CPRE Oxfordshire Voice autumn 2014

Autumn 2014

Oxfordshire www.cpreoxon.org.uk

voice

Protect Rural Oxfordshire (PRO) Update on campaign against unsound housing targets

Green Belt Mapping the threats in Oxfordshire

Farming News Flood damage on this year’s wheat harvest

OXFORDSHIRE

Voice Autumn 2014

Features 3 Port Meadow & Northern Gateway latest

4 Protect Rural Oxfordshire campaign update

5 Green Belt threats 6 Oxfordshire local plans round-up

8 Loss of greenfield to housing 10 Out and about with CPRE 12 Mapping the flood damage on this year’s wheat harvest

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

Editor: Helena Whall Cover: North of Highworth Road, Humpty Hill, Faringdon, Vale. Photo: John Rounce.

Articles, letters, comments and suggestions for articles are welcome. Please contact the Branch Office below.

Published November 2014 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 CPRE Oxfordshire is registered in England as Charity No.1093081 and Company No. 4443278.

2

Chairman’s voice When I first came to live in this part of the world over twenty years ago, I chose Oxfordshire because it was still primarily rural but had a cultural centre in Oxford City, with the sort of facilities such a city offered.

When I came to live in Deddington 13 years ago we chose it because it was still a village, where one could get to know most of the people who lived here, but had facilities such as a shop, a post office, a couple of pubs and restaurants, essential as one became older and less mobile.

What I didn’t expect, or want, was Oxfordshire to become urbanised in the way presently planned.

Major industrial developments are being planned in Oxfordshire all of which carry with them increased numbers of dwellings to house the increase in numbers employed. The Local Enterprise Partnership has put forward a Strategic Economic Plan which envisages 86,000 extra jobs in Oxfordshire by 2031.

All this development has been built into the housing requirement in the Strategic Market Housing Assessment (SHMA) which is supposed to be an objective assessment of housing need, but has proved to be nothing of the kind. It includes housing allowance for all the planned developments some of which are at this stage, only aspirations not real plans. The SHMA was commissioned by the Spatial Planning Infrastructure Partnership (SPIP) made up of the district councils in the county. This has now been renamed the Oxfordshire Growth Board.

The SHMA proposes 100,600 houses by 2031 which is almost double the previous target of 54,700. This means 5,003 houses a year compared to a

historical average over the last 20 years of around 2,500 a year.

All this has not been subject to any consultation with the people who live in Oxfordshire. It is the antithesis of the government’s avowed policy of localism.

The fact that I have not been involved in helping to decide the policy makes it harder to accept. That we have had to accept an estate of 85 houses in Deddington contrary to the policy of Cherwell District Council just adds to the sense of injustice.

In response CPRE Oxfordshire has decided that we must have more resources to oppose the size of these proposals and at our last Branch Executive meeting we agreed to use some of our reserves to finance our operations.

Brian Wood Chairman, CPRE Oxfordshire

Wanted: Honorary Secretary CPRE Oxfordshire is looking for an Honorary Branch Secretary to help ensure the effective and efficient administration of the Charity.

This is a volunteer role requiring a commitment of only a few hours a month.

The Honorary Secretary will assist in providing effective administration for the branch and help ensure the charity fulfils its constitutional requirements.

To find out more contact Helen Marshall: E: campaign@cpreoxon.org.uk T: 01865 874780

CPRE Oxfordshire voice Autumn 2014

Northern Gateway: Area Action Plan to go before Inspector Oxford City Council is due to submit its Northern Gateway Area Action Plan to the Government this autumn, with a view to an independent examination in Spring 2015.

The Plan covers development proposals for the area around the Wolvercote roundabout/Peartree interchange.

Many of you will know it as one of the most congested and polluted sites in

the county, so you may be surprised to learn that the Area Action Plan considers this a great place to locate 8,000 jobs and 500 houses.

CPRE Oxfordshire led a public meeting on this issue, attended by nearly 150 concerned residents and organisations.

Our response to the consultation asked the following key questions: • Why does the submission document propose a scale of development 64% greater than that outlined in Oxford’s Core Strategy?

• Why is traffic modelling based on the provision of a strategic link road, that is now said to be ‘beyond the scope’ of the AAP?

• Why is the Green Belt land being allocated purely in order to maximise the size of the development?

• Why has there been no assessment of the visual impact on Port Meadow Scheduled Ancient Monument?

• Where is the evidence of full surveys in relation to hydrogeological and biodiversity impacts, and air quality?

We look forward to the opportunity to raise these questions in front of a Planning Inspector.

Take action

Register for updates on our Northern Gateway campaign E: administrator@cpreoxon.org.uk

Port Meadow: still waiting for Environment Statement It is now over a year since CPRE Oxfordshire took Oxford City Council and Oxford University to court over the hideous accommodation blocks that have so damaged the views at Port Meadow.

However, months down the line we are still waiting. All we can hope is that such delays mean they are taking the issues seriously and that when the long promised Environmental Statement finally appears we will have something to celebrate.

On that day last October, the Council and University made a promise to carry out the first ever retrospective Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), looking at the impacts of these buildings.

Sadly, we aren’t holding our breath – this has never been an easy campaign, with obstructions and obfuscations put in our path at every turn.

At first the situation seemed positive, with a reputable company – Pearsons – being appointed to the task and reassurances that ‘nothing was off the table’ in terms of possible mitigation, including reducing the height of the buildings.

The joy has been in the wonderful support from people in Oxford, across the county and around the world, and working alongside the Save Port Meadow campaigners – professional and passionate in equal measure.

Thank you all for your ongoing determination to keep on fighting this battle to the end.

Join the debate. Join the campaign. Join CPRE

When the Environmental Statement finally appears, outlining any potential mitigation, there will be a public consultation before Oxford City Council decides on which recommendations it will accept.

If we do not believe that these processes are carried out correctly, we have the option to go back to court as both the University and the Council are committed to following EIA regulations as closely as possible.

At the time of writing, we are told the Environmental Statement will be published shortly. Please keep an eye on our website for further updates.

Take Action Keep an eye on our website for information on the long-awaited Environmental Statement and the public consultation.

3

Protect Rural Oxfordshire: campaign update

CPRE is persuading local authorities not to accept the SHMA figures as targets; we are responding to public consultations on all draft local plans and we are advising the public on how to make objections.

An alternative vision for the county’s future

Since the last issue of the Voice the branch has been active responding to the threats posed to the Oxfordshire countryside as a result of the grossly inflated housing figures set in the SHMA – Strategic Housing Market Assessment (March 2014), which says we need100,000 new houses in Oxfordshire by 2031.

In May, we launched the ‘Protect Rural Oxfordshire’ (PRO) campaign to: - contest the housing figures proposed in the SHMA; - raise public awareness about the SHMA; - engage with local authorities on their local plans; and - argue for an alternative vision for the county.

A Campaign Manager has been appointed to lead the campaign.

Contesting the SHMA Early on in the campaign we commissioned an independent consultant to produce a critique of the SHMA. The report ‘Unsound & Unsustainable: Why the SHMA will increase greenfield use but not meet housing needs’ found that the SHMA is ‘so overstated, and so fatally flawed, both in its interpretation of evidence and lack of adherence to government planning guidance policy, as to be unfit for purpose’.

4

TAKE ACTION

We have already raised over £4.5K, but this campaign is ongoing and we need more resources. Just Giving makes donating simple. Please continue to support us and encourage others to do so.

The SHMA is based on a growth strategy outlined in the Oxfordshire Strategic Economic Plan (SEP), which sets out how the county will grow in the medium to long term, led by the Oxfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), an unelected private sector-led organisation. The SEP has not been subject to any public consultation and we are eager for a public inquiry to be held.

CPRE is calling for an alternative vision for the county’s future – one that is not based on economic growth at all costs and which, critically, is subject to open and public debate.

Looking ahead:

We have circulated the critique widely to key stakeholders and it has had extensive local media coverage; 3 out of 5 Oxfordshire MPs agree with CPRE that the housing figures are ‘too high’.

We are exploring all the options to challenge the SHMA, and the growth strategy that it is predicated upon:

Raising public awareness

• We are preparing in case a Green Belt Review becomes necessary;

The branch has kept the issue of the SHMA firmly on the public agenda through constant coverage in the local press, radio and TV, and via its Website, and on Facebook and Twitter.

• We are continuing to lobby MPs to have a full public consultation on the SEP;

We have set up a PRO campaign webpage and a dedicated Just Giving webpage.

Engaging with local authorities on their local plans Most of Oxfordshire’s local authorities are treating the SHMA figures as housing targets, rather than as part of the evidence base upon which Districts should be determining future housing numbers and where new homes should be built.

• We are continuing to highlight threats to the Green Belt;

• We are lobbying at the local and national level for reforms to the 5-Year Housing Land Supply rule; • We will continue to engage with local authorities on their local plans and respond to public consultations; • We are seeking expert legal advice on how to challenge the SHMA at the examination into the Cherwell Local Plan in December.

See our Just Giving page at: http://bit.ly/1oSsZB3 See our PRO campaign webpage at: http://bit.ly/1CmH0Oi CPRE Oxfordshire voice Autumn 2014

Unprecedented attack on Oxford’s Green Belt We are currently facing an unprecedented attack on the Oxford Green Belt from land owners, developers and district councils.

A new interactive web-based map (shown here) created by CPRE Oxfordshire illustrates the scale and breadth of the threats to the Green Belt. From huge solar farms on greenfield sites, to commercial developments, such as the Northern Gateway in Oxford, to proposed housing developments on the fringes of towns and rural villages, the map reveals how the Green Belt is under attack as never before.

The government issued new guidance in October that makes it clear that established Green Belt boundaries should only be altered in ‘exceptional circumstances’ and that unmet housing need does not justify inappropriate development on the Green Belt. Indeed, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Eric Pickles said ‘protecting our precious green belt must be paramount’.

Specifically the new guidance makes clear that councils do not have to build on the Green Belt just to meet the locally set five-year housing targets.

Councils will have to ‘take account of any constraints such as Green Belt which indicate that development should be restricted and which may restrain the ability of an authority to meet its need’, it says.

However, in the face of increasing pressure to build more houses, it is clear that councils are looking to Green Belt land to accommodate new developments.

Threats in the Vale In the Vale of the White Horse, 1,510 homes have been allocated in the Green Belt in the Vale’s draft Local Plan 2013, including North West Abingdon (200

“Protecting our precious green belt must be paramount” Eric Pickles, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government

homes), North Abingdon (800), South Kennington (270), and North West Radley (240).

The Vale has identified a further 11 sites for removal from the Green Belt in Stage 2 of its Local Plan, as a result of a local review of the Green Belt. These include: North East Abingdon, North and West Appleton, North and North West Botley, North East Cumnor, North East Farmoor, South Kennington, South Radley, North East and South Wotton.

CPRE is concerned that once land is removed from the Green Belt it will be at imminent risk of development, even if not immediately identified as a strategic site.

In a recent poll 85% of residents in North Abingdon opposed plans to build houses on the Green Belt!

Threats in Oxford Oxford City District Council has undertaken an ‘Investigation into the potential to accommodate urban extensions in Oxford’s Green Belt’ which assesses the potential of sites in the Green Belt to be developed to meet the City’s housing need. It identifies several

Join the debate. Join the campaign. Join CPRE

See our Green Belt map at: http://bit.ly/1ohFAMW

areas with ‘medium to high potential’ for a large number of houses, including land around Abingdon, Barton/Wick Farm, Bayswater, Garsington, Kidlington, Water Eaton, Wheatley and Yarnton.

In a ‘Growth Strategy Route Map’ recently published by the City Council, it identified Kidlington, Abingdon, Yarnton and Wheatley as suitable sites for urban extensions.

‘Uxcester’ In September a new ‘garden city’ plan was unveiled by consultancy firm URBED, which could mean the doubling in size of Oxford City and the loss of great chunks of the Green Belt over the next 30 years. CPRE believes the proposal is just greenwash for urban sprawl.

Oxfordshire Green Belt Review?

There is much talk of a full Oxford Green Belt Review taking place next year, probably under the auspices of the new Oxfordshire Growth Board which has representatives from each of the District Councils. We do not believe that such a Review is necessary but will obviously keep a watchful eye on developments.

CPRE believes that the Green Belt is one of the few planning policies in place that really works and is vital in preventing urban sprawl and maintaining the historic setting of Oxford.

5

Oxfordshire local plans round-up

South Oxfordshire CPRE tried hard to persuade South Oxfordshire District Council that as their Local Plan (Core Strategy) was only two years old, lasted until 2026, and was fully in line with the National Planning Policy Framework; and as the increase in housing to comply with the new SHMA was so small anyway; they had no need to review their Plan at all and should not do so.

The Council pressed on anyway, possibly feeling (entirely wrongly in our view) that an even more up to date plan would be more protection.

The proposed SHMA figure for South Oxfordshire is 15,000, up from 11,487, an average of 749 houses per year, and a 37% increase on the current Local Plan.

Stage 1 was the Issues and Scope public consultation in June which broadly offered us the opportunity to say whether an extra 5,000 houses, said to be needed, should be simply an increase in present Core Strategy allocations; go to existing settlements pro rata; mainly to Didcot and the ‘Science Vale’ where the notional new jobs would be created (CPRE’s preferred option if the houses were actually necessary); all to a single 6

new town which looked a lot like the re-emergence of Stone Bassett south of M40 junctions 6 to 7; or be distributed pro rata to all our towns and villages.

We were also asked whether it was time to build in the Green Belt which up to now South Oxfordshire – with our support – has fiercely and rightly resisted.

The consultation responses have just been published; most people seem to feel that the lowest level of house building, or staying with the present plan is the optimum choice. The SHMA came in for widespread and informed criticism, with at least one mention of CPRE’s efforts to destabilise it. As for location of new houses, the Science Vale appears top choice, as indeed it was ours.

The next stage of course will be the District Council’s take on what we really want, which may or may not turn out to have a great deal in common with the way we and others responded.

Oxford City The SHMA figures propose 28,000 houses for Oxford, but the City Council says it cannot accommodate anywhere near this figure. It is finalising a Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment (SHLAA) and is likely to

say it can only find space for around 10,000 houses, and will therefore expect neighbouring authorities (SODC and Cherwell) to take its overspill under the ‘Duty to Co-operate’ rule.

The City Council is still claiming its Core Strategy adopted in 2011 is up-to-date, despite the fact that it has recently published a new Oxford Growth Strategy Route Map that clearly outlines the parts of the Green Belt into which it would like to expand. It is calling for a wholescale review of the Green Belt in the next 12-18 months in order to make these urban extensions a reality.

Cherwell Cherwell District’s long delayed draft Local Plan (2011-31) went to Examination in Public (EIP) in June. Astonishingly on Day Two the Inspector halted proceedings and adjourned for six months. He made it clear that as far as he was concerned the only viable housing targets should be based on the SHMA, and that he considered Cherwell should cram considerably more houses into its Plan.

This meant that Cherwell needed to go away and find room for an extra 6,090 new dwellings (from a total of 16,750 to 22,840) by the end of August.

CPRE Oxfordshire voice Autumn 2014

The modifications to the Plan have now been made and the consultation has closed. The modifications require Cherwell to use exceptionally high forecasts of housing need from the SHMA. Most of the extra houses have been allocated to already overburdened Bicester, Banbury and to the old air force site at Upper Heyford.

CPRE responded to the consultation objecting to the high figures and encouraging the public to lodge objections.

The EIP proceedings will resume in December. It should be an interesting affair, with CPRE at the table arguing that the modified Plan will result inevitably in the rapid urbanisation of a currently charming rural district. CPRE will use the occasion to challenge the SHMA and to argue robustly against the Council using the SHMA figures as targets.

The SHMA has not been subject to any consultation or independent examination and in many ways the Cherwell EiP represents the first real opportunity for a public debate on its soundness and sustainability.

Vale of White Horse The Vale of White Horse District Council accepted the SHMA’s proposed figures as housing targets in their Local Plan Update (up from 13,000 to 20,560).

Despite objections raised by CPRE and many others during the consultation, the Vale has now published its draft Plan to be submitted for examination later this year, which continues to accommodate the proposed housing targets. 11 sites are proposed for removal from the Green Belt but development on them could still be allocated in Part 2 of the Local Plan 2031. This is in addition to the 4 sites in the Green Belt already proposed for development in Part 1 of the Local Plan.

A major development site has also been allocated in the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Another round of consultations will take place on the Pre-Submission Plan starting on 7 November. We will argue strongly that such proposals represent an unprecedented attack on the character of the rural Vale, calling for the removal of site allocations in the Green Belt and AONB.

West Oxfordshire In West Oxfordshire District Council’s (WODC) draft Local Local Plan 2011, new house projections were 5,500 by 2029 (306 per year over 18 years).

CPRE responded that while there were many sensible policies within the plan, there remained fundamental questions about the ability of the district’s infrastructure – in particular, the congested A40 – to cope with such a large increase in houses. Little did we know that the SHMA’s housing projections would be 13,200 by 2031 (660 per year over 20 years) – a 116% increase on the previous numbers.

Given that WODC has over-delivered against housing targets in recent years, and with consideration of infrastructure constraints and the rural nature of West Oxfordshire, the council has taken the opportunity to adjust the SHMA projections downwards to 9,450 by 2029 (525 per year over

18 years). However this is still a 72% increase on the old projections.

WODC invited feedback on its revised housing consultation (ending 19 September). CPRE’s comments, while concurring with the balance of the plans, majored on the still unacceptable scale of housing development, predicated on the SHMA and its overblown jobs and economic growth strategy. We have urged the District Council to further reduce the housing target, especially in view of the its past over-delivery of housing.

In the current ‘open season’ for developers, due to the technicality of WODC not having a Five-Year Housing Land Supply, communities around West Oxfordshire have rallied to repel speculative planning applications which threaten to wreck their way of life.

Sadly, despite massive local opposition, planning applications are being approved. The character of our villages is being compromised – sacrificed on the altar of the NPPF’s ‘presumption in favour of sustainable development’- a fig leaf to cover the government’s relentless drive for economic growth, even at the expense of the rural character of our district.

So much for the government’s mantra that planning decisions are now made by local communities, not by remote government diktat!

TAKE ACTION Respond to the consultation on the Vale draft Local Plan: http://bit.ly/1uKafbr

Join the debate. Join the campaign. Join CPRE

7

Selling out: the impact of housing land supply requirements on the Oxfordshire countryside The report states: ‘In the past two years 26,840 houses on greenfield sites have been given planning permission at appeal when the local authority was not found to have enough housing land supply to meet its requirements’.

Paragraph 49 of the NPPF states that housing applications should be considered in the context of ‘the presumption in favour of sustainable development’ and that relevant policies for the supply of housing should not be considered up to date ‘if the local planning authority cannot demonstrate a fiveyear supply of deliverable housing sites’.

e l a S R O F

Over the past two years there has been a steady increase in the number of housing developments that have been approved on greenfield sites in Oxfordshire; many of which have been deemed inappropriate by district councils, but have been allowed by a Government Inspector at appeal. Why? Because a loophole in national planning guidance is enabling developers to bypass local democracy and gain planning permission for housing developments in the countryside.

New research by CPRE National Office (‘Targeting the Countryside’) demonstrates how the emphasis placed by the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) on the need to ‘boost significantly’ the supply of housing is proving ‘catastrophic for the countryside’.

Take action Please write to your MP urging them to influence the Government to amend paragraph 49 of the NPPF. 8

However, local authorities can only make land available for housing; they rely on private developers to actually build the homes at the required rate.

If developers fail to deliver enough homes, it is the local authorities who are required to address the shortfall by allocating even more land for housing – often less sustainable, but more profitable greenfield sites.

Without a local plan in place local authority decisions to reject housing on greenfield sites can be overturned by a Government Inspector and a local plan can also be disregarded if it doesn’t show ‘a supply of specific deliverable sites sufficient to provide five years’ worth of housing’.

The report concludes: ‘it is clear that the NPPF is making the five-year land supply the major factor in deciding planning applications’.

Oxfordshire – a case study CPRE Oxfordshire has investigated how the NPPF’s housing policies and the Five-Year Housing Land Supply (5-YHLS) rule are being interpreted locally. Our research confirms that the effects of paragraph 49 of the NPPF are providing disastrous for the Oxfordshire countryside.

NPPF policies are resulting in a large number of appeals overturning local decisions in those authorities that do not have a local plan in place, eg: the Vale of White Horse, West Oxfordshire and Cherwell.

In Oxfordshire, 839 houses on greenfield sites have been given planning permission at appeal in the last two years, largely because the local authority in question has been found not to have enough housing land supply to meet its requirements.

In the Vale, 239 homes have been approved on greenfield at appeal since 2012, largely because of the 5-YHLS rule, including: 21 in East Hendred (Wood Farm Road), 200 in Great Coxwell (Fernham Fields), and 18 in Wantage (Manor Road). An application for a further 94 houses in Faringdon (Humpty Hill, North of Highworth Road) went to appeal in July of this year; a decision is expected from the Secretary of State in January 2015.

In Cherwell, 600 houses have been allowed by an Inspector on appeal since 2012 (160 in Bloxham, 70 in Hook Norton, 145 in Banbury, 65 in Adderbury and 85 in Deddington).

CPRE Oxfordshire voice Autumn 2014

See the Selling Out report at: http://bit.ly/1tpESmm In West Oxfordshire, an application for 116 homes on greenfield in Bampton (off Aston Road) is currently at appeal (the enquiry is due to be held on 28 October). A previous application for 127 homes on the same site was denied permission earlier this year due to concerns over flood risk and its closeness to a conservation area (ITV’s Downtown Abbey films its outdoor scenes in this picturesque village).

Research also shows that local authorities in the Vale, West Oxfordshire and Cherwell are permitting housing developments on inappropriate greenfield sites outside of the planled system; a major factor being the likelihood of losing at appeal because of a lack of five-year land housing supply.

A total of 583 houses have been permitted by these local authorities on inappropriate greenfield sites over the past two years.

In the Vale, 155 houses have been approved, these include: 103 houses in Shrivenham (68 at Colton Road and 35 West of Highworth Road), 36 in Uffington (The Common, Station Road) and 16 in Watchfield (Mac’s Paddock off Major’s Road).

In West Oxfordshire, 228 homes have been approved on greenfield, these include: 160 in Bampton (New Road) and 68 in Woodstock (off Shipton Rd).

In Cherwell, 200 homes have recently been approved by the District Council on greenfield in Ambrosden; the Council permitted the development despite not being in their draft Local Plan.

Planning applications for an additional 517 homes on greenfield sites are currently awaiting approval in the Vale of White Horse District; regarding recent precedent they are very likely to be approved with the lack of a 5-Year Housing Land Supply being a primary factor.

In the Vale, the following housing developments are awaiting approval, these include: 222 in Great Coxwell (200 at the Steeds and 22 at Fernham Gate), 135 at Shrivenham Golf Course, 70 in Faringdon (South of Highworth Road) and 90 houses in Challow (50 at Windmill Place and up to 40 at Challow Road).

Many of the new housing developments in the Vale are on the fringes of towns and rural villages and are having a devastating impact on the rural Vale. Some of the most harmful developments are those which threaten to merge towns and villages, such as the construction of 200 houses at Fernham Fields, and even more seriously the adjacent and proposed development for a further 200 homes on the ‘Steeds’ site which together would almost merge Faringdon with Great Coxwell. Similarly the proposal to build 135 homes at Shrivenham Golf Course would result in the coalescence of Shrivenham and Watchfield. This is a situation which the Vale’s draft Local Plan seeks to avoid.

Planning applications for an additional 3,666 houses on greenfield sites in West Oxfordshire are currently awaiting decision or are in the pipeline.

These include: 1,500 in Woodstock, 1,000 in Carterton East, 116 in Carterton North (200 homes were originally

Join the debate. Join the campaign. Join CPRE

approved, but 316 have since been given permission and are now being built), 430 in Long Hanborough (68 South of Long Hanborough and 362 West of the Long Hanborough), 250 in Witney (next to Kilkenny Lane Country Park), 70 in Milton Under Wychwood in the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and up to 300 in Burford.

The examples above illustrate that the need for a five-year housing land supply and the need to find developable sites is prevailing over policies restricting development on open countryside or existing greenfield in Oxfordshire.

sold Recommendations We are calling on our MPs to influence the Government to amend paragraph 49 of the NPPF so that there is not an automatic presumption in favour of granting planning permission where the local authority is unable to demonstrate a five-year housing land supply. It should also be made clear in these cases that developers should still be expected to meet local policy objectives, such as using brownfield sites before greenfield.

9

CPRE Wallingford visit Earth Trust River of Life Project

In June CPRE Wallingford District organised a tour of the Earth Trust ‘River of Life’ project on the west bank of the River Thames, north of Shillingford. Their guides Dr Chris Parker and Dr Kerry Lock explained why and how the Earth Trust is transforming the floodplain meadows into wildlife havens for insects, birds, wild flowers, water voles and importantly fish, whose population has been failing.

‘If you are interested in getting involved in the River of Life project contact Chris at: chris.parker@earthtrust.org.uk.

Out and about in 2014 with CPRE CPRE members have enjoyed a varied programme of events this year The first of our events this year at the beginning of June was an opportunity to visit the recently restored windmill at Great Haseley (to which CPRE Buildings Trust gave a grant – see the Spring issue of the Voice) and combine that with tea and a tour of the lovely gardens at Haseley Court. On a perfect early summer day the gardens looked perfection too. John Alexander of the Buildings Trust did a great job of organising the tour of the windmill and explaining the complexities of its restoration – the sails were still on the ground waiting to be hoisted into their final positions. This was a popular event which drew the full number of participants.

before winding up at an excellent cafe where the world was put to rights CPRE style.

The final members’ event, a walk along the Oxford Canal from Shipton-onCherwell to Oxford, took place on a beautiful September day. We were very pleased to be joined by several nonmembers who had learnt of the walk through social media so that a total of sixteen set off.

At the start of the walk the canal towpath ran through attractive open countryside but soon it passed the edge of Kidlington and then skirted the busy Pear Tree road junction. We wondered how long the fields between Kidlington

and the north of Oxford would survive, since Oxford City has plans for intensive commercial and housing development in this area.

We enjoyed a leisurely lunch at The Plough in Wolvercote, after which some of the party chose to end their walk while the others continued into Oxford. The route of the canal resumed a more rural appearance as it passed beside Wolvercote Common, but then it entered the centre of the city with views of a variety of interesting extensions to the backs of houses and into well landscaped back gardens leading down to the canal. We saw the now deserted boatyard in Jericho and passed a large number of houseboats, some in good repair and others neglected and with piles of rubbish left beside the towpath to blot the landscape.

The towpath provided an easy but most interesting walk.

July’s event started with a visit to the great tithe barn at Great Coxwell (opposite), situated in one of the Vale villages which is set to be transformed by the building of a large new housing estate on its outskirts. 15 members walked through the village to the church from where the impact of the new development could be assessed.

In the afternoon we adjourned to Faringdon where we were taken for a very entertaining guided tour round the major points of interest in the town, 10

CPRE Oxfordshire voice Autumn 2014

Wenda Reynolds celebrates her 100th birthday in style with CPRE Su Sayer and Peter Collins with Wenda Reynolds (centre).

Our Solar Challenge to Oxfordshire County Council CPRE Oxfordshire has challenged Oxfordshire County Council to come up with a clear strategy for supporting and encouraging solar panels on roofs and industrial sites, in line with the Government’s own stated priorities, rather than sacrificing our countryside.

This is in response to the County’s draft position statement on solar farms which appeared to take it for granted that if no suitable brownfield site was available, then greenfield sites would do.

Initially there were no plans to consult on the statement, but following an intervention from CPRE, the document was circulated to at least some stakeholders for comment.

Wenda Reynolds, one of CPRE Oxfordshire’s longest serving members (30 years), and definitely one of the branch’s eldest members, celebrated her 100th birthday on 11 September.

A long-standing member of the Vale Committee, Wenda was given a stylish lunch party in the seventeenth century Old Dining Hall at St Edmund Hall in the University of Oxford on 15 September, courtesy of Peter Collins (Chairman). The whole committee attended, along with the Branch Director, Helen Marshall, and the new Chairman of CPRE’s National Office, Sue Sayer. The menu contained her favourite foods and the wine one of

her favourite grapes, all of which was delicious.

Wenda takes an active interest in all CPRE matters, particularly those planning issues close to her home of West Hanney, (where she has lived since retiring at 75). She believes the Oxfordshire countryside has changed dramatically over the past 25 years, mostly for the worse, due to ‘greedy developers’. She is fearful for the county’s future, particularly because of the huge housing pressures that it is facing.

However, at the moment Wenda is preoccupied with less weighty and more immediate matters; she has a house full of birthday presents and cards which she needs to open and respond to, and bouquets of flowers to finds vases for…

CPRE Branch staff and members want to take this opportunity to wish Wenda a very Happy 100th Birthday!

Join the debate. Join the campaign. Join CPRE

With applications still coming through thick and fast for solar farms across the county, we remain concerned about the loss of agricultural land and the individual and cumulative visual impact of such developments.

The Council’s final statement is due to be agreed in November.

Obituary Ann Ducker, long-time Leader of SODC died in office in September.

Apart from missing her personally, we lose a staunch supporter of the Green Belt, who has been an ally and friend of CPRE Oxfordshire over the years.

11

Mapping the flood damage on this year’s wheat harvest

by Angus Dart, farming consultant One of my pleasures during September is to walk out from our dairy unit as it is getting light to collect a group of lower yielding cows, who are out at grass. The cows wait patiently for an electric gate to their paddock to be opened so that they can make their way to the buildings where a fresh mix of grass and maize silages await them before milking time.

There are always one or two more assured individuals who will move forward checking the gate is actually open before leading the more timid ones onward along their cow track-ways back to the food.

The white area in the middle of the map (shown here), contained no crop, on the rest of the field the combine recorded a large range of yields. The dark areas reflect where intermittent flooding stunted the wheat which yielded poorly.

As you will see very little of the field achieved the target yield highlighted in light green. To compound our dismay a bountiful global harvest has sharply reduced realisation prices for our crop from the anticipated level of earlier in the year by 30%.

Our larger grass fields are sub-divided into paddocks of two to three hectares (5 to 7.5 acres). We progressively move a temporary fence forward morning and afternoon so that the cows have a strip of fresh grass to graze after each milking.

The amount they are allocated depends on how well the previous strip was grazed and whether or not the trough food has been eaten. Typically a paddock will last between four and seven days.

We have moved a long way from the time a couple of decades ago when all our staple food stuffs were measured by the size of the mountain that was in storage, to a world where any shortage spikes up prices to an alarming peak, and any slight surplus is punished by an ever quickening descent to base camp levels. In the milk sector for example, this has taken us from a solid level for much needed investment, to a high velocity drop some five pence per litre below Tesco’s independently recorded cost of production data!

Returning towards the gateway gives me the opportunity to sneak a few hedgerow blackberries and to appreciate that uniquely autumnal smell of slightly damp freshly fallen leaves.

All this for for just £3 a month!

Join CPRE Oxfordshire is a beautiful rural county with a glorious city at its heart. Help keep it rural, tranquil and beautiful. You can join us in our work, make a donation or leave a legacy. www.cpreoxon.org.uk T: 01865 874780 E: campaign@cpreoxon.org.uk

In the spring issue of the Voice I commented on the detrimental effect of flood damage on a sixteen hectare field of winter wheat. Although the combine has long since returned to its shed, having completed all of our harvest, its technology was able, using GPS (Global Positioning System), to map the changing yields across the field as it processed the crop.

Stand up for your countryside Membership of CPRE gives you: l

An active role in protecting our countryside

l

Both local and national membership of CPRE

l

Access to local events and meetings

l

Oxfordshire Bulletin, our bi-annual CPRE Oxfordshire magazine

l

Oxfordshire Campaign Briefing, a monthly e-mail newsletter detailing campaign updates

l

Countryside Voice, the official CPRE national magazine, three issues a year

l

Half price admission to some of the finest houses and gardens in England.

Oxfordshire Voice

Branch Office

CPRE Online

Published biannually by the Oxfordshire Branch of the Campaign to Protect Rural England.

CPRE Oxfordshire, Unit 1, London Road, Wheatley, Oxford, OX33 1JH (Registered office)

Oxfordshire: www.cpreoxon.org.uk

Design: Rob Bowker T: 01491 825609 Print: Severnprint Ltd with vegetable inks on recycled paper using renewable energy.

T: 01865 874780 E: administrator@cpreoxon.org.uk

Twitter: @CPREOxfordshire www.facebook.com/CPREOxfordshire National: www.cpre.org.uk