Gladmans appeal against planning decision and new application for 60 houses North End Road

Gladmans the developers have appealed against the refusal of permission for their application to build 80 houses off North End Road, and the public enquiry for this appeal will be held on 12th Jan 2016.

They have also submitted a new application for 60 houses on the same site which in my view does not address any of the issues which caused the original application to be refused.

I have sent a written representation to AVDC on this new application as follows:

As District Councillor for Steeple Claydon I oppose this application on the following grounds:

- the reasons for rejection remain the same as for the previous application for 80 houses on the same site and the new application does nothing to mitigate the issues and concerns previously raised.

- the site is outside the settlement pattern of the village and extends into open countryside. There would be a harmful environmental impact on surrounding properties and loss of the attractive perspective of the village on approaching from the north. There is no connection between this site, which is surrounded by green spaces, and the existing settlement area in the village.

- approval of this application would pre-empt the local decision making process through the neighbourhood plan which is in development. It should be for local residents to determine where new developments should be located.

- a number of recent small-scale developments have been competed in West St, Oak Leys and Addison Road which have blended in with the surrounding area. The size, scale and density of this proposed development is out of scale with the existing village settlement and would not benefit or enhance the village.

- the development is not sustainable: there is very limited local employment and a poor public transport system. 95% of the village residents commute out by car to work and the development would add to the traffic pressure on the limited rural road network which is already under strain. - there would be additional pressure on local facilities such as the surgery and school. - there has been a long history of flooding and drainage problems at the northern end of the village and this development would exacerbate the problems.

- North End Road is quite unsuitable to cope with the additional traffic which this development would generate - there is no pavement, there are parked cars on both sides, and there are two sharp bends. There is no safe or suitable pedestrian access to the centre of the village.

Threatened delay to East West Rail reopening

I am very concerned to hear of the threatened delay in the timetable for reopening the East West Rail line which passes through the Claydons, and which was scheduled to reopen in March 2019.

From the East West Rail website:

Statement from East West Rail Consortium
3rd November 2015

Local authorities in the East West Rail Consortium are concerned that the project to create a new railway for services between Oxford and Bedford, Aylesbury and Milton Keynes may be delayed by between three and seven years.

The Consortium understands that there is a draft recommendation for East West Rail to be delivered in three phases, with Bedford to Oxford being rescheduled for completion in 2022; Aylesbury to Milton Keynes in 2024; and enhancements to the line between Aylesbury and Princes Risborough in 2026.

This recommendation by Network Rail is understood to be based on both cost and deliverability issues. It came to light shortly after a first round of public consultation by Network Rail on emerging proposals for the project, which revealed a high level of support from the public and businesses.

Sir Peter Hendy, Chairman of Network Rail, is re-planning all railway enhancements projects that were due to be delivered by March 2019, the end of the current five-year investment period (known as CP5). This review was requested by the Secretary of State Patrick McLoughlin, as a result of escalating costs on major enhancement schemes such as the Great Western Electrification Programme. (See News 2 July 2015)

Local authorities within the East West Rail Consortium are now seeking discussions with Sir Peter Hendy and Government.

I am taking every opportunity to lobby our local MPs and government ministers about the importance of East West Rail to our local communications and economy, and to keep to the original timetable.