Ditchley Rd development

Fri 2 Oct 2015, 20:13

There is now an application by the same Agent of 4 houses on the property Sunnyside, now surrounded by the approved 6 properties; which was to be expected. It seems most unlikely that this 2 stage strategy by the Agent wasn't intended from the start to ease it through Planning as can be seen from the documents related to both applications - using the same professionals. So there is the possibility of 10 large houses using one entry onto Ditchley Rd. The previous application has had their offer of £71000 accepted as their community payment towards Social housing - ie barely half a home. It is to be hoped that an opportunity of a greater contribution is not lost, or that social housing is insisted upon in this location. I'm not sure if this is called a 'strong argument'...

Mon 21 Sep 2015, 10:48

Further to Rosemary's comment, this town was promised the earth by Beechcroft, the developers of the Old Primary School site, but in my view we were sold down the river by them (and others who it would not be politic to mention here). As a trivial example, Beechcroft provided the childrens' prizes for Street Fair (fancy dress etc.) for a few years after they secured from Charlbury what they wanted. Then they stopped. To me, it reeks of a "job done, we can forget these yokels now" type of attitude.

Mon 21 Sep 2015, 07:27

Exactly Rosemary
A Neighbourhood Development Plan would allow us to say what kind of development we would like to see and preferred site for any development
The Neighbourhood Forum is well on the way to producing a questionnaire to find out the views of everyone in Charlbury which is the next stage in the process
At the moment we would like to have street representatives to help get the message across all over the Town

Fri 18 Sep 2015, 13:18

Those with long memories of Charlbury will remember that there was a similar promise "by the builders" who demolished the old primary school and built many houses in its place. We were promised a new community centre. Never happened. I'm not saying that this would happen again, clearly these negotiations are being conducted by professionals in the field, no pun intended, but, could it? I would say though - these builders will offer as little as they can get away, won't they. We need a Neighbourhood Plan by the looks of it.

Thu 17 Sep 2015, 19:09

Southill Solar is also a commercial development in that it will turn a profit and those who choose to provide capital will be paid a return. But some of the profit will be allocated to the community and projects that reduce energy use and carbon emissions. So I think there are clear parallels with Rushy Bank even though they are different.

Thu 17 Sep 2015, 17:20

Because it includes social housing & the Young Dementia facility, Rushy Bank comes with various financial sweeteners, in a way that the Ditchley Rd development does not. This is a shame for a variety of reasons, including the fact that the documents assessing the traffic and social impact of the Ditchley Rd development were pretty superficial. As Sue Normand indicates, £71,000 seems a rather paltry amount to be offered in compensation, especially as it was made clear at the WODC meeting (6/7/2015) that this money need not be spent within the parish.

A variety of conditions were placed on the developer before the building work can start, including the need to drain, construct and surface "all the roads, driveways and footpaths serving the development". This presumably includes Ditchley Rd itself, since access to the site is at present unsafe, as several objectors pointed out.

But who pays for the street improvements? I would hope it is the developer; but I would suspect that this is not the case. Any clarification gratefully received!

I don't object to the Ditchley Rd development in principle; but I do find the type of housing proposed & the type of compensation payable (and also the way that those living in Ditchley Rd found out about it -- or not!) really objectionable. I remain unconvinced that the Neighbourhood Plan would make the situation much better.

Thu 17 Sep 2015, 14:10

Liz, "community led" with respect to Rushy Bank is a pretence. Some people within the community will benefit, but at a cost to others. Though there is a charitable element within the project, that is not its essence.

Thu 17 Sep 2015, 13:14

And drawbacks

Thu 17 Sep 2015, 12:39

It is interesting to contrast this development with two other developments in the town - Southill Solar and Rushy Bank - where members of the community are playing an active part, and as a result volunteering significant community benefits.

Thu 17 Sep 2015, 05:55

Very recently Peter (Town Council chairman), myself (vice-chairman) and Roger (town clerk) met with WODC planning staff to push Charlbury's case in developments like this. We did also make the point that since Charlbury serves a wider area than just the town - the railway station is used by people from across West Oxfordshire, while the shops and facilities draw in people from local villages - we should be considered for funds from developments taking place in other nearby settlements.

To get a little technical for a moment, at present the funds are allocated under a process known as Section 106, which is entirely at the discretion of the District Council. So although we've made the case for Charlbury and I'm sure our two District Councillors will do the same, the final choice is with WODC.

In the future, though, some of these funds will be allocated as Community Infrastructure Levy, for which the town itself has a direct say over 15% of the total. If and when Charlbury has a formally agreed Neighbourhood Plan, this goes up to 25% - a compelling reason in itself to adopt a Neighbourhood Plan.

Wed 16 Sep 2015, 21:48

As I understand it permission has been granted to allow the building of 6 large properties for open market sale on Ditchley Rd or lane. There are no affordable/social homes on this site so there would be a contribution to the community in some way relative to the value of the properties. The letter on the public planning site states an offer by the developer of c£70k in total. Each property is likely to be priced in the region of at least £750,000 each ie gross income is c£4million - obviously the cost of building etc comes out of that. I would be interested to know how much influence the Town Council has to ensure an appropriate amount for the Town's community benefit is agreed upon.