School full, water problematic, but Bloxham development recommended for approval
29/05/2026
Government building targets take priority in the decision
An outline planning application to build another 100 homes in Bloxham has been recommended for approval, even though the County Council say the primary school is full and Thames Water say they can’t deal with the site’s water and waste requirements.
Cherwell District Council’s Planning Committee will meet next week and consider the application to develop arable land to the south of Bloxham Mill and east of the Barford Road.
In response to the application the education team at Oxfordshire County Council said there was insufficient capacity at Bloxham Primary School to accommodate the expected increase in pupil numbers from the development.
They said that, due to increasing costs, work to expand the primary school would now not be covered by contributions from other developments in the village. The County Council therefore requested the short fall be made up from this development. But the case officer felt that whilst the increased costs were “unfortunate” he didn’t believe the regulations allowed for that level of contribution, so suggested a lower amount.
Thames Water said they had been unable to determine the foul water infrastructure needs of the application and identified an inability for the existing water network infrastructure to accommodate the needs of the development.
However, the case officer is recommending approval of the application because the council is unable to demonstrate it is achieving its 5-year housing land supply figure – the target set by the government of how many new homes must be built in the area.
Councillors will have the final decision when they meet on Thursday at 4pm.
Published: by the Banbury FM News Team
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