This evening at the Long Furlong Community Centre, in Abingdon, about 120 local residents went to hear about the Vale of White Horse (VWHDC) Draft Local Plan.
Councillor Sandy Lovatt was there to explain the plan, and to take questions from concerned residents.
The draft plan involves building 610 extra houses (with possibly 900 cars) in fields between the peripheral road and the A34 in North Abingdon. This is because more houses are needed across the VWHDC to meet house building targets.
The video above shows the fields that are affected.
The main concern for residents was the extra traffic, and need for better infrastructure. One resident said it was very difficult getting out of their estate roads onto the peripheral road at peak times. It was a serious accident waiting to happen.
Another resident said that Abingdon had a very poor record in council led traffic changes and asked that any changes to the peripheral road be the subject of an independent traffic study.
Another resident said that the recent changes to the Wootton Road roundabout had made things worse. It had become a new bottleneck.
Approval of the plan will be in 2014 and adoption in 2015. 400 of the 610 houses could be built between 2015-2019, and 200 from 2020-2031. The consultation period for the housing plan is already over and 2,700 replies have been received by VWHDC. As a result some alterations could be made. Then the plan will go back to Councillors for approval. So there is a last chance to write to your County Councillor (for North Abingdon that is sandy.lovatt@oxfordshire.gov.uk) to influence that decision. Later on, residents can petition for the right infrastructure to be put in place when developers submit plans.
Tough decisions, but houses have to go somewhere (a) because people need them, but (b) because otherwise predatory developers will continue to win appeals on unsuitable sites.
Please to see our councillors have finally got their collective fingers out and started to do something about it.
Urgent change to development plans needed
I think that the planning officers have not given enough thought as to what constitutes an eco-friendly and self-sustaining development; one needs to be progressive and radical.
‘Garden City’ is an area close to Steventon and East Hanney where a reservoir was due to be built, but I understand plans for this have been shelved. This area could be developed alongside the new reservoir, in a new and innovative eco-friendly way, with houses having their own solar panels, rubbish recycling systems, small vegetable plots, or raised vegetable beds etc etc. There should be provision for necessary services, such as, schooling, health and shopping facilities, transport links and leisure facilities eg a sports and sailing club on the bank of the reservoir
The whole development should be self-sustaining in every way possible. It should promote a real community spirit, where people want to be and join in with community activities. It should be aimed at attracting local people who seek a more sustainable way of living. It should also attract older people wanting to downsize by making easy access to properties. Let’s make it somewhere all age groups want to be and what is more where visitors can enjoy the facilities provided eg sailing, walking, dinning and sitting alongside a tranquil setting.
It is all too easy to build on green belt areas, but in my opinion there is a real need for a radical change in planning ideas. I am sure that there would be many new and innovative architects willing to put forward new concepts to support this development.
The obvious benefit of having the new A34 interchange at Didcot already planned nearby, would accommodate this.
This could serve as a beacon for other developments in the country. It seems that planners are missing a trick here, as someone, somewhere has got to be bold and start the ball rolling in a different direction, so that there are sustainable benefits to all, not just quick fixes everywhere.
Please could everyone reading and agreeing with me leave a comment and tell your neighbours and friends to log onto this site to do likewise and support this in order to save our green belt.