Taylor-Wimpey change plans for behind the church

Many Bloxham residents attended the Taylor Wimpey consultation regarding possibile development behind the church. Whilst not supporting the application which still poses a number of important problems for Bloxham’s strained infrastructure – especially primary school places – the proposed development did have some redeeming features.

Note the past-tense “did” because the outline planning application (15/00369/F ) recently submitted to CDC looks quite different to the one shown at the consultation displays.
TW have increased the proposed number of dwellings from 30 to 37, an almost 25% increase in density. In so doing they have taken a major step backward towards a standard “off-the-peg estate no matter where it might be” design strategy. Given this we certainly hope TW will not be presenting any responses to the initial public consultation as evidence in favour of what is now a totally different development.

What a pity TW didn’t really listen to the feedback about the significant demand in Bloxham for high quality downsize housing of character. One might have thought that this site, right on the edge of the conservation area, could at least have prompted a little reflection along these lines. We know homes in a lower-density ‘non urban-estate configuration’ with proper parking and built-in adaptability to the needs of an ageing population could demand a substantial premium – but I guess such thinking may have required a degree of imagination not factored into the standard spreadsheet algorithms used by large developers. It’s so much easier to just keep rolling out the same old high-density estates up and down the UK until you don’t have to worry about local character because everywhere looks the same!

In the film “Casablanca” Humphrey Bogart apparently never does say “Play it again Sam.”
In contrast it seems that the large UK builders of today find it hard to imagine saying anything else.

What a pity!