Surveyors in the buttercup meadow
Developers have noticed another piece of green land in Bloxham and so they inevitably seek to concrete it. Speculative developers Gladman have submitted a ‘screening opinion’ (SO) planning application for development of 75 homes along the Barford Road including up to 30 affordable homes.
(Additionally a similar (SO) application has been received to build 60 houses near Quarry Close Bloxham.)
Together with other recent developments this would represent a total expansion of Bloxham approaching one third over a period of less than 8 years with minimal improvements to infrastructure.
Information updates
If you have information you can add it as a comment below.
| Pertinent information | What | More detail |
|---|---|---|
| 10-August 2012 Landscape Architect’s report is now on the CDC site | Highly adverse visual impact for existing residents and cumulative detrimental landscape and visual impact to the southeast rural edge of the village. Houses (crammed?) too close to the boundaries to allow for effective tree planting etc etc |
The bottom line is that it ends with – ‘I am not able to support this development because of the aforementioned issues.’ |
| 7-Aug 2012. Bloxham Parish Council have filed their objections to the Development. | This is a comprehensive document setting out clearly that residents are opposed to on-going urbanisation and that the Gladmans submissions are frequently woefully inept. | You can read this, along with the other 220 letters of objection (many from 2 people) by going to the Cherwell Planning site. |
| 7-Aug 2012 Response from Environment Agency to Gladman proposal appears on CDC site. | In the absence of an acceptable Flood Risk Assessment (FRA) we object to the grant of planning permission and recommend refusal on this basis for the following reasons: |
You can read the reasons from the Environment Agency here but it is a relief to know that the relevant agencies are at least taking a proper look at documents which, as we know, don’t stand up well to close scrutiny! |
| 6-Aug 2012. Tony Baldry seeks re-clarification of rules regarding housing targets | It seems CDC are justified in counting houses that they have given planning permission for even if, in the recession, builders have not yet started to build them. | If CDC has met its targets there is no need to consider unsustainable and innapropriate developments like the one suggested for the Barford Rd |
| 3-Aug 2012 Oxford Mail and Banbury Cake carry article about village objections to development. | A somewhat out-of-date few paragraphs about the proposed Barford Rd development. Also a less than helpful “nimby” comment in the online edition. | |
| 1-August Deadline officially past BUT keep sending your objections to Cherwell District Council right up until CDC Planning Committee meet to consider it. | The Parish Council will let us know when the development proposal will be heard before the CDC Planning Committee. Apparently this will be at the September (13th) meeting. | The meetings take place at Bodicote House at 16:00. A good attendance of residents would be a powerful message. |
| 29-July See photo-tour supplement to the Gladman Transport report. | It’s not true that the camera never lies – but it tends to do so a lot les than words do – which is why this article provides photographic evidence of many of the points people have made in their comments to CDC about traffic. | (You can click of the photos to enlarge them.) |
| 29 July – There seem to be about 100 resident comments upon the CDC website and none of them are positively disposed! | Please encourage other residents to express their views / concerns. The addresses are here. | It’s looking as though Bloxham is finally waking up to the fact that enough is enough! |
| 25 July – Thames water (DTS Ref: 11570) confirm an inability of the existing waste water infrastructure to accommodate the needs of this application. A proper drainage strategy must be submitted and approved. | No discharge of foul or surface water from the site shall be accepted into the public system until proper drainage works have been completed”. Reason – The development may lead to sewage flooding; to ensure that sufficient capacity is made available to cope with the new development; and in order to avoid adverse environmental impact upon the community. | I think this issue is raised in the comments to CDC from various residents |
| Parish Council meeting moved to church to accommodate hundreds of residents concerned about proposed Barford Rd development. | The meeting echoed the recent Annual Meeting for the village in revealing HUGE resistance to yet more high-density, unsustainable development in Bloxham | Write to members of the CDC planning committee with your views |
| 22 July – Keith Mitchell has uploaded all the Gladman Documents to his website. | You can access all the reports that Gladmans have submitted by clicking here. | Thanks Keith – because getting them from the CDC site is a nightmare!!!! |
| 19 July – First notice mention of Bloxham as a current project on the Gladman’s website. | At the consultation meeeting almost 3 months ago to the day we were promised the information from the exhibition would be on this site. It still isn’t! | Consultation? This feels rather a one-way information flow! |
| There will be a special meeting of the Parish Council on Monday 23 July 2012 at 7.00pm at the Parish Rooms, Bloxham. The main item appears to be the Gladman’s Barford Road development proposals | The full agenda is here | Please come if you have views to express on the 3rd high density Bloxham development in as many years. |
| Parish Council Notice | If you wish to make comments, please forward them to Cherwell District Council and you can view the plans on their web site | Please comment a.s.a.p. |
| A Flooding Report has been produced on behalf of the developers Gladmans | This report recognises the need to accommodate the low permeability of Bloxham clay but NOWHERE does it mention that the meadow proposed for development also receives ground-water drainage from the existing Bloxham Park estate! | This report clearly gives inadequate recognition to the actual volumes of water feeding into the proposed development site. |
| July 12 – Gladmans have produced a transport report re. the Barford Rd development | They state that in the last few years there have been just 2 accidents in the surrounding area – but traffic leaving the new development may travel either to Banbury or Oxford and over the last 6 years there have been 25 reported accidents along the Barford Road and don’t forget many if not most accidents that don’t involve personal injury are NOT reported. | A somewhat selective use of data perhaps? |
| July 12 – Gladmans Report show Bloxham performing disproportionately well in providing accommodation for those on the housing register. | A Report from Gladmans to CDC states on page 21 that – The first striking thing about Bloxham is that it appears to play a more significant role in Cherwell’s housing stock than might be anticipated from the size of the settlement. Just under 7% of total lettings took place to properties with a Bloxham address. This compares with an estimated 2% of the population of the District who live in the village. | The village welcomes all its residents but successive locating of multiple high density estates in just one village – namely Bloxham – cannot fail to drastically impinge upon the character of the village. |
| July 12 – Access to documents pertaining to proposed Development are available from Cherwell District Council website | Unfortunately you may need an IQ of 150+ or a Masters degree in information technology to to gain access!!! Come on CDC – this is hardly’ Open Government.’ | You can access a downloaded copy of a clear plan of the proposed developments here |
| 2-July – The P.C.Chairman reported that Adrian Colwell was unable to attend another public meeting in the village to discuss planning issues. | Sue Smith, Chief Executive at Cherwell District Council, had agreed to attend and members felt that Charlotte Morbey, Cherwell’s Community Engagement Officer should also be invited to attend. Therefore, it was agreed that the Clerk should establish Charlotte’s and Sue’s availability w/c 16 July 2012. | |
| 1 July – Gladman’s website still carries no mention of the Bloxham Development | What happened to the publication of the information that we were told (at the consultation meeting in the Jubilee Hall) would be on their website ? | As Gladmans explicitly told me they intended to make the information available on the web I feel free to post a photo of their development poster on this site. See below or click here for a bigger version |
| 29-June Planned loss of water – cut off for 6 hours overnight to tackle supply issues. | Poor existing infrastructure has been an on-going cause of resistance to further expansion. | Also – flooding of the Barford Rd continues unabated. |
| June 29 – Biodiversity and the National Policy Framework Section 11 para 109 states – ‘minimise impacts on biodiversity and provide net gains in biodiversity where possible’ | The centre for Ecology and hydrology notes research from the University of Bristol saying that plants such as buttercups, thistles and clover could rapidly increase biodiversity. For over 30 years this has been a buttercup field (see photo) and so it’s destruction can only reduce biodiversity. In recognition of the need to increase biodiversity and halt the declining bee population there has been a project “Saving our Magnificent Meadows” which is supported by Natural England funded primarily by DEFRA. | This development project appears inconsistent with the aim of maintaining biodiversity: a factor that CDC should not gloss over without comment. |
| WB 25-June: Outline Planning Application for Barford Road development. | Gladman have submitted both a Screening Opinion and Outline Planning Application for their proposed Barford Road development to Cherwell District Council | Not on the CDC site at the time of writing but application ref is 12/00926/OUT |
| FoI requests about local housing. | FoI requests show that in 2007-2011 Bloxham had 70% of the affordable housing built in villages within 5 miles of Bloxham. (98 houses.) Between June 2005 and now 63% of social housing has gone to people with no connection to the village. (This won’t include additional numbers for the most recent developments.) |
Many, perhaps most, current residents were welcomed into Bloxham over the past 35 years. This is not about shunning newcomers but about providing local context for planning matters. |
| WB 25 June – Cherwell Link Delivered in Bloxham. | Page 5 says – CDC celebrate exceeding affordable housing targets – partly due to new affordable homes on the Milton Road | A total of 213 affordable homes provided across the entire CDC area |
| 21 June – Cherwell defers decision on Hook Norton planning permission | A CDC decision to approve 70 new buildings in Hook Norton was postponed pending confirmation that CDC has already met its Government Housing Targets for the next 5 years. | If correct there is presumably no pressue for yet another high density Bloxham development. |
| 18 June – Appeal on proposed Adderbury Milton Road development. | Developers have beein refused permission (again) for a development of 65 houses on the Milton Road. | This development appeared to have all the same planning issues as the Bloxham developments on the Milton Road! |
| 28-9 May – Surveyors arrive in the buttercup meadow | At the Annual Meeting for the village little doubt was left that villagers felt Bloxham had had more than it’s share of development in recent years. | That doesn’t mean developers aren’t still pushing forward their plans as evident from the arrival of surveyors on the proposed site. See photo |
| 25-May – Proposed developmen 60 dwellings near Tadmarton Rd | A ‘screening opinion’ planning application submitted to CDC regarding a proposed residential development of up to 60 dwellings on Land to the rear and North of 29 To 33 Quarry Close Bloxham. See CDC Planning portal ref 12/00019/SO | If this + the Barford Rd developments occur it would represent a 27% expansion of Bloxham in around 8 years with minimal improvements in infrastructure. |
| 14th May 2012 – CDC e-mailed notifying them that ongoing reticence to provide FoI data on housing in Bloxham leaves no alternative but to refer the matter to the Information Commissioner’s Office. | CDC reply: apology and data received within hours! | 70% of the recent affordable housing within 5 miles of Bloxham has gone into Bloxham. 30% to Adderbury. None to any other villages. |
| 29th April – Loss of Electricity and flooding | At the Annual Meeting Bloxham’s poor utilities infrastructure was raised. As if to prove the point we have had flooding on the Barford Road most of the week and power-cuts throughout Sunday morning of 29th April |
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| April 25 – Lively Annual Meeting! | We await with interest the minutes of this very well attended meeting | |
| 20th April – Gladmans Development Exhibition | Gladmans staged an exhibition of how they envisage shoe-horning 85 houses, 35% of which will be affordable homes, into the meadow on Barford Road. The exhibition was at the Jubilee Hall on Friday 20th April between 13:00 and 20:00. A considerable number of people attended. | Seemed to be an attempt to gather likely objections ahead of submitting the development proposal. There was more detailed information than hitherto but reluctance to allow this to enter into circulation. |
| On Fri 13th April a drain clearing vehicle was at work where the worst flooding occurs on the Barford Rd. | On Tues 17th April, after a brief shower of rain, we are back to flooding – see picture below. | Conclusion – It’s not that the drains are blocked. It seems the water has nowhere to go! |
| Bloxham Traffic | See details of 89 reported accidents in 6 years on the Banbury to Chipping Norton Road. | Source Oxfordshire CC |
| Traffic accidents of the Barford and Milton Roads | See details of the 25 accidents from reported accidents on the Barford and Milton Roads by clicking here. | If Bloxham is to be turned from a village into a town against the wishes of residents – can we have an A361 by-pass please? |
| 13th April – Traffic survey team on Barford Rd | The survey was in the school holidays. It was not operational by 8.40pm and had gone by 2.55 pm Friday 13th April.Probably not an unacceptable amount of traffic!!! | Any suggestion of low traffic volumes along the Barford Rd should prompt a request for details of flow rates at peak times of day: 7:00 – 9:00 and 4:30 to 6:30 during the school term. |
| Response to Freedom of Information request to Cherwell district council now overdue. | CDC received a request for data on the number of affordable homes built or planned for villages within 5 miles of Bloxham. Despite reminders they have failed to meet their legal duty to provide this data within 20 days. | Is this incompetence or a reticence to provide the data before the public meeting with Adrian Colwell (Head of Strategic Planning and the Economy at CDC) at the Jubilee Hall at 7.30 p.m. on April 25th? |
| Gladman website – At their Jubilee Hall PR exercise we were told the Bloxham Plans were on the Gladman website. I took a photo anyway! | 1. The Plans aren’t on their website. 2. The website is full of mistakes such as wrong email addresses and search boxes that don’t work. It hardly inspires confidence in attention to detail! 3. Note around double the density of existing housing! |
As Gladmans told me they intended to make the information available I feel free to post a photo of their development poster on this site. See below or click here for a bigger version |
| 29 March – Banbury Guardian – Anger at development proposals | Over the past six years, 179 new houses have been built in the village, a 15 per cent increase in housing stock. “We definitely can’t facilitate another development on the outskirts of the village. Our schools are full to capacity and there are no jobs for the people who move here. We are very upset. Eighty-five new houses is far too many for the size of the site | Sounds pretty accurate! |
| 27 March – Are CDC going to improve consideration of the appropriateness of development proposals? | Added to CDC website added 27th March 2012. Cherwell District Council are looking to recruit an enthusiastic and talented person to lead our Design and Conservation team. You will lead a range of projects including a programme of advice on urban design and masterplanning for a series of urban extensions and development proposals | It would be nice to think someone intelligent was going to take a look at the impact of the proposed development in Bloxham! |
| Para 30 of the Planning Framework – Local planning authorities should support a pattern of development which facilitates the use of sustainable modes of transport. | Bloxham has no Sunday bus service to Banbury, no evening return service after around 6pm and no direct service to Oxford – all of which, given escalating fuel costs, are likely to be especially problematic for redsidents in affordable homes. | Villages closer to the A4260 offer better sustainable transport options. Update – apparently there are to be some improvements – including a Sunday service – to the Bloxham bus schedule. |
| Photos | See Photos pertaining to the proposed development at the bottom of this page | |
| Central Government | New Planning Document published 27th March | |
| Parish Council | The Parish Council have set out some reasons to object to the Development Plan here. | Encourage others to cut and paste from it to send an objection |
| CDC Planning Reps | Adrian Colwell (Head of Strategic Planning and the Economy at CDC) has confirmed his attendance at the Annual meeting on the 25th April. in the Jubilee Hall at 7.30pm.It’s important we get a good attendance. | |
Relevant Photos
When you position the mouse over the thumbnail photos a larger picture will appear underneath and a brief description will appear on the smaller picture.
Please email or post additional photos to illustrate issues to John Groves
Click for recent planning applications.
Click for emergency contacts
Click for Bloxham Weather
Click for Local Traffic Report
Click for Air Train Bus Info
Thanks for taking the time to make all these comments.
I do hope you have all emailed or written to Cherwell Planning as that is what will make the difference.
There is a single-click link at the address below that should enter all the appropriate email addresses into your email for you. ….And do persuade as many other residents as possible to do the same thing!
https://bloxham.info/broadsheet/?p=16455
Annual Parish Meeting – April 25th Jubilee Hall 7.30pm.
The Cherwell Planning chief will be at the Annual Parish meeting on 25th April in the Jubilee Park Hall at 7.30p.m. to talk about planning and doubtless to assess the mood of the village. If we are to halt the ‘townification’ of Bloxham we need a good turnout. Inexplicable differences between the criteria applied to recent decisions pertaining to potential developments in Adderbury and Bloxham pose serious questions as to whether CDC see Bloxham as a ‘soft-touch village’ wherein they can painlessly fulfil their central government housing quotas.
A very recent Central Government document states planning permission should be granted where local plans are absent or out of date. So – we also need to be assured that both Cherwell District Council and Bloxham Parish Council have got plans that address the latest planning criteria.
Please bring this to the attention of anyone likely to think Bloxham needs to remain a village and encourage them to attend on 25th.
Our family moved 4 years ago from the beautiful town of Burford to another lovely area – Bloxham. Alas, during this short space of time, we have witnessed two substantial property developments both significantly affecting our already horrendous traffic problems, not to mention the current unacceptable, inherent electricity and water problems.
Bloxham Mill Business Centre attracts a considerable volume of traffic and whilst I am not in the least opposed to the Centre I feel that enough is enough. Most families now have to have two cars, the school is bulging at the seams and see how long it takes to get an appointment to see your local Doctor, emergencies excluded. Bloxham has played its part,however, if one of the Executives of Gladmans wishes to purchase my lovely home, which is only a good stones throw from the proposed site, and take up occupancy then please feel free to discuss the matter with me!
I was astonished to see surveyors standing at the spot that usually floods on the Barford Road on a dry day! I suspected that they had looked at the weather forecast. Only a few days later the flood which is familiar to all those who walk along the Barford Road appeared.
I did stop to talk to the surveyors and informed them that on a wet day they would not be able to stand where they were as they would have been soaked by passing traffic.
I do not know whether they put that information down in their notes. I rather doubt it.