearly lead to coalescence and the blurring of this important boundary.”

Concerns over flooding have also been raised. Hailey Road was one of the worst affected areas during the 2007 floods.

Helen Midwinter-Morten, of New Yatt Road, said: “The proposals for new housing in the Downhill and Middlefield Farm areas needs to be radically re-thought with a long-term perspective in mind.

“Other options for development may be less obvious, more challenging and less easy, but in the end, they will produce housing that benefits both town and country, enhancing rather than degrading both urban and rural communities.”

Neighbour Dee Frith said: “If permission for the development in question was granted on land beyond Witney town boundaries, it would indeed open the door for a wide swathe of urban sprawl, reaching from Barnard Gate, through New Yatt — and soon enough North Leigh — to Hailey and Crawley.

“As Witney grows, it is increasingly important that it develops and keeps a protected green belt around it.“ Colin Dingwall, chairman of Crawley Parish Council, said that the North Witney development was the only chance to get important infrastructure in the town.

He said: “Over the last 30 years, we have built an entirely new perimeter to replace Witney’s ancient infrastructure by developing Deer Park and Thorney Leys in the west.

“These new developments have doubled the size of Witney in this period and put excessive pressure on the only area not developed in the north, where the ancient road network around Bridge Street backs up traffic throughout the town.

“The last phase in this long-term plan is to build the West End Link road, which will finally provide a bridge and route into and out of Witney from north to south, avoiding Bridge Street and West End.

“Failure to secure this development will see no funding for these desperately needed infrastructure projects, leaving the areas involved suffering congestion, pollution, flooding, and the whole of Witney incapable of getting from south to north of the river for at least the next 20 years.”

People have until Monday to comment on proposals at westoxon.gov.uk/planning/corestrategy.cfm