WATLINGTON finally seems set to get a bypass after the last 100-home development allied to it got planning permission – more than five years after first coming forward.
Planning officer Emma Bowerman acknowledged “the principle of housing on this site is not supported by our local plan policies” and that it is a “designated green gap” but said the “significant role” the plans will play in delivering the bypass outweighed that.
The outline planning permission does not include the road – that application is set to come forward later this year – but essential funding for it is set to come from developers of the land between already built-up areas on the northern edge of Watlington and where the road will go.
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This is the biggest site of those involved with the rest either having planning permission or projects underway. They all have a chunk of the new road factored into them, making each development essential to the building of an alternative for vehicles currently clogging up Watlington town centre.
The village of Pyrton sits to the north and while the chair of its parish council Colin Ludlow reluctantly supports the scheme based on its wider benefits, he says the conditions that have been painstakingly negotiated must be stuck to.
“There are strong planning reasons for opposing this application, not least its impact on views from The Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and the fact it runs counter to the Pyrton Neighbourhood Plan,” he said.
“In laying that plan to one side and agreeing to the proposals, the parish council has not done so lightly. Our acquiescence is reluctant, painful and conditional.
“While it may be far from perfect, what you now have before you is a proposal around which the main stakeholders have been able to coalesce.
“We believe it will create an asset of value to both Pyrton and Watlington, while maintaining the separate character of each community.
“In commending this to the committee, however, I would like to draw your attention to the conditions Pyrton has made as the basis of its acceptance.
“Certain elements, notably the partial closure of Pyrton Lane to motorised traffic, fall within the remit of Oxfordshire County Council’s planning application for the Watlington edge road. We would like to emphasise that for Pyrton, they form part of an indivisible package – our ongoing endorsement of this proposal is based on all the agreed conditions.”
Both Councillor Ludlow and his counterpart from Watlington Parish Council, Councillor Matt Reid, added that they would unite against any plans to add more homes to the specified maximum of 100.
Outline permission – which means council planning officers will still need to check off matters such as design and materials as the project goes along – was granted by South Oxfordshire District Council’s planning committee without any votes against.
Councillor Tim Bearder abstained due to his position as cabinet member for highway management at Oxfordshire County Council, meaning he will have future involvement in the bypass.
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