An appeal has been lodged against the decision of the Vale of White Horse District Council to refuse the application for 160 houses to be built in a field – often used by horses.
As people predicted the main grounds for appeal are :
- The district council’s local plan has run out and there is no new one in place.
- The National Panning Policy Framework (NPPF) means that in such cases national policies to meet housing targets should have more weight.
The appeal, although mostly couched in phrases pulled from the NPPF, also addresses more local grounds for refusal, saying:
- Abingdon treatment works will easily be able to deal with the extra load.
- If Oxfordshire County Council implemented the suggested traffic mitigation measures then traffic would be no worse.
(Thanks to Nigel for the pictures of the field.)
Sadly, exactly what many of us predicted would happen when the Vale delayed the Local Development Framework.
We need to fight the appeal as hard as possible AND push the Vale to get the new Plan in place asap.
With more heavy rain a distinct possibility this weekend, late Sunday and Monday might be a good time to get more photographs of that field. We should now refer to it as Lake Caldecott.
but it’s not a lake – that would be silly.
I wonder if they’d be so ready to dismiss the issues surrounding the traffic if they had to experience it almost every time they tried to get anywhere.
Actually, perhaps they’d like to come and stay here and try to get to work for a week (NOT during the school holidays though!).
Traffic mitigation by Oxfordshire County Council will make the problem “no worse”. Oh, good….that means that the mitigation that would resolve the current issues will just keep things how they are….fantastic (!)
I for one hope that build them as I would like to own a house too. Lost of people are not happy about them building on a field and the traffic, but rember before your house was built it was a most likely a field and you living there has made the traffic worse.
I hope they build shops there too like a newsagents as this will save the traffic going to reynolds way shops and Tesco . The shops in town are awful so many are shut or they are charity shops which have also killed the other shops .
Do you mean ‘own’ your own home or get given a ‘social’ home?
Most people who have to pay approxiamately £250,000 to own their own house won’t touch the new houses with a barge pole as they will have to use the awful road infrastructure every day to try to get to their jobs to pay for said houses. And when their house floods it will be their responsiblity to sort it out. If it’s a council house the occupier won’t have to worry as they’ll be looked after by the authority.
If the houses do get built it will knock off about £30,000 on the houses/bungalows that are adjacent to the field that at the moment enjoy lovely views.
I am interested in Moodyman’s comment.
If some shops were to be built at this proposed development, what kind of shops would be preferred? And in what way would they be better than those already in the Town Centre?
Anyone able to advise individuals how we should object to the appeal?
@cassandra I think a newsagent is needed or a minimart. The shops in town are small and boring we need major clothing retailers or a John lewis or a Debenhams .
The shops in the town are not all small and boring – lots of lovely independents that we should support.
Major retailers will not come to Abingdon while there is always the the threat of traffic problems – hence the larger units in the precinct are still empty.
We don’t want Abingdon to just be a clone of Didcot, Reading and Oxford.
There is nothing in the plans for the Drayton Road development for any shops, or any other infrastructure. Just houses, to add to the traffic congestion.
@kelly Simpson I meant the clothes shops are small and boring apart from M&co which is a reasonable size store . We need a big clothing retailer or a shop that sells a vast range of goods such as john lewis . I think it is pathetic that the town has has to put up with all the disruption and none of the units have anyone in them
Lovely pic.
That reminds me, I need to put Findus on my shopping list.
@Ali
. As in own would be happy to have a home there can’t say I have seen that Field flood so would not bother me. Not everyone is after a free home.
As for the £30,000 being knocked of the houses next to the field you take that risk with anything you buy. I bet people had lovely views before those homes where built next to the field.
once Saxton road was the only road with houses for years surrounded by fields
don’t forget – people think building houses is fine until they have theirs. once that has happened, nothing should ever be built within 5 miles.
I don’t know what this obsession is with getting “big” names into shops in Abingdon. You are never going to get the likes of Debenhams or John Lewis. For one the avaialbe shops are far to small ( even the new large unit) and secondly they both have shops in Oxford and Newbury. When there is the option of going into, say, Didcot where there is the promise of new large units that can be designed to accomodate them in the expansion of the Orchard Centre along with now established traders in the exiting Centre, Abingdon really does not get a look in. Sorry!!
@ Moody man we have clothing over two floors with over 2000 items how big do you really want .
Why do people still think this only effects NIMBYs!? If traffic queues on Drayton rd, it likely queues along Ock st and then likely Stert st and Vineyards.
If medical facilities are full here then people will go elsewhere so the othersides facilities are full.
If the classes are full here, then our children have to travel accross town to where there’s space.
And so it goes on.
I’m within 5 miles of this development, I won’t “see it” but it will affect me, as I live in Abingdon.
It just makes sense to sort the infrastructure for what we”ve already got, before adding to it.
I’d rather be an informed NIMBY, than a NUMTy (Non Understanding of Main Topics)!!
Yes we would all like to see something other than more houses out of our windows, but think about how it feels to be a 30-something graduate in the south-east facing the prospect of never owning your own home because prices have gone out of sight, fueled by planning restrictions as well as disgusting tv programmes showing profits made from property speculation. The only answer is a sustained reduction in prices as a result of increased housing supply. Even this may not be enough for the graduates of the future saddled with an extra £ 27,000 debt.
Another argument for this development is that the two primary schools south of the river would benefit from a better social mix coming from more private housing.
I’m certainly not against house-building. In fact I have strongly supported most of the developments in Abingdon Town Centre in recent years which have brought people into the town and are near to existing public transport corridors.
I live a mile away from this development, it’s the lack of infrastructure, particularly road capacity, that is the problem for me.
I would argue, however, that we need a combination of policies to make housing cheaper for people. There are other factors involved in the rapid rise in house prices over the last two decades than just lack of supply and those need to be tackled too.
I think if you are going to make a huge profit by causing traffic you must also fund something to help traffic . The residents close to the field should be compensated by the loss in value on their homes also some residents may of only bought their home because of the view of the fields . I would not be happy if i bought a home with a sea view and then it was taken away as you would pay much more than a house up the road with no view . The estate agent also advertise house overlooking open fields . I do not live near this development but i understand that this would anger the people close by .
I live in north Abingdon and oppose the development due to the lack of infrastructure etc. It won’t affect me personally that children won’t get a place at their preferred school either or maybe even a school in their catchment but I still feel strongly that 160 new houses will cause problems.
The two schools south of the river are the primary schools that some parents have flatly refused to send their kids to and that is a fact! When choosing an area of Abingdon to buy my home I took into account the quality of schools and the traffic situation.
Maybe the schools could benefit from a better social mix of children but I wouldn’t send mine there and I’m not alone.
Also, ybynu is right in saying about houses with views. Some people have already tried to sell in Virginia Way and on Rightmove they all say ‘enjoying lovely views over fields’. Ha!
Vox humana – the schools you refer to are virtually full, partly due to the other Abingdon schools all being over-subscribed. The simple fact is there are not going to be enough school places for the children already in the town. Where or if any new house are built, more school places have got to be provided.
i reckon if they put a application for a mosque there they would get permission within days .
You’re right!
Referring to the recent horse meat scandal can I remind everyone that Abingdon has it’s own local butchers called Hedges which is in Queen Street. The meat will have full traceability and you will know what you’re buying.
Slightly off topic, so apologies…but I have to redress the balance….
The primary schools in “this part of town” now equal or surpass the ofsted rating of those elsewhere in Town.
Being a proud father of children who attend one of “those schools” in ‘saaf Abingdon’, when I look around at the other parents, the friends I have made, the way people speak, the cars that are driven etc etc etc..and any other social stereotyping or comment that can be drawn from this, then I’d say that the “social mix”, if I think about it, is about 50/50.
A good social mix, perfectly acceptable (by that I mean no worse or better than elsewhere in town) ofsted…. What more would you want?
Ofsted results are transient..what happened in the last assessment could be turned on it’s head by the next ( for good or for worse)…. Do people really make huge financial commitments based on such things? If so….more fool them, I say.
I don’t doubt that people have indeed stated that they would avoid “these schools”…. I just happen to think that their reasoning is a little out of date.
Still, we’re all entitled to everyone else’s opinion, just as your are all entitled to mine! 🙂
great article, go green