06/06/11…Council feels pressure to find new homes

THAMES’S local planning authority has been told it must bring forward more detailed proposals on where 800 new homes in the district should go. This follows the conclusions reached by the planning inspector appointed to examine the council’s Core Strategy.

Following a public meeting last week, the inspector concluded there were no circumstances in South Oxfordshire to justify the council?s reliance on a supply of housing from unallocated (windfall) sites, in the final five years of the plan to 2027 and it would therefore be ?inconsistent with national policy?.

In a statement today, South Oxfordshire District Council stated: “By including an allowance for these windfalls the council had sought to reduce the number of houses on new greenfield sites. The council had consulted extensively on its proposals and local communities had supported this approach.

“The decision to hold some of the examination in early November is welcomed, as this will help keep the core strategy timetable on track. However, before then the council must come up with and agree a response to the inspector?s conclusions. Over the summer the council will seek views from the community on its response and submit everything to the inspector in time for him to recommence the proceedings on 1 November.”

Cabinet Member for Planning, Angie Paterson, said:
?We have done our best for our local communities to strike a balance between providing the housing we need whilst also allowing for assimilation into existing communities. The inspector?s approach is a major disappointment not just for us but also for the communities we have previously consulted on our proposals. We can?t change the situation or the numbers we are going to have to provide. Although the inspector has referred the problem back to us to resolve, under the current planning system he still has the right to decide what the numbers should be and whether we are proposing to put the homes in the right place. We therefore need to plan together where the additional houses might go. I want to work with community representatives to come up with a solution to this problem so that we make the decisions rather than let the Planning Inspector do so for us. It is in all our interests to work together on this. If we do not have a plan in place then we will be open to speculative developments across the District.”

In the new circumstances, the government?s planning inspector will now hold some of the examination hearings in July and the remainder in early November.

To view the timetable for the Core Strategy and background, visit:
http://www.southoxon.gov.uk/services-and-advice/planning-and-building/planning-policy/core-strategy