Agenda item

Refused against officer recommendation. Reasons to be set out in the minutes.

The Committee considered application 25/02895/OUT, an outline application with All Matters Reserved except for access, for up to 95 dwellings (Use Class C3) with associated works at Land Adjoining And West Of Bloxham Recreation Ground, South Newington Road, Bloxham for David Wilson Homes South Midlands.

Councillor Rob Pattenden addressed the Committee as Local Ward Member.

Neil Homer, on behalf of Bloxham Parish Council, addressed the Committee in objection to the application.

Eleanor Gingell, agent on behalf of application, addressed the Committee in support of the application.

It was proposed by Councillor Hingley and seconded by Councillor Webb that application 25/02895/OUT be refused, against officer recommendation, as the proposal would result in an urbanising form of development and would be detrimental to the Slade Nature Reserve and its landscape setting and would result in a harmful visual intrusion of development into the landscape and open countryside. The proposal would also detrimentally affect the village entrance and rural setting and result in significant adverse effects to the character and appearance of the area. The proposal was not allocated for developments in the emerging Bloxham Neighbourhood Plan 2024-2042 and given its scale would be contrary to the housing strategy of the Plan. The proposal was contrary to Policies Villages 2, ESD13 and ESD15 of the Cherwell Local Plan 2011-2031 Part 1, saved Policy C33 of the Cherwell Local Plan 1996, Policies BL1, BL3 and BL9 of the emerging Bloxham Neighbourhood Plan 2024-2042 and the National Planning Policy Framework including paragraphs 135 and 187.

In reaching its decision the Committee considered the officer’s report and presentation, the addresses by the public speakers and the written updates.

Resolved

That, against officer recommendation, application 25/02895/OUT be refused for the reasons below.

1.         The proposal would result in an urbanising form of development, and the permanent loss of open greenfield land in a prominent location at the entrance to the village of Bloxham, and would be detrimental to the Slade Nature Reserve and its landscape setting and would result in a harmful visual intrusion of development into the landscape and open countryside. The proposal would also detrimentally affect the village entrance and rural setting though the formation of a hard surfaced, three metre wide cycleway which would result in the loss of grass verge and vegetation inappropriate to the rural context. The proposal would therefore result in significant adverse effects to the character and appearance of the area. In addition, the site is not allocated for development in the emerging Bloxham Neighbourhood Plan 2024-2042 and given its scale would be contrary to the housing strategy of the said Plan, which has now reached an advanced stage in the plan making process, and the proposal would have an adverse cumulative impact on the character of the village. The identified harm significantly and demonstrably outweighs the benefits of the proposed development. The proposal is therefore contrary to Policies Villages 2, ESD13 and ESD15 of the Cherwell Local Plan 2011-2031 Part 1, saved Policy C33 of the Cherwell Local Plan 1996, Policies BL1, BL3 and BL9 of the emerging Bloxham Neighbourhood Plan 2024-2042 and the National Planning Policy Framework including paragraphs 135 and 187.

2.         In the absence of the completion of a satisfactory Section 106 Agreement, the Local Planning Authority is not convinced that the necessary infrastructure directly required as a result of this development, in the interests of supporting the sustainability of the village and the development, and in the interests of safeguarding public infrastructure and securing on site future maintenance arrangements, will be provided. This would be contrary to Policies INF1, PSD1, BSC3, BSC10, BSC11 and BSC12 of the Cherwell Local Plan 2011-2031 Part 1, Policies COM2, COM20, COM23 and COM24 of the draft Cherwell Local Plan 2042, and the National Planning Policy Framework.