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New plan for 41 extra homes sparks infrastructure fears By Matthew Brown FURIOUS residents in Minster Lovell have accused a developer of ‘greed’ after an application for 126 houses in the village was lodged. Agents Strutt and Parker, acting on behalf of the applicants Mr and Mrs Kinch, had already submitted plans for 85 homes on agricultural land in the west of the village, to the south of Burford Road, but have now put in a further application to take the total number up to 126 homes. The application was due to be discussed by the parish council as the Guardian went to press. Opponents point to comments made by West Oxfordshire District Council planning officer Phil Shaw at a parish council meeting in October 2016 that ‘Minster Lovell would be seen to have done its bit’ should the application for the initial 85 houses be approved, which it was in November 2016. Mary Webster, a resident of nearby Little Minster, said: “This again represents greed on behalf of the owners of the land and the developers. “They have no thought for the consequences this will have on the existing village; the strain on services, increasing the risk of flooding by 50 per cent, the village school, the lack of local medical services and pollution to the area. “It is creating a density of population that is wholly inappropriate for the village on a plot of that size.” Village watchdog group, the Society for the Protection of Minster Lovell, raised concerns about utilities and infrastruc-
ture being unable to cope with extra development, describing the proposals as ‘not acceptable’. Patricia McAleer, a Burford Road resident, said the development ‘would be disastrous’ for local wildlife including bats, red kites and owls. The proposals would include 19 onebed homes, 34 two-beds, 49 three-beds, 12 four-beds and 12 five-bed homes built on the 7.4 hectare site. But Simon Joyce, a senior planner at Strutt and Parker, defended the development. He said: “I think the key thing is that the site already benefits from a resolution to grant planning permission for 85 homes where the resolution to grant was made by planning committee at WODC last November. The council were satisfied that there were no technical or infrastructural reasons as to why the development couldn’t go ahead. “Based on the information provided by the drainage consultants and the highways engineers etc who have helped us prepare this new application, we don’t believe there are any technical reasons as to why this development can’t proceed.” Mr Joyce added there was draft allocation for 85 houses on the site in West Oxfordshire’s local plan. But following a recent examination hearing, the district council felt the site had the capacity for around 125 homes and amended the local plan accordingly. He also said that there would be “significant” contributions towards infrastructure such as a cycle route, bus services and the village hall.
Firefighters past and present gather for the unveiling of the board that looks back on more than 80 years of fire fighting
Roll of honour salutes fire crews Firefighters at Eynsham fire station proudly unveiled a roll of honour board listing the names of every officer who has served at the station since 1936. After seven months of extensive research, the board was unveiled by Oxfordshire’s assistant chief fire officer Grahame Mitchell and
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former sub officer Patrick Evans in front of more than 200 invited guests. In the event last week, Patrick, who served from 1956 until 1988, said: “It was a great honour to be asked to take part in the unveiling.” The ceremony was followed by a pig roast and get together and
£890.95 was raised for the Fire Fighters Charity with a raffle and donations from the guests. The event was funded by the sale of limited edition roll of honour T-shirts and donations by the current Eynsham crew. The board has space for the names of future crew members.