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Planning Inspector overturns local decision and allows houses between Banbury and Hanwell
29/07/2024
The decision has been made “in the context of a national housing crisis and in an area that has staggering levels of unaffordability”
An appeal to build 170 houses in the remaining fields between Banbury and Hanwell has been granted by the Planning Inspector, overturning the ruling by local planning decision makers.
In a decision published today the Inspector said: “In my view the delivery of 170 dwellings, 68 of which would be affordable, in the context of a national housing crisis and in an area that has staggering levels of unaffordability, is the weightiest consideration in the planning balance.”
The Vistry Group applied to create the new development in the fields to the east of the Warwick Road but their application was unanimously rejected by members of the Planning Committee in August last year. 489 people had objected to the proposals, with only a handful of support.
But Vistry appealed to the Planning Inspector, claiming the Council could not demonstrate the minimum 5-year land supply – a vital figure of how many houses must be built in our area.
The Planning Inspector agreed in his assessment of the figures.
He also disagreed that building in the two fields would result in the coalescence of Banbury and Hanwell.
The Inspector said: “it would increase the size of Banbury and extend its northern edge further towards Hanwell. However, the appeal site does not itself adjoin the settlement boundary of Hanwell and as such, the appeal scheme would not physically unify the two settlements.”
He added that the proposals for the northern parcel meant that: “the wider area of intervening land between the two settlements would continue to exist and would protect their separate identities such that they would remain clear and distinguishable from one another.”
In finding in favour of the developer the Planning Inspector has agreed to a request for over £1.3m towards secondary education and £98,715 towards Special Education Needs and Disability provision, but did add “there is nothing before me which demonstrates that the North Oxfordshire Academy, the nearest secondary school to the site is, or will be, oversubscribed”. He did acknowledge secondary school places in Banbury were “under strain”.
A further £146,880 of developer money – known as Section 106 funds – would go to the NHS Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West Integrated Care Board on the basis that the nearest surgery to the site (the Banbury Cross Health Centre) is experiencing significant capacity issues. The Inspector said his decision had been swayed “having heard first-hand from local residents about the problems of getting a GP appointment” and so “decided to exercise some discretion in the matter and have given the contribution the benefit of the doubt.”
A number of requests for funding were rejected, including money for buses, cycleway improvements and public rights of way.
Published: by Banbury FM Newsteam