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Shilton Parish Council Response to DWH Proposals July 2011.Pdf

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Shilton Parish Council Response to DWH Proposals July 2011.Pdf THE SHILTON PARISH COUNCIL Chairman Clerk To The Council Alexander Postan Mrs Katherine Robertson Wheelwright’s Cottage 12 West End Shilton, Burford Shilton, Burford Oxfordshire, OX18 4AA Oxfordshire, OX18 4AN Tel: 01993 842740 Tel: 01993 840825 [email protected] [email protected] Paul Slater, Esq. Planning West Oxfordshire District Council Elmfield New Yatt Road Witney OX28 1PB 25 th July 2011. Draft Core Strategy, further response Shilton Parish Development, North Carterton Barton Wilmore/David Wilson Homes Dear Mr Slater, The Shilton Parish Council would like to respond to the additional material submitted by and on behalf of the developer. The Shilton Parish Council (SPC) remains opposed to the principle of the expansion of Carterton into neighbouring parishes, either strategic or piecemeal, where it takes place outside the current boundaries of Carterton. This proposal is made by a developer that owns some land in Shilton Parish and in the climate where the District Council is inviting response to the proposition that Carterton Town should be the location for substantial provision of new housing. Shilton Parish Council would like to state that merely because David Wilson Homes owns some land in the parish, it does not believe that this in any way entitles it to build 300 new homes in our parish. The DWH proposal is made in the light of the District Council’s Core Strategy. The SPC rejects the notion that 4,300 new homes are needed for the District by 2026 and that to cater for this conjecture, a strategic site is suitable for the community as a whole. The SPC also contends that Carterton is a dormitory town and that the Core Strategy is flawed where it seeks to locate 37% of the District’s new housing on a town where there is no true local economy, there is no employment opportunity, there are no rail links and the local roads do not even to extend to an ‘A’ road. Carterton is isolated from the South by the River Thames over which there are only three single lane road bridges, widely separated at Tadpole Bridge near Buckland, Radcot Bridge at Radcot and the bridge at Lechlade. These obstacles are restrictions to commercial communications between Carterton and the South. To the North, South and West, road links are substandard and route through Shilton; the Junctions with the A40 and A361 create problems and bottlenecks. There is a considerable volume of derelict or unused land inside Carterton that could accommodate significant new housing. Particularly noticeable is the failed industrial estate where all but one of the units have been vacant for many years and the main area of the site is unbuilt. Without major road and rail communications, Carterton is unlikely to miraculously change from its current state as a dormitory town to a place where there is a flourishing local economy. Rather than to damage local rural parishes, The SPC is of the view that this failed commercial land would be a much better location for any new homes that might be needed for the district. The use of this commercial site for residential housing presents a more sustainable location as it is close to the centre of Carterton. The SPC is disappointed to see that the Core Strategy and the developer’s sole interests are to encourage proposals that are directed at providing perceived benefits for Carterton and the provision of additional housing. None of these propositions enhances the communities of Alvescot, Shilton or Brize Norton. Furthermore, there is the implication that development gain funds would be solely directed towards Carterton. To develop rural parishes for the benefit of an urban community is unjust and inequitable. Location in Strategic Buffer Zone Ever since the Public Inquiry held by HM Inspector Cookson in 1994 the principle has been established that Shilton should be protected by strategic buffer zones that maintain its rural identity and separation from Carterton. This principle was confirmed in the WODC Local Plan 2011 and is also present in the WOC Core Strategy document. The historic boundary and limit for all development north on the Carterton boundary has been that there should be no development (of any kind) north of the line of The Shilton Road Link. The proposal here by DWH is for 300 homes north of this line. This proposal for the development of 300 homes made by Barton Wilmore and David Wilson Homes (DWH) is located directly in the buffer Zone between Carterton and Shilton. A buffer zone should forbid any development. This proposal is for development within the buffer zone and would destroy the current separate nature and identity of Shilton. Existing planning permission and the Shilton Road Link Permission has already been granted for DWH to build 200 new homes at the north end of Swinbrook Road in the general location of Carterton Town Football Club. Outline permission has been granted for “The Shilton Road Link”, this being the road connection from Shilton Park through the new DWH development and to join the B4020. The exact route and the nature of the junction with the B4020 are still reserved matters where there have been some conflicts between the parties due to the requirements of County Council Highways department to place high level lights at the junction. The point at issue is that where the junction was originally sited – and where shown on the diagrams of the current DWH application – the lights lie on the crest of the ridge overlooking the Conservation Area of Shilton Village. As such this would create a significant breach of the principles in Planning Policy PPG3 where development should not affect views into or out of a Conservation Area. Clearly, high level street lighting on this exposed location would represent a problem that would be grounds to forbid the introduction of a junction at this point. A meeting was convened in 2010 at the offices of the WODC attended by Geoffrey Arnold of OCC Highways, Phil Shaw of WODC Planning Dept., District Councillor Verena Hunt and Parish Councillor Alexander Postan where it was agreed by all parties that the junction should be removed some 75 metres to the south where the lower contour line would allow low level lights to hide the lighting from the village. DWH have subsequently agreed to this, together with the OCC Highways dept. with a declaration of intent to apply traffic calming, signage and revised speed limits on the B4020 and through Shilton Village; these are to be jointly funded by the developer and OCC Highways. It should be noted that the diagrams presented with the DWH submission show the old, incorrect, route of the proposed Shilton Road Link. It should be shown further south along the existing boundary of Carterton Town. Extra Homes DWH proposes to erect 300 new homes in Shilton. These will be accompanied by access roads and related pavements and lighting. • This is an intolerable development in the buffer zone set aside to protect the Village of Shilton from precisely this type of expansion. • The introduction of 300 new homes will add to the traffic nuisance and dangers on the B4020 together with increased rat-run traffic in Shilton. • The watershed from this proposal is towards the Shillbrook. Additional water fed to the flood plain below Shilton will add to the flooding caused by water backed up towards Shilton. • In addition to the lighting on The Shilton Road Link, domestic and vehicular lighting will generate light pollution in Shilton. Country Park The diagrams presented with the DWH submissions include substantial parts of Shilton Parish as ‘Country Park’. Country Parks are public places that represent development. It is the view of the SPC that these could represent a half way stage to residential development and should be resisted. Naming ground as Country Park does not hide the change of use from agricultural to domestic and associated residential development. This change within a buffer zone for the protection of Shilton is not appropriate. In addition to the areas designated for homes and access roads, DWH owns land or options on areas adjacent to their development proposition within the parish. During meetings with the developer and their agents, it has become clear that DWH harbours hopes that these might be developed in the future. Shilton Parish Council would expect the new local plan to further strengthen the buffer zone between Carterton and Shilton to close these threats permanently. Traffic One of the salient features of traffic in the locality is that the opportunities for traffic to find its way to the west are through Shilton to the A40 and A361. There is no west link at the Minster Lovell junction to the A40 Witney Bypass and so traffic filters through via Shilton. The opening of The Shilton Road Link combined with the concept that a new total of 500 homes is added to the 1600 that have recently been built at Shilton Park will generate an enormous increase to the traffic through Shilton on the B4020 and add to the rat-run through the centre of the village. To this there will be further additions to the traffic flow through Shilton. The opening of the Shilton Road Link will draw traffic from Brize Norton and, if there is further expansion at Brize Norton (‘Carterton East’) or Kilkenny Farm (‘Carterton North’), then the whole weight of westward traffic from these sites will filter through Shilton. Traffic through Shilton joins the A361 at a crossroads with Hen and Chick Lane. This junction also serves the busy tourist attraction, The Cotswolds Wildlife Park. This junction has been the scene of numerous accidents and these include injuries a recent fatality.
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