By editor Comment Closed

The Haseley Brook Action Group: July 2020 has asked to tell everyone they need your support in fighting a local development that could see a lot more traffic through Nettlebed Village if it goes ahead. With that in mind they are seeking support to object to a very large scale development in Chalgrove…read on about how to comment.

It is important that as many local people as possible respond to the Planning Application by Homes England to build a new Town at Chalgrove Airfield. 

To help you submit an objection to this Planning Application, the HBAG team have prepared the guide below. We suggest that you use this guide to draft your own comments. 

We have until 1st September 2020 to submit objections. The process is straightforward online – follow this link and then click on the “Comment Now” button:

http://www.southoxon.gov.uk/ccm/support/Main.jsp?MODULE=ApplicationDetails&REF=P20/S2134/O

Please contact a member of the HBAG team with any questions or if you require further support in submitting your objection. 

Use your own words in preparing your objection to the Chalgrove Planning Application including these headline arguments: 

OBJECT TO THE PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT AT CHALGROVE AIRFIELD 

I/we disagree with this proposed development at Chalgrove Airfield.

  • As a Strategic Development, a New Town of this size, should be directly aligned to SODC’s Local Plan for the District. It is not aligned. The new draft Local Plan is not yet validated and is currently being reviewed by the Inspector as part of the wider Inspection Process.
  • Homes England are making this application before the new Local Plan has been approved, indicating that they anticipate that the Chalgrove development will not be supported by the Inspector. This Application is an attempt to influence the Inspector and SODC should not consider this application until after the Inspector has reported. 

The specific failings in this Planning Application include:

  1. Location: a considerable distance from all the main centres of employment in Oxfordshire (particularly Oxford City and the Science Vale), with poor transportation links to these areas. As such, this development would inevitably be car-based and therefore an unsustainable settlement.
  2. The proposed development would triple the size of the population at Chalgrove and would inevitably have a serious detrimental effect on the Chalgrove rural community with the Planning Application directly contradicting the Chalgrove Neighbourhood Development Plan. 
  3. The Martin Baker organisation, which has a tenancy of the airfield until 2063, has stated that the development would materially impact its business and will not modify its lease. This makes the development undeliverable. 
  4. Road planning, Chalgrove village: The Planning Application proposes to re-route Chalgrove bypass through the centre of the new development, past schools and shopping centres, and a culvert built along the line of the existing road as a flood prevention measure for the existing Chalgrove village. Should the road be moved in this way this would cause traffic chaos, immense pollution and danger to pedestrians. The fact that the road has to be moved for the flood prevention measures, but there is no sustainable alternative indicates the weakness of this Planning Application. 
  5. Local traffic implications: the proposals on local traffic and road building are incomplete and incoherent. As an example, the Traffic Impact Assessment identifies the negative impact on the A329 south of Little Milton but takes no action to mitigate and fails to propose a bypass or alternate traffic management. Additionally, due to the restricted access to the area, construction traffic would cause significant environmental and social issues for the surrounding area for the entire duration of the construction period which is proposed to last for decades.  
  6. Economic impact: the development would necessitate huge unnecessary expenditure including the cost of moving the runway, flood preventative measures for Chalgrove village, moving the existing Chalgrove road network alongside the new bypasses for Stadhampton, Chiselhampton and Cuxham.
  7. Biodiversity loss: the Planning Application makes an admission (appendix 6-8) of a net negative impact on biodiversity. Chalgrove Airfield is an environmentally negative proposal and no meaningful environmental actions are contained within the Application.  
  8. The Planning Application makes misleading claims regarding consultation with local stakeholders. Meetings have been held but the Planning Application fails to identify actions to reflect local feedback or point to any local support for the Planning Application from this consultation process. The Application also claims to be in “positive consultation” with Martin Baker – this is not the case.  

In summary a development at Chalgrove Airfield is flawed by all assessment criteria:

  • Not satisfying housing need as it is a long way from centres of employment with poor transportation links.
  • Disruptive to existing local residents due to the detrimental impact on the rural village environment.
  • Fails to reflect the needs of the major employer at the site.
  • Undermines SODC and UK climate commitments by creating a large car-based settlement that destroys existing biodiversity.  

Haseley Brook Action Group: July 2020