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Planning Inspector backs local decision to reject Bloxham housing
31/10/2024
The government’s house building plans only carried limited weight as the new rules were still being decided
The Planning Inspector has rejected a developer’s appeal to build on farmland at the edge of Bloxham.
Gladman Developments wanted to build up to 60 houses on the Tadmarton Road between the new housing opposite Bloxham Primary School and Park Farm.
The appeal was in relation to an application they submitted in 2023, which was refused. At the start of this month Cherwell District Council’s Planning Committee refused a second application for the site.
The original application received over 180 letters of objection including that of Bloxham Parish Council. It was rejected on the grounds of its scale and the cumulative impact of growth already carried out in Bloxham. It was noted that those living in such a location would be predominantly reliant on private cars to carry out their day-to-day activities.
In rejecting the appeal the Inspector, T Burnham, said that the development would detract from the existing rural character and appearance of the area which he described as “pleasant countryside beyond the edge of Bloxham”. He noted the village edge was reinforced “by the maturing planting belt on the western side of the Miller Homes development which now defines the edge of Bloxham and which provides a marked line of separation between the village and countryside beyond.”
But it was concerns over flooding that were of most concern to the Inspector. He said this was of greater importance than arguments between the developer and the council as to whether the area was achieving its duties in terms of delivering the required number of houses built each year in the Cherwell District (known as the land supply figure).
The Inspector also cited concerns over noise from a nearby farm.
For the future the Inspector noted that under the government’s building plans there would be “a notable increase in the annual housing need within the area”, but said he could only afford this limited weight as the new rules were still being consulted upon.
Published: by Banbury FM Newsteam