CPRE Oxfordshire Voice autumn 2013

Autumn 2013

Oxfordshire www.cpreoxon.org.uk

Save Port Meadow No Judicial Review, but a good outcome

voice

Solar farms Map of greenfield planning applications in Oxfordshire

The planning system Decline and fall of the British system?

OXFORDSHIRE

Voice Autumn 2013

Features 3 Port Meadow campaign 4 Out and about with CPRE 5 Meet our new President 6 Energy matters 8 Decline & fall of the planning system

9 Maize and dairy DIRECTORY Views expressed in the Voice are not necessarily those of CPRE Oxfordshire, which welcomes independent comment.

Editor: Jane Tomlinson Cover photo: Ugly buildings now loom at the edge of Port Meadow. Photo: Jane Tomlinson Articles, letters, comments and suggestions for articles are welcome. Please contact the Branch Office below.

Published November 2013 District Chairmen CPRE Oxfordshire Branch Brian Wood 01869 337904 Brianwood77@aol.com Banbury: Chris Hone 01295 265379 Bicester: Bruce Tremayne 01865 331289 b.a.tremayne@gmail.com Henley & Mapledurham: Judith Crockett 01491 612801. judith.crockett@btinternet.com Oxford: Sietske Boeles 01865 728153 sietske.boeles@ntlworld.com Thame & Bullingdon: Michael Tyce 01844 339274 tycehouse@gmail.com Vale of White Horse: Peter Collins St Edmund Hall, Oxford OX1 4AR Wallingford: Arnold Grayson 01491 837193 ArnoldGrayson@aol.com West Oxfordshire: Gareth Hammond 01993 881016 gareth.hammond@talktalk.net Branch Office CPRE Oxfordshire, Unit 1, London Road, Wheatley, Oxford, OX33 1JH (Registered office) T: 01865 874780 E: administrator@cpreoxon.org.uk

www.cpreoxon.org.uk Follow us on Twitter @CPREOxfordshire and like us on www.facebook.com/CPREOxfordshire

Chairman’s voice Our forebodings about how the National Planning Policy Framework might be applied in practice have been realised.

District Councils and the Planning Inspectorate appear to be accepting Government encouragement to support house building and other developments in the wrong places. Decisions by the Inspectorate do not always reflect soothing words from ministers.

The good news is that districts are managing to establish five year housing supplies, which will, we hope, remove one of the more insidious ways in which totally inappropriate housing schemes have been allowed in Oxfordshire villages. We await the publication of the consultation document on Strategic Housing Market Assessment which might throw many of the calculations into disarray. There is lack of certainty in the planning system which makes it difficult to do our job successfully.

Any doubts we had about the way the planning system is working have been more than reinforced by what we regard as outrageous and perverted decisions

by Eric Pickles to intervene and allow four developments in Cherwell including 160 houses in Bloxham and 70 houses in Hook Norton. Cherwell already has plans to build an adequate number of houses to meet government targets.

These are houses which will be built in the wrong places.

We had our day in court on 23 October 2013 when our application for a Judicial Review into the University accommodation blocks at Roger Dudman Way overlooking Port Meadow, was assessed by a judge. This has been a successful campaign which must have embarrassed both the City Council and the University. Those involved are to be congratulated. See the next page for the very latest news.

When I was first involved with Banbury District in the mid 1990s, two of the people already on the committee were Elizabeth Suter and her partner Dick Stuckey. They made the district meetings an occasion to look forward to. Elizabeth who, in her younger days, was a well known fashion correspondent died last year. And the good Colonel Stuckey, OBE, who always had something to say, continued to come to Banbury meetings until this year when he died at the age of 92. I pay tribute to them both.

I would like to thank Anne Kelaart, who stood down this month as our President, for all her help and encouragement. We send her all our very best wishes. And we welcome as our new President John Harwood. Read more about John on page 5.

Brian Wood Chairman, CPRE Oxfordshire

Trashed Around 100 people joined us for a CPRE Henley and Wallingford District event – a showing of Trashed, an award-winning and thought-provoking documentary on global waste issues presented by actor, local resident and former CPRE Oxfordshire president, Jeremy Irons.

CPRE Oxfordshire is registered in England as Charity No.1093081 and Company No. 4443278.

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CPRE Oxfordshire voice Autumn 2013

Port Meadow: no Judicial Review because we have ‘already won’

City Council can’t claim costs

With your help, CPRE Oxfordshire has been fighting a year-long battle against the hideous new University accommodation blocks at Port Meadow, that have had a huge detrimental impact on this Special Area of Conservation and the historic skyline.

Along the way, we uncovered what we believed to be many shocking errors in the planning process, for example: a heritage officer’s views that there could be ‘no justification for this harm’ ignored; lack of adequate consideration of contamination issues; and a 30% underestimate of the size of the buildings that would have put the application above the threshold where an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is required.

On 23 October CPRE Oxfordshire took its case for a Judicial Review into the planning permission for the University accommodation blocks at Port Meadow to the High Court in Birmingham.

Permission refused as campaign ‘already won’ The Judge Mr Justice Lewis ruled against a Judicial Review. He based his judgement on commitments made in Court by Oxford City Council and Oxford University to conduct a proper Environmental Impact Assessment with full public consultation. On this basis the Judge decided to trust them to do the right thing and said that the legal case would not need to be taken forward beyond today’s hearing.

The consultation we never had Earlier this summer, after CPRE had launched the legal claim, the University offered to undertake a “voluntary” EIA but our fears were that this would be a whitewash. Now, this judgement

City Council and University forced to promise Court a full Environmental Impact Assessment

Julian Levay and Nicky Moeran from the Save Port Meadow campaign group, Sietske Boeles, Chairman of CPRE Oxford and Helen Marshall take the campaign to the High Court in Birmingham.

“The reason we didn’t get permission to take this further is that, in the Judge’s view, we have already effectively won our argument about the need for an EIA.” Helen Marshall, Director, CPRE Oxfordshire puts the spotlight on the Council and University to honour the commitments they made in Court, and to take meaningful steps to address the impact of the Port Meadow blocks properly.

This includes a full public consultation – a chance for everyone deprived of their say in regards to the original application to express their views on the impact of the buildings.

Mr Warren, the University’s QC, said that they would not be diluting the EIA procedure in any sense and that there would be full consultation.

Naturally we will be keeping a close eye to ensure this is the case – we don’t have quite the faith the Judge has in our wonderful institutions! We have had to push the Council and the University every step of the way with this.

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Significantly, the Judge also turned down the City Council’s application for costs against us, which amounted to over £8,000. It underlines the merits of our case and vindicates our decision to pursue it. It also leaves us with a potential fighting fund to go back to court if we feel that the voluntary Environmental Impact Assessment is not handled correctly.

Failures in the planning system & Independent Review Mr. Justice Lewis did not absolve the Council over their planning process to date, in spite of the City Council declaring that the Judge found no fault with the process. The Judge actually said he ‘took no view’ on these issues.

The Council’s Independent Review into the processes is continuing and we are sharing with it all the information pulled together for the Court case. This is the first such Review the Council has instigated in years and was only brought about by pressure from our campaign.

Thank you A huge thank you to all our campaign supporters – we simply couldn’t have done this without you. We hope you agree that this has been worthwhile.

We certainly believe that any future developments of this nature will be looked at with much more care to avoid similar fiascos.

We now have a commitment in Court from the Council and the University to carry out the full Environmental Impact Assessment and consultation that we always wanted.

We will hold them to these promises.

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Out and about in 2013 with CPRE

On the clumps at Little Wittenham

CPRE members have enjoyed a varied programme of events this year In June a walk around Chipping Norton with guide John Grantham, who was born and bred in the town, gave an insight into the history of the small town and the problems it faces. With a relatively small population of 6,500 it has to support the considerable infrastructure of a market town. Like most old towns Chippy has a traffic problem and is under pressure to find space within its boundaries for all new housing that is required.

Chipping Norton alms houses

In July members enjoyed a visit to BBOWT’s education centre at Sutton Coutenay which revealed what BBOWT 4

Take action: Could you give a talk on your local area, or run a guided walk for CPRE? Or do you have a good idea for a members’ event for next year? Please let us know!

had achieved in the shadow of Didcot Power Station. We were taken around the grounds where children can explore the nature reserve’s mixed habitats.

The hub of the education centre is an environmentally sustainable building which includes a woodchip boiler, toilet waste recycling, rainwater harvesting, a green roof and solar panels both for water heating and electricity generation.

years to come! The Earth Trust Centre showed CPRE members their activities.

Their ‘Farm Step Opportunities’, featured on BBC TV’s ‘Countryfile’, give people who want to get into farming the chance to rent land at a reasonable price and gain skills so that they can then go on to bigger things. And their arboretum includes a wide range of ash tree varieties. It is hoped that some of them will prove resistant to ash die-back disease.

The Trust manages nature reserves, including Thrupp Lake, Radley, and are improving the wetland habitats.

In August members headed to the Earth Trust at Little Wittenham for walk and picnic. From the Clumps, there were excellent views of the landmark cooling towers of Didcot Power Station, which are soon to be demolished.

Perhaps photos like the one pictured will become historic documents in the

Like BBOWT, The Earth Trust is very involved with education and hosts many school and group visits. By working together with organisations such as BBOWT and the Earth Trust, CPRE Oxfordshire can extend its influence on protecting our county for future generations.

BBOWT Sutton Courtenay

CPRE Oxfordshire voice Autumn 2013

Meet our new President We are delighted to announce that CPRE Oxfordshire’s new President is John Harwood, Vice LordLieutenant of the county

He is currently a trustee of the Cogges Heritage Trust, which runs Cogges Farm museum, and of the Oxfordshire Association for Young People.

John retired from the civil service in 2008 where he was the chief executive of the Food Standards Agency. Now he is a Commissioner of the Care Quality Commission, but he is best known in the county for his 11 years as the Chief Executive of Oxfordshire County Council.

John said: “The pressures of modern life and society, of our addiction to movement, and the growth of our population all make the countryside more and more vulnerable. Oxfordshire has always been the most rural county in South East England and we will have to fight hard to maintain what we have inherited.

John has lived in the village of Wootton in the Glyme Valley near Woodstock for 25 years and has played an active part in the life of the county. He helped to set up the Oxfordshire Community Foundation and the Oxfordshire County Victoria Trust, of which he remains a trustee. He served as a governor of Marlborough School in Woodstock and on the advisory council of the Oxford Trust. For many years he was the chairman of the Northmoor Trust (now renamed the Earth Trust) which owns and manages the Wittenham Clumps.

“Our county is such a successful place to live and work because of the range and quality of what we have; from an ancient university through to a modern hi-tech economy, from outstanding historic architecture to internationally important scientific research, and from envied townscapes to varied and beautiful countryside. All of these work together and reinforce each other. Neglecting one undermines the others. It is vital that we work together to protect our countryside. We must

The County Council embarked on preparation of a new policy on minerals some 7 years ago. There have been various ups and downs since and assessment of the amount of sand and gravel that Oxfordshire might produce in coming decades has still not been decided.

After preparing maps showing sites offered by owner for working minerals, the county mounted a thorough set of consultations on all aspects of policy.

The resulting conclusions, combined with a report by the County’s consultant on volumes of minerals required, resulted in a comprehensive strategy. This was agreed by the Council in April 2012, despite a warning that it did not meet the requirements of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). Subsequently, the inspector nominated to review the

core strategy declined to deal with the document on this same ground, namely that it did not meet the requirements of the NPPF. Two reports have since been prepared, one commissioned by the County which adopts a peculiarly obscure method of arriving at an assessment of quantities of various minerals required, another commissioned by a number of environmental groups which adopts a straightforward application of NPPF guidance and provides a different, smaller figure.

At the time of writing these conflicting results appear to have caused confusion in County Hall. A full update of this long running drama will be set out in next Spring’s Voice.

Arnold Grayson CPRE Oxfordshire minerals consultant

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John takes over as President from Anne Kelaart who has stepped down for health reasons. We thank Anne for her many years of dedicated service to our cause.

Village greens Johnathan Billinger

County Minerals Policy

balance carefully how we use it now while preserving its precious qualities for those who will inherit from us. So I’m proud to have been asked to become President of CPRE Oxfordshire and look forward very much to meeting you all in the months ahead.”

Ducklington village green

New guidance has been issued by Defra for registering land as a town or village green. It aims to restrict applications for registration that may halt development. Anyone can apply to register a piece of land as a green if it has been in continuous use for recreation for at least 20 years.

Read more here: http://tinyurl.com/defra-greens-guide 5

Solar farm planning applications dramatically increase Planning applications for building solar farms have tripled in the county over the last year, with more than 1,000 hectares of greenfield land either already built on or at risk.

We have created a Google map showing all the solar farm applications for greenfield land in Oxfordshire over the last two years. It makes startling viewing! http://goo.gl/maps/fcWPV A number of solar farms already exist within the county, including those at Watchfield and Steventon, but with

Planning guida renewable ene

Case study Besselsleigh Earlier this year, Hive Energy sought a screening opinion for a proposed 49-hectare solar farm at Besselsleigh.

The Vale of White Horse District Council decided that an Environmental Impact Assessment would not be required and local residents are now concerned that a full planning application will follow. The site is in the Oxford Green Belt and would occupy the whole of an area between the village and Besselsleigh Wood, a local beauty spot. It would also cut across a footpath.

The Government has recently published its planning practice guidance for renewable and low carbon energy. http:// tinyurl.com/renewable-lowcarbon Some points of interest to us are: • The need for renewable or low carbon energy does not automatically override environmental protections.

• Cumulative impacts require special attention, especially the impact that wind turbines and large-scale solar farms can have on landscape and local amenity. As the number of turbines and solar arrays in an area increases, this is significant.

An artist’s impression showing the potenial impact of the 49-hecare solar farm at Besselsleigh Images: Google Maps

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• Local topography is important in assessing whether wind turbines and large-scale solar farms could have a damaging effect on landscape.

• Great care should be taken to ensure heritage assets are conserved in

CPRE Oxfordshire voice Autumn 2013

many more now in the pipeline, we are concerned that neither the public or District Councails realise the potential future impact of all the proposed developments.

Helen Marshall, CPRE Oxfordshire Director, said: “Renewable energy is a good thing, but not at an unacceptable cost to the countryside. There are thousands of roofs and industrial buildings that can be used for solar panels before we start building all over our valuable agricultural land.

Often people aren’t aware of what has been approved until the building work starts. We want people to realise the number and scale of applications that are coming through. It’s vital that local communities have their say.”

hectares. So far in 2013, only one solar farm covering five hectares has been approved, but there are applications for a further six solar farms covering 74 hectares currently under consideration.

In addition, screening opinions have been sought for nineteen more possible developments covering 663 hectares. Only one application has currently been refused, for a potential 42 hectare site at Rowles Farm near Bletchingdon.

Helen Marshall added: “The consequences have yet to be seen, but the pipeline is clearly building.”

Take action: If you are concerned about a solar farm application in your area, please contact your local CPRE District or call/email the Branch office.

Fracking? In Oxfordshire?

A 347sq mile expanse in the north of Oxfordshire has been identified as a possible source of shale gas by the British Geological Survey

ance for ergy a manner appropriate to their significance and their setting.

• Planning proposals of renewables in National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, and in areas close to them where there could be an adverse impact on the protected area, will need careful consideration.

• Protecting local amenity is an important consideration which should be given proper weight in planning decisions.

• Actual likely energy output, rather than notional capacity, can for the first time be taken into consideration when assessing applications.

• Local opinion has to be listened to.

In view of the growing number of solar farm planning applications, we think these points are sensible and have much merit.

Joshua Doubek/Creative Commons

During 2012, four solar farms covering 118 hectares of greenfield land were approved. A further five screening opinions were sought, to see whether or not an Environmental Impact Assessment would be required, for possible developments covering 55

The Department of Energy and Climate Change is currently deciding whether to grant a licence that would allow firms to search for shale gas in the area between Banbury, Bicester and Kidlington. Shale gas is extracted by the process known as fracking, when water and chemicals are pumped into rocks at high pressure to create fractures and release the gas.

CPRE Oxfordshire’s role in commenting on any planning applications that arise will focus on landscape issues. We are naturally concerned about the potential impact of the exploitation of shale reserves in the county but, as technology develops, the likely effect of fracking on the landscape is diminishing, and it may be that

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long-term this form of energy production is less intrusive than other options.

However, the process is very waterintensive and we are not convinced it is appropriate for a water-stressed area such as the South-East.

Fracking can generate significant volumes of local traffic which may be difficult to accommodate on rural roads. We would need to be reassured that proper safeguards were in place to protect the character of the local countryside, including the landscape, local communities and wildlife. Finally, it is still not clear what the impact of shale gas extraction will be on greenhouse gas emissions and whether the technology will actually contribute to tackling climate change.

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Decline and fall of the British town and country planning system

by Michael Tyce, Chair of CPRE Thame

Why should not every landowner do as he wishes with his land?

Nick Boles, the Planning Minister, has publicly stated that if he is still in post after the next election he should be shot.

Many might think that if he were to be shot now, there might be some of the Planning System left after the next election for someone else to be Minister of. Nick is an extremely pleasant chap, but while appearing modern (no tie at meetings) he espouses the worst of Victorian values when it comes to the way the common good is subordinated to the entrepreneurial wishes of individuals.

It was a laissez-faire approach to development – why should not every landowner do as he wishes with his land? – that brought us the congested and insanitary cities of the Victorian era, and the ribbon development merging settlements together. It destroyed some of our finest countryside, and allowed urban sprawl to put even a glimpse of a green space out of reach for most of the population.

Successful The 1947 Town and County Planning Act recognised that all the rest of us have rights too. From 1947, Britain saw an unprecedented, sustained period of economic growth, coupled with a protection of the countryside which was the envy of the world. How I use my land cannot depend on my wishes alone, but must acknowledge the right of my neighbours to the peace and enjoyment of their own properties, owned or rented, and of the countryside we share.

It has been brilliantly successful. Britain had not seen a sustained period of economic growth such as occurred from 1947 coupled with a protection of the countryside which is the envy of the world. Of course the Planning System was bureaucratic, systems are, but it delivered the goods.

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Dismantling the Planning System Nick Boles came into office determined to dismantle it, on a fatally flawed assumption that it had somehow held back growth, particularly growth in housebuilding, and possibly because he saw it as an old fashioned Socialist big-state creation.

The initial attempt to demolish it at a stroke through the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) was thwarted by public outcry led by the National Trust and CPRE. A somewhat emasculated though still very damaging, version followed. The balance between development and protection was skewed much further towards development; building in Green Belt villages became appropriate rather than inappropriate, for example. But, worse, all of the previous body of guidance – the ‘common law’ so to speak, of the Planning System, built up over decades – was swept away.

Guidance, amendments and explanations The NPPF’s authors said at the time it was published that no guidance was needed as it was complete in itself, and in plain English that anyone could understand, that it needed no amendments or explanations. Amendments and explanations shortly followed.

Many developments that needed permission even in the NPPF became “permitted development”. This allowed neighbours to build large extensions the other side of your fence, shops to change to houses, quiet agricultural barns to become public meeting halls, without planning permission, that is without seeking permission or consulting with neighbours at all. Under “consultation” is a proposal to allow any farmyard to be pulled down and replaced with three large houses, wherever it is, in your quiet village perhaps, or in the centre of the most dramatic view in a National Park. Under the old planning system these changes might have been allowed if they were not

Michael Tyce (far left) with Planning Minister Nick Boles (centre) Nicola Blackwood MP second from left, and members of the Port Meadow campaign group. harmful; now they have to be allowed, however harmful they might be.

Only two years after the publication of the NPPF which was said to require no guidance, hundreds of pages of the guidance it didn’t need has been produced. But this is not the “case law” guidance of the old Planning System, it is detailed top-down rubbing in that everything in the NPPF must be taken at its most open-ended pro-development interpretation.

Now, the Government is funding businessled quangos, the Local Enterprise Partnerships - with the power to override elected Councils, forcing unwanted development over the heads of local people.

Anything goes There are another two years before we will know whether Nick Boles was appointed Planning Minister in the next Government and therefore wishes to be shot. That is as much time again as he has already spent dismantling the system which has so beneficially protected us all from the worst excesses of laissez-faire while still allowing the economy to flourish.

CPRE depends on the Planning System – which we helped to create – but if Mr Boles does it as much damage in the next two years as he has done in the first two, the Planning Act of 2015 may contain only two words – anything goes.

Take Action: No shooting please!

The pen is mightier than the sword – please sign our Countryside Charter – see p.10 www.saveourcountryside.org.uk.

CPRE Oxfordshire voice Autumn 2013

Maize and dairy

by Angus Dart, CPRE’s farming consultant

photo: Uli Harder

Last spring’s concerns about the harvest due to the very wet conditions in autumn 2012, have in part been realised.

Where planting had been badly affected due to flooding and slug damage during the winter, areas of poor crop cover were all too easy to see as we harvested. These poor patches contributed little to filling the harvester’s grain tank. But unlike last year, when the wet weather at harvesting took its toll on grain quality, grain samples are much improved this year. Although yields have been lower than we might have wished, the good quality of the grain will help to compensate; we should be able to deliver the grain without the massive price deductions for not being within contract specifications that we endured last year. Happily because of

the more normal weather patterns this year, the planting and establishment of autumn-sown crops for harvest in 2014 is progressing well.

On my farm, we have been harvesting forage maize in dry conditions. This will be the backbone of our dairy cows’ forage for the next year. We eked out our dwindling stock of last year’s feed for the cows, which was already a poorer dietary quality, until we had virtually none left in the silage clamp (the place where we store the feed).

So it’s a huge relief to begin filling the clamp again.

It reminded me just how dependant we all are on the maize plant. I visited the Mid-West dairy states of the US in June on a fascinating study tour. Their spring had been just as wet as ours and planting the many thousands of acres of maize that support their dairy

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industry had been very much delayed.

What struck me was the innovation of farmers in solving common problems that we face too. They really made scale work positively for them, their cows and their employees. For example, with 300 cows being milked here on my farm, we really struggle to commit two people to the milking parlour morning and evening, seven days a week, and be sure that there is time for the best milking routine. In the US we watched an incredibly slick routine where three people contributed in turn to preparing each cow for milking, with another attaching the clusters. Two more people checked each cow’s progress and carried out post-milking teat-dipping. They were milking 4,500 cows once in 24 hours, with another shift carrying out the next milking. As a result, the farm had extremely low rates of mastitis, enhanced cow welfare, used very little antibiotic, and discarded very little milk. In front of the parlour, a queue of milk tankers suggested that their produce was very much in demand!

Nearer to home, I recently visited the new ultra-high-tech Arla processing dairy near Aylesbury, which is at the final commissioning stage. When fully operational it has the capacity to handle one billion litres of milk a year - one month’s worth of our national annual consumption. Doubtless this scale of investment would not be made without certainty of demand.

I do wonder, when making their policy decisions, if most politicians really do grasp at all the sheer scale of food production we need to sustain us. We, the human species, really are walking a very narrow tight-rope.

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Once it’s gone, it’s gone forever New Countryside Charter demands a fair say to local people on planning There is growing evidence that more and more of our countryside is being destroyed by haphazard and badly planned developments.

Protected areas, including Green Belts, and, above all, our unprotected ‘ordinary’ countryside are threatened and local communities are left powerless to protect the places they love.

CPRE’s latest research into adopted and emerging Local Plans shows at least 500,000 new homes planned for greenfield sites. We estimate this could result in the loss of 150sq km of irreplaceable countryside. Destruction on this scale is totally unnecessary when there are enough suitable brownfield sites for around 1.5 million homes.

CPRE has launched a national charter asking for better protection for the countryside, a fair say for local communities in planning for the places where they live and work, and more housing – but of good quality and in the right places. Please support our three demands: 1 Don’t sacrifice our countryside Our open spaces are being destroyed unnecessarily. Previously developed brownfield land should be re-used first to breathe new life into our towns and cities.

2 A fair say for local communities Local people are increasingly unable to stop the destruction of their towns and countryside. The cards are stacked in favour of powerful developers. We want a democratic planning system that gives communities a much stronger say in the future of their area.

3 More housing in the right places The nation urgently needs more affordable homes for our growing population, including in villages and market towns. But they must be sensitively located, with excellent environmental standards and high quality design that enhances local character.

Take action: Please sign our charter online here: www.saveourcountryside.org.uk.

Local and national politicians must listen to public opinion and act to ensure that our irreplaceable countryside can continue to offer a lasting legacy of beauty, tranquillity and wildlife.

Housing numbers in Oxfordshire: what’s on the way?

New study will influence Local Plans and influencing the housing market and establish accurate housing figures to inform Local Plans. So it’s pretty important!

The Oxfordshire Strategic Housing Market Assessment (SHMA) has been commissioned by West Oxfordshire District Council on behalf of all five District Councils.

The report, written by GL Hearn Consultants, is due to report later this year. The assessment will define the housing market, identify our county’s housing needs, analyse what is driving 10

the outputs! We feel there should have been involvement from a broader range of organisations, such as the Local Nature Partnership, in setting the study’s terms of reference.

As well as the District Councils other ‘key partners’ involved in the assessment are Oxfordshire County Council and the Oxfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership. Not surprisingly therefore, the focus of the work has been entirely on economic factors. We are told that environmental and social considerations will come into play once the ‘need’ has been established.

But how you frame the questions in the first place can obviously influence

As we go to print, the SHMA has not yet been published so we do not know what the recommendations will be on housing figures. If the recommended housing numbers rise considerably as a result of the SHMA, there will be serious implications for Districts struggling with their Five Year Housing Supply, and it could even mean back to the drawing board for Districts that don’t yet have Local Plans in place.

CPRE Oxfordshire voice Autumn 2013

Readers’ letters

We welcome your letters on any issue relating to our work, so please write to CPRE Oxfordshire, Unit 1, London Road, Wheatley, Oxford, OX33 1JH or e-mail administrator@cpreoxon.org.uk

The Green The solar debate Belt Way in chunks

We had a letter from Oxford Councillor (Green Party) Dick Wolff in response to Michael Tyce’s article about solar farms in the previous edition of the Oxfordshire Voice. Dick writes:

Walking the circular route around Oxford and loving it A number of CPRE members have been walking the Green Belt Way this year.

Chris Neale told us: “Three friends and I completed the final leg of the Green Belt Way today. We started last year but had to put it on hold during the winter due to the waterlogged terrain.

We were all impressed by your book of maps and instructions, The Oxford Green Belt Way, which was good value at £5 and kept us on the correct route.

We are all Bus Pass pensioners and found that we could use local transport to get to and from all the start and finish points quite easily. I have lived in Oxford or Oxfordshire all of my 72 years and never fail to be pleasantly surprised at its diverse countryside.”

Paul and Wendy Spray have also walked the route. They send us a note in August to tell us: “we arrived back in Thornhill today having set off in December. We did the walk on 17 different days in the order suggested in the book. We loved it and found all sorts of unexpected places.”

Take action: Time to pull on your boots and get exploring!

Get your copy of The Oxford Green Belt Way from the CPRE Oxfordshire office (and it makes a great Christmas present too!).

Call us today.

That was a poor article from Michael Tyce [CPRE Oxfordshire Voice Spring 2013] warning of acres of ‘inefficent’ solar panels despoiling the countryside. That countryside will become unrecognisable with climate change! All energy is subsidised, and landowners will decide for themselves what is financially ‘efficient’, but in terms of the environment it’s fossil fuels that are deadly inefficient if you take into account the knock-on costs (and risks) that aren’t measured.

over half Germany’s electricity supply.

Technology being developed in Oxford promises solar power from working greenhouses…

No-one except Mr Tyce suggests that solar will power all 260,000 homes in Oxfordshire. The future will see a wide range of technologies deployed and it’s too early to predict what proportion will be solar. But on one day last June, wind and solar energy accounted for

Readers may like to read CPRE Oxfordshire’s solar policy on our website: www.cpreoxon.org.uk/campaigns/ energy-and-water/energy/solarfarms

Mr Tyce’s ostrich-like stance will not encourage CPRE to be taken seriously in this important debate.

Editor’s note: CPRE Oxfordshire is in favour of renewable energy but not at unacceptable cost to the countryside.

Stand up for your countryside All this for for just £3 a month!

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Oxfordshire’s winning campaigners Congratulations to our volunteers in West Oxfordshire who have received the 2013 Marsh Award for Countryside Champions of the Year for their 25 year campaign against the proposed Cogges Link Road in Witney. The award was presented to the group at an event in London by former Poet Laureate and CPRE President Sir Andrew Motion.

and environmentally disastrous road scheme devised to relieve traffic problems in Witney. In June 2012, the Secretary of State ruled against compulsory purchase orders necessary for the County Council to proceed with building the road. A triumphant conclusion to this group’s determined quarter of a century long fight! The demise of the scheme means that the water meadows and the country park, frequented by otters, kingfishers and dippers, will remain unspoiled for the enjoyment of the people of Witney and its wildlife for years to come as well as providing safety from flooding.

Sir Andrew Motion (left) with CPRE campaigners David Condon, Wyn Devonald, Ruth Fowler & Gill Salway, and Marsh Trustee Charles Micklewright

time. This was solid CPRE campaigning from a sound evidence base with good media work and engagement of other groups as well as the local community.

The West Oxfordshire District Group is most definitely CPRE ‘countryside champions’ and the result of their persistence professionalism will be felt far into the future.”

For 25 years, the CPRE West Oxfordshire District Group spearheaded a campaign to oppose the building of the Cogges Link Road, an expensive

Sir Andrew Motion commented: “It takes incredibly dedicated people to conduct a campaign for this length of

When told that they had won the 2013 Marsh Countryside Champion Award, Gill Salway said: “It’s a great honour to receive this award. What I think really made this campaign a success was the co-operation between the team, which was just phenomenal. The 25 years of campaigning was led for the most part by the late Colin Fowler, who we remember with great affection.”

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