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1 Subject: From: To: Cc: Ref: 16/01054/OUT & 16/03627/OUT Trudi Gasser Date: Monday, 5 December 2016, 9:03 Dear Catherine Please find below comments to 2 planning applications. Kind regards Trudi Trudi Gasser ParishClerk Stanton Harcourt Parish Council Ref: 16/01054/OUT & 16/03627/OUT Stanton Harcourt Parish Council arranged a Public Meeting on Monday 28 th November to discuss the above referenced application and a potential new Greensleeves Application (previous withdrawn application ref 15/03126/FUL), with representatives from all three applications and over 100 members of public in attendance. There was uniform agreement that although the need for housing was acknowledged, these applications are opportunistic and are not in the interests of this historic village. The Parish Council has, over the last few years, repeated the need for a Sutton Bypass ( as intended in the original 1996 drawings) to replace the present dangerous and highly disturbing Heavy Good Vehicle traffic on the B4449 through Sutton. It is the view of the Parish Council that an appropriate residential development between the bypass and the back of Sutton would provide S106 funds for the road to add to those funds already committed by local commercial companies. At the same time, such a development would have added to WODC s SHMA allocation. The landowner is well disposed to accept such a proposal. The apparent unwillingness of West Oxfordshire District Council to pursue this project leaves the prospect of two damaging applications to be accepted which have long term detrimental effects on the integrity and the historic standing of this conservation village. In order to satisfy the deficit on the NPPF required 5 year land bank, a problem which West Oxfordshire District Council has brought upon itself by mal administration of planning in the about:blank 1/6

2 last 5years and the lack of a local adopted plan, inappropriate applications such as these are being supported. Should you decide to ignore these serious concerns, the Parish Council would ask that each application include a Section 106 contribution of 100,000 towards the Sutton By Pass Project. A further request to ensure avoidance of further traffic in the middle of the village, would be to insist that a through road will be in place from Blackditch through the new estates exiting opposite the cemetery on the road towards Standlake and vice versa. We would also request that access to the site for construction traffic should not be through the centre of the village. We would ask you, therefore, to give due consideration to these serious concerns before pushing through acceptance of any or all of these applications, which together would represent an increase of some thirty per cent in the number of village houses in a very short period of time. COMMENTS TO APPLICATION NO: 16/01054/OUT Attachments: 27/05 & Landfill articles PROPOSAL: Re development of former airfield for housing led development comprising up to 50 dwellings and up to 450 sqm of office space, green infrastructure, public open space, access from Main Road and the demolition/retention of existing buildings in accordance with the submitted Airfield Building Retention Strategy LOCATION: Land At Former Stanton Harcourt Airfield Main Road Stanton Harcourt We refer to our previous of 27 th May (copy attached) and to the concerning both 16/01054 & 16/03672 and would like to make the following additional comments on the recent amendments. We remain opposed to this application for the reasons already stated and believe it would be extremely foolhardy to proceed with this application so close to a landfill site (see enclosed articles). We would remind the Planning Committee that this Conservation village possesses 4 Grade I, 2 Grade II* and 54 listed buildings; Stanton Harcourt is classified by WODC as a Category A village and therefore this application is against West Oxfordshire District Council s own rules. In view of concerns for lack of space at local Medical Centres, Local Primary and Secondary Schools and over the lack of sewer capacity, the already considerable lack of water pressure within the village and the traffic problems emanating from the Lower Windrush being an island, whose exits are subject to considerable delay at rush hour, there is no doubt that at this time this area is not suitable for residential expansion until the infrastructure is seriously about:blank 2/6

3 improved. It should also be noted that the once regular bus service (Stagecoach No.18) ceased in July 2016 and this isolates the village further and reinforces its lack of sustainability. The Parish Council objects for all the reasons stated the inclusion of the Airfield Site in the West Oxfordshire District Council s Local Plan, as totally unsuitable. Despite West Oxfordshire District Council s understandable attempt to satisfy, at this late hour, the Inspector s requirements at all costs, we would ask the Councillors of West Oxfordshire District Council to support their residents in rejecting this Application and in respecting the integrity of this historic village COMMENTS TO APPLICATION NO: 16/03627/OUT PROPOSAL: Development for up to 60 dwellings, a shop and a pre school nursery with associated infrastructure works. Alterations to existing and provision of new vehicular and pedestrian accesses. LOCATION: Land At Butts Piece Main Road Stanton Harcourt The Parish Council strongly objects to this application on the following grounds: Overall The local area is unable to sustain this development. The proposed development should be looked at together with others that have recently been approved in the local area or are pending. While we appreciate that each application should be looked at individually and its own merits assessed, this is not a practicable or reasonable approach. Importantly, there is a significant lack of capacity within the local infrastructure and the inappropriateness of this, which in addition to its neighbouring application (16/01054/OUT) total 115 additional houses in the village, a thirty per cent increase. Development in this area would be more appropriate on land to the west of the B4449 at Sutton, between Friar s and Nicholls Farms. With a bypass built around Sutton, appropriate road links to Standlake and Witney to the west and Eynsham and Oxford to the east could be achieved. Not only would this serve a new residential development but would greatly improve transport to the Stanton Harcourt Industrial Estate as well as reducing the impact of the lorries that currently use the B4449 through Sutton. The land that could be served by this bypass would also allow for the building of a replacement primary school, which currently has a need but no space to expand. We would remind you that this conservation village is currently A listed, and this WODC category denotes no new housing except infilling and the conversion of agricultural buildings in exceptional circumstances.. It is an historic village with 60 listed buildings (4 Grade I, 2 about:blank 3/6

4 Grade II* and 54 Grade II) and therefore change should be gradual to avoid upsetting the delicate balance of its settings and pattern. Roads The development of 60 houses will result in the region of at least 100 additional vehicles in reality. While I understand that vehicle movements have been calculated using established criteria, in this case these are not a sound basis for calculation. For example: The village has no public transport; There are no local shops at which everyday goods can be purchased within walking distance; There are few job opportunities in the area: agriculture is now contracted out and warehouses generate heavier vehicle movements than local jobs. These facts mean that more car journeys will be necessary than asserted in the application. The roads through the village are unsuited for such an increase in traffic; for example Main Road has several blind corners on it where pedestrians could come into conflict with vehicle users, and the chicane like bends in Sutton Green are so perilous that even the truck drivers slow down! The proposed exit from site is in a very bad place opposite village hall and near the T junction. The B4449 is already unsuitable for the traffic using it now and anyone attempting to cycle to Eynsham or Witney is putting their life at risk. This road is too narrow for the Heavy Goods Vehicles presently using it. There are currently in excess of 1200 Heavy Goods Vehicles using it a week (a mixture of 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 axle vehicles). Two articulated vehicles are only able to pass at walking pace and are continually driving off the carriage way, creating considerable damage to the road edges and drainage culverts. Extra traffic from further developments will create further accidents and chaos on this road. Education While there is some space in the local primary and secondary schools, this is very limited. Given that the District Plan envisages additional housing in the village school's current catchment area, and extensive expansion in Eynsham, which would generate additional demand for places in the locality, there is insufficient capacity to accommodate the statistically predicted educational needs that this development would require. There are no details of the Children s Nursery proposed in this application necessary to consider this application seriously. Medical The Medical Practice that looks after Eynsham and Long Hanborough and the surrounding villages including Stanton Harcourt and Sutton already has a near saturation patient list and getting an appointment with your regular GP is very difficult and takes over 3 weeks. about:blank 4/6

5 As with Education, there is insufficient capacity to accommodate the likely demand from this development. Water and sewage There is currently insufficient capacity in the water delivery system during peak demand and much of the day. The water pressure is low, resulting in dwellings that do not have storage facilities frequently having times when showers will not work and toilet cisterns that will not fill. While the plans indicate that the sewage output from the site can be accommodated, it is well known in the village that the local sewage system is frequently over full at wet times. There are many instances of local properties reporting sewage in their gardens. The village pumping station in Sutton has frequent sewage overflows and is not man enough for the job as is. Village Shop Stanton Harcourt has only a mini village shop temporarily house in the Village Hall (details of the proposed shop are required to consider this application properly). The inclusion of a shop must not mean that there are two village shops in Stanton Harcourt, as only one will thrive; the shop that does so should also include a Post Office. There are concerns regarding the sufficiency of proposed parking at the Shop. Other The adjoining Industrial Estate produces heavy noises and there is no buffer or sign of tree planting/landscaping (a condition of Planning Application 04/1139; see para H of S106 agreement 14/12/2004). Access off the development by foot or bicycle is proposed through the existing gap between Leena Cottage and Butts Piece; this leads to the Main road through the village and therefore to the school. It joins the road at its most dangerous bend, where there is no footpath on that side and in order to gain the footpath must cross the road this is a very bad idea. If the Council decides to ignore our concerns on this and the Airfield Application, the Parish Council would require a 106 contribution of 100,000 to the proposed Sutton bypass from each; plans to insure that there is the ability to avoid the centre of the village when wishing to access the Standlake road from Blackditch or vice versa and that all construction traffic will avoid the centre of the village at all times and Blackditch at start and finish of school times. The Sutton bypass should been built when it was originally proposed in the 1990 s, then it would have been possible to accommodate many of the houses so desperately needed now, without destroying a category A village, and would be to the benefit of both new and existing residents. As it has not and for all the other substantial reasons, this residential development must be seriously resisted. Attachments about:blank 5/6

6 16_01054_OUT.pdf ( KB) Dix pit landfill.jpg (1.02 MB) Hydrogen sulphide.jpg ( KB) about:blank 6/6