Pull-out guide to local Bus Services Issue 392 November 2016 50p Chippy land grab Shock as WODC says 1,400 new homes at and beyond Tank Farm + relief road to bypass town centre After a requirement from Government to allocate more land for homes, WODC have published their revised draft Local Plan. They propose 1,400 new homes at the County Council owned Tank Farm, and beyond at the eastern top of town. This would include a new A361‘relief road’ from Banbury Road to Burford Road around the edge of town, so reducing Apple blessing time traffic through the town centre. Included are a new primary school, employment land, local shops, community and leisure space. Town debate hots up The new ideas do not seem to be welcomed by the Town Council. Mayor Mike Tysoe says this growth would ‘cause tremendous problems’. Councillors supported a smaller Tank Farm plan in 2014 and said then that ‘no other’ strategic sites should be proposed. The A bodger, mysterious chanting and dancing up Mayor now says the Council are ‘quite at the Community Orchard in October. What anti’ Tank Farm, and they don’t like the was it all about? Find out on p4. proposed road either. The Town Council is now ‘unanimously’ backing a separate 300 new home plan opposite Greystones, Vote Chippy! by developers Archstone, that offers the In the Great British High St Town Council sports fields and finals for the second year community facilities. Archstone intends to running – see article p3!! submit a planning application soon, before any new Local Plan is official. In this issue: Make your views known Remembrance Feature: 11 new names on War WODC’s revised Draft Local Plan is out Memorial ~ New MP elected ~ Jaffé & Neale for consultation in November. Our local celebrate ~ Blue Boar reopens ~ Plans for Councils seem on a collision path on Christmas evening ~ A warm welcome in these big issues that are critical to the Penhurst Gardens Town’s future. What do you think? Time Plus the usual Arts, Sports, Clubs, Schools & Letters to have your say. More on Page 2. LOCAL NEWS Local Plan – big housing and traffic debate Revised Local Plan out now Developers lobby for other sites West Oxfordshire District Council’s revised Draft Local Plan Meanwhile, with the Local Plan still not finalized, landowners is hot off the press – after the Government Inspector asked and developers are continuing to promote plans for even WODC to find land for many more new homes up to 2031. more housing on other Chippy sites. As reported last month, The big news is that Chipping Norton is being asked to accept Archstone, developers of the Cotswold Gate development off 1,400 new homes at the top of town – Burford Road, are eager to build at Tank Farm and beyond, a massive Chipping Norton development 300 more homes further along increase from the 600 proposed in the sites Burford Road opposite Greystones. previous draft Local Plan. However, with They have been lobbying Town and the 1,400 homes would come a new District Councils hard over the ‘relief’ road to take some traffic away summer but failed to get their site from the Town Centre. Formal public into the revised Draft Local Plan. consultation starts in November – but The AONB (Area of Outstanding already the Town Council and Natural Beauty) Board also developers, who want housing disapprove. However, Archstone say elsewhere, are making their views they are offering nearly two thirds known. Read on. of the site to be run by the Town as sports pitches and as community 1,400 new homes and a facilities. Archstone presented to ‘relief road’ the Town Council in August and got a unanimous vote from Councillors The Draft Local Plan now proposes a to back their scheme. The Town much larger ‘Strategic Development Council in their October meeting Area’ of 1,400 new homes up at Tank confirmed their support and the Farm and beyond, plus a big employment Mayor got unanimous support from site, local shopping facilities, a primary Councillors to lobby both the school and recreation space (see map). It AONB Board and WODC in favour stretches from Banbury Road to Glyme of the Burford Road site, even Lane past Top School. A key feature is a though it is not in the revised Draft new Eastern Distributor Road, in effect a Local Plan. All this is in spite of the bypass for the A361, paid for by the Town Council writing officially to development, to link Banbury Road to Key WODC in 2014 that ‘no further Burford Road. The case for the road major sites should be considered’ proposal was partly backed by a traffic other than Tank Farm in the Local study done earlier this year for Plan. Oxfordshire County Council. It concluded that the new road would Need for proper Town significantly reduce some through traffic in the Town Centre. OCC own most of debate the land in question – and of course The Draft Local Plan was approved could benefit financially from the big for public consultation by WODC’s development. The big increase in housing Cabinet on 19 October and, subject numbers, more than doubling the original to ratification by full Council, is due Tank Farm proposal, and the proposed to go out for 6 weeks’ public road, herald big changes for the Town over the next 15 years. consultation in November. Studies prove that this scale of new development is needed in the District but it is Big issue for Town Council unprecedented locally. Much of the land proposed for The proposed level of growth, and the fact that the new road development is in public ownership. So, how many new is likely to cut through some allotment land, will provoke a full homes? And where? What about new employment? How will debate in the Town. Chipping Norton Town Council had our town centre cope? Would the new ‘relief road’ reduce the previously, in 2014, supported Tank Farm as the ‘strategic site’ Town’s traffic issues? Could the Town Council be set on a for new housing, but at that stage only for 500-600 houses. collision course with WODC and OCC about the best place They also were not against more growth, and 800 houses for new homes? If we accept 300 more new homes off were ‘on the table’ when the Town Council met OCC in the Burford Road – and indeed on other sites - will we end up summer. At that meeting Councillors were lukewarm about with more than 1,700 in total? Chippy residents, our Town and the new road idea, and now the proposal for 1,400 homes has District Councillors are now faced with some difficult provoked concern. Mayor Mike Tysoe told the press that the decisions that will determine the future of our town for Town Council was, ‘Not prepared to take 1400 homes’; it generations. This is our chance to have a say. See would cause ‘tremendous problems’ and, in spite of their 2014 www.westoxon.gov.uk for Plan details in the papers for support, he said ‘We as a Council are quite anti-Tank Farm.’ 26 October full Council meeting. 2 LOCAL NEWS routes – the 488 to Banbury. The latest edition of the Bradt Vote Chippy for Best High St Travel Guide (‘Bus-Pass Britain Edition 2’) describes the The Town needs your vote! For the highlights of the route including Bloxham and, of course, second year, Chipping Norton has Hook Norton Brewery. Chippy has a page to itself, reached the finals of the prestigious referencing Bliss Mill, St Mary’s Church, The Theatre, and the Great British High Street Awards. Chippy, full range of shops. Taking a bus for pleasure will help to led by Experience Chipping Norton, maintain the services for those who depend on them. Let’s hopes to make a splash in the Small use them, not lose them. Market Town category, with a rebranded website, town centre Wi-Fi on its way and new business sponsorship schemes. Top School joins Multi-academy Chipping Norton School has announced it is joining the River Learning Trust Multi Academy Trust, a charity running several Oxfordshire schools. The School Governors say that joining such a group, especially with local authority services reducing, can help with economies of scale, staff recruitment and ‘student outcomes’. Headteacher Simon Duffy said it was a ‘wonderful opportunity’ to grow and improve, adding, ‘The River Learning Trust share our values and ethos and has the same view of what makes schools successful.’ The Trust already runs Cherwell and Wheatley Park Schools plus The Public voting runs from 18 October to 18 November. You can Swan School due to open in 2018 (all secondaries). It also help Chippy win by visiting Chippy2Win.com, and vote once runs Cutteslowe, Tower Hill and Wolvercote primary schools. per each different email address every day. You can also sponsor ECN, advertise your business via the ECN digital Snow teams ready for action platform and volunteer to help the #GBHighSt campaign. The Winter is coming national initiative was set up by the Government to promote – and amateur UK high streets and ensure they are sustainable and vibrant. forecasters are suggesting that …and vote for Imogen as well we could be in for a hard one – In the High St Awards you can also vote for The Tea Set’s so we may need Imogen Haverty, who is shortlisted all the help we in the ‘Under 25 Employee of the can get to keep Year’ final. Tea Set owner Victoria Chipping Norton Wills told the News, ‘we opened in moving especially March and inherited some of the as Oxfordshire lovely girls and boys from Number County Council 24, and Imogen was one of them.