Oxfordshire town may get 15 more homes after 60 approved

Outline planning permission had been granted in January 2022 for the construction of 60 homes on land off Cuxham Road in Watlington.

Approval was given at the time on the basis that "the total number of dwellings in the reserved matters shall not exceed 60".

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But now the developer Redrow Homes would like to add an additional 15 houses.

The applicant says the new proposal is "fully in keeping with the Neighbourhood Plan which allocates the site for approximately 60 dwellings, rather than a maximum number of dwellings".

Shirburn Parish Council, an objector to the initial application, said: "The development will appear as an urban sprawl and the countryside will not be protected."

Oxfordshire County Council raised no objection to the application in relation to transport control, provided vehicular access was established before the site was developed. 

Landscape masterplan. (Image: South Oxfordshire District Council.)

A statement on behalf of Redrow Homes said: "The provision of 75 dwellings on an allocated site will contribute towards the housing requirements of the district."

It cited the provision of 40 per cent affordable housing to "meet local needs", "contribution to the local economy through local construction jobs" and new residents "contributing to the local economy through additional expenditure in local shops and services".

The Watlington Neighbourhood Plan was published in August 2018.

Among its conditions are that the "distance views of Watlington from the surrounding countryside are protected, especially from the Chilterns escarpment and Watlington Hill in order to minimise the impact on the setting of the town".

The development site sits within 4.64 hectares of land formed of a single field.

Watlington Primary School and Icknield Community College lie to the southeast of the site and it is not within any area of special designation.

The applicant also identifies the government's desire to "make more efficient use of development land", set out within the December 2023 National Planning Policy Framework.

The view from Cuxham Road. (Image: South Oxfordshire District Council.)

Watlington Parish Council had stated it would like to see some render on the homes - a coating applied to the building's external walls.

But the council was advised by the Chilterns Conservation Board that "render should be discouraged as it is both inappropriate, out of context with Watlington and would be much more visible in the wider view".

It is said that the new development would deliver an "anticipated 75 per cent reduction in carbon emissions compared with the 20213 baseline".

A decision on the application will be made by councillors in due course.