17/03/10 Decision of Thame’s 850 homes delayed for election

SOUTH Oxfordshire District Council has today announced that it will delay consideration of its Core Strategy for future house building, until after the impending general election.

The core strategy sets out where major housing development will go in the district up to 2026, including Thame which has been provisionally identified for 850 new homes.

In a statement today, SODC said: “The proposals that the council has consulted on have generated significant debate, particularly in Wallingford and Thame.

“It is a general principle, enshrined in the Local Government Act 1986, that councils do not consider controversial issues, with the inherent publicity that they generate, in the period immediately prior to elections.”

The council?s cabinet was due to discuss the local development framework at its meeting on the April 08, just four weeks before the most likely date for the general election. The council?s chief executive, who is also acting returning officer for the two parliamentary constituencies affected by the core strategy proposals, Henley and Wantage, has therefore decided to delay consideration until a later date.

Chief executive of South Oxfordshire District Council, David Buckle said:

?It has become increasingly obvious to me that some of the proposals in the core strategy will become election issues. I cannot stop that but I can avoid fuelling the fires by delaying consideration of the document until after the general election. When that will be is still open to speculation although 6 May seems very likely. If it is 6 May then I envisage that the council?s cabinet will meet in June to make its final decisions.?

PHOTO; Thame people inspect proposed plans for a large housing estate on the other side of Thame by-pass, at a recent exhibition at Thame town hall.