Council unhappy with flats proposal

A PROPOSAL to build homes on an employment area in Wellington Street, Thame, has been rejected by the town council, for the second time.

The plan is to demolish some of the employment buildings in Goodson’s Yard and build flats and houses in their place, and to provide parking, some of it in an underground carpark.

Parking and safety

But the town council remains unhappy with amendments put forward by the applicants, Mr A and S Good, which the council says, does not address its original concerns e.g. the density of the proposed development – 55 dwellings per hectare as opposed to that of 25 dwellings per hectare set out in the Thame Neighbourhood Plan, an unacceptable increase in overlooking of 68 Wellington Street and a shortfall in parking which would put additional pressure for off-street parking on Wellington Street, and would worsen pedestrian and highway safety in the area (The proposed exit for the underground parking would be in an area of Wellington Street that would require extra double yellow lines). READ THE COMPLETE REPORT HERE

Accepting that some increase in dwellings per hectare might be acceptable in the case of flats or apartments, rather than houses, it was suggested that a comparison with the Thame Service Station site in Park Street might helpful.
NOTE: The density of the Park Street site is 20 dwellings (retirement flats) on a site of  .3 Hectare, including parking spaces.

Not enough affordable housing

Councillors rejected the architect’s statement that it would not be financially feasible to provide 40% affordable housing on the site, the report by Jake Collinge, the council’s Planning Advisor, stating that the applicant has provided: “.. insufficient viability evidence to justify a reduction in affordable housing provision below 40%, a clear policy of the Thame Neighbourhood Plan.”

The town council voted to reject the plans which will eventually go to South Oxfordshire District Council for a final decision.