View from the Ridgeway CONTENTS FOREWORD 7 APPENDIX A: Site Development Templates EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 9 APPENDIX B: Land for Safeguarding for Future Transport Schemes - Maps LIST OF POLICIES 12 APPENDIX C: Land Safeguarded for Upper Thames Reservoir 1 INTRODUCTION 14 What is the Local Plan? 15 APPENDIX D: The Saved Policy from Local Plan 2011 regarding Grove The Development Plan 15 Airfield National Planning Policy 16 APPENDIX E: Conservation Areas Oxfordshire unmet housing need 17 APPENDIX F: Scheduled Monuments 2 ADDITIONAL SITES AND SUB-AREA STRATEGIES 20 APPENDIX G: Registered Parks and Gardens Introduction 21 Unmet housing need for Oxford 22 APPENDIX H: Nationally Described Space Standards Level 1 Other housing needs 25 APPENDIX I: Primary and Secondary Retail Frontages Sub-area strategies 29 Abingdon-on-Thames and Oxford Fringe Sub-Area 30 APPENDIX J: Local Shopping Centres South-East Vale Sub-Area 44 Western Vale Sub-Area 59 APPENDIX K: Leisure and Open Space Standards 3 DEVELOPMENT MANAGEMENT POLICIES 62 APPENDIX L: Alterations to the Oxford Green Belt Building healthy and sustainable communities 63 APPENDIX M: Monitoring Framework Supporting economic prosperity 77 Supporting sustainable transport and accessibility 89 GLOSSARY Protecting the environment and responding to climate change 95 4 IMPLEMENTING THE PLAN 135 Introduction 136 Delivery and contingency 136 Local Plan 2031: Part Two – Detailed Policies and Additional Sites Vale of White Horse District Council 3 CORE POLICIES ADDITIONAL SITES AND SUB-AREA STRATEGIES Core Policy 4a: Meeting our Housing Needs 26 Development Policy 6: Rural Workers’ Dwellings 71 Core Policy 8a: Additional Site Allocations for Abingdon-on- Development Policy 7: Re-use, Conversion and Extension of Thames and Oxford Fringe Sub-Area 32 Buildings for Dwellings in the Open Core Policy 8b: Dalton Barracks Strategic Allocation 37 Countryside 73 Core Policy 12a: Safeguarding of Land for Strategic Highway Development Policy 8: Community Services and Facilities 74 Improvements within the Abingdon-on-Thames Development Policy 9: Public Houses 76 and Oxford Fringe Sub-Area 42 Core Policy 13a: Oxford Green Belt 39 Core Policy 14a: Upper Thames Strategic Storage Reservoir 43 SUPPORTING ECONOMIC PROSPERITY Core Policy 15a: Additional Site Allocations for South-East Vale Development Policy 10: Ancillary Uses on Employment Land 79 Sub-Area 47 Development Policy 11: Community Employment Plans 80 Core Policy 15c: Grove Comprehensive Development Development Policy 12: Rural Diversification and Equestrian Framework 49 Development 82 Core Policy 15b: Harwell Campus Comprehensive Development Development Policy 13: Change of Use of Retail Units to Framework 51 Other Uses 83 Core Policy 16b: Didcot Garden Town 54 Development Policy 14: Village and Local Shops 87 Core Policy 18a: Safeguarding of Land for Strategic Highway Development Policy 15: Retail Parks 88 Improvements within the South-East Vale Sub-Area 57 Core Policy 19a: Re-opening of Grove Railway Station 58 SUPPORTING SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORT AND ACCESSIBILITY Core Policy 20a: Housing Supply for Western Vale Sub-Area 60 Development Policy 16: Access 91 Core Policy 47a: Delivery and Contingency 136 Development Policy 17: Transport Assessments and Travel Plans 92 Development Policy 18: Public Car Parking in Settlements 93 Development Policy 19: Lorries and Roadside Services 94 DEVELOPMENT POLICIES BUILDING HEALTHY AND SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES PROTECTING THE ENVIRONMENT AND RESPONDING TO CLIMATE Development Policy 1: Self and Custom-Build 65 CHANGE Development Policy 2: Space Standards 67 Development Policy 20: Public Art 97 Development Policy 3: Sub-Division of Dwellings 68 Development Policy 21: External Lighting 98 Development Policy 4: Residential Annexes 69 Development Policy 22: Advertisements 99 Development Policy 5: Replacement Dwellings in the Open Development Policy 23: Impact of Development on Amenity 100 Countryside 70 4 Vale of White Horse District Council Development Policy 24: Effect of Neighbouring or Previous Uses on New Developments 101 Development Policy 25: Noise Pollution 103 Development Policy 26: Air Quality 105 Development Policy 27: Land Affected by Contamination 107 Development Policy 28: Waste Collection and Recycling 108 1 Development Policy 29: Settlement Character and Gaps 111 Development Policy 30: Watercourses 113 Development Policy 31: Protection of Public Rights of Way, National Trails and Open Access Areas 118 Development Policy 32: The Wilts and Berks Canal 121 Development Policy 33: Open Space 122 Development Policy 34: Leisure and Sports Facilities 124 Development Policy 35: New Countryside Recreation Facilities 125 2 Development Policy 36: Heritage Assets 126 Development Policy 37: Conservation Areas 129 Development Policy 38: Listed Buildings 130 Development Policy 39: Archaeology and Scheduled Monuments 133 3 4 Bridge Street, Abingdon Local Plan 2031: Part Two – Detailed Policies and Additional Sites Vale of White Horse District Council 5 East St Helen Street, Abingdon Vale of White Horse District Council Foreword 1 2 3 4 White Horse Hill near Uffington Foreword This is Part Two of our Local Plan. The Vale remains one of the top places to live and work in England, combining rich, natural and man-made heritage with cutting-edge science and technology. Local Plan 2031 Part 2 (LPP2) aims to meet the needs of our community, provides for the necessary infrastructure to be put in place to support development and helps protect our beautiful countryside, historic market towns and villages from speculative development. LPP2 was prepared under the previous administration and provides guidance about the type of development that is appropriate for our area, reflecting the difficult choices that are facing all councils across the country. It is striking a balance between competing priorities and reflects decisions that need to be made in the current strained financial circumstances. Local Plan Part One (LPP1) was adopted in 2016 and sets out the major housing development sites in our district until the year 2031, along with the employment sites and infrastructure needed to support them. Housing sites in LPP2 will help us to deliver towards Oxford City’s housing need – which we are required to do. LPP2 provides the detailed policies that will be used to determine planning applications. It will also be used to support Didcot Garden Town. Using this Local Plan 2031 as a starting point, we want to work in close collaboration with local people and neighbouring authorities to ensure joined-up and long-term development planning, especially for infrastructure. We wish to build on the policies within this Local Plan 2031 to provide high quality, environmentally sustainable and genuinely affordable housing as well as enhancing and strengthening our district’s status as a home for technology and innovation. By working together, we seek to improve on our district’s quality of life, protecting its historic and rural features so that today and tomorrow’s generation will be able to bring up their families in happy, healthy and prosperous communities. Councillor Emily Smith Councillor Catherine Webber Leader of the Council Cabinet Member for Planning 8 Vale of White Horse District Council Executive 1 Summary 2 3 4 Milton Park Stores Executive Summary Chapter 1: Introduction within the Vale and to support the achievement of sustainable development. This has been informed by co-operation with the Oxfordshire Growth Board The adopted Vale of White Horse Local Plan 2031: Part 1: Strategic Sites to apportion a ‘working assumption’ unmet need figure of 15,000 homes. The and Policies sets out the Spatial Strategy and strategic policies for the quantum of Oxford’s unmet housing need to be met within the Vale of White district to deliver sustainable development, including identifying the number of Horse is 2,200 dwellings for the period up to 2031, subject to the plan making new homes and jobs to be provided in the area. The Part 1 plan also makes process as agreed in the Memorandum of Co-operation between the local provision for retail, leisure and commercial development and infrastructure authorities in the Oxfordshire Housing Market Area. needed to support them. Chapter 2: Additional Sites and Sub-Area Strategies To complement the Part 1 plan, the Local Plan 2031: Part 2: Additional Sites and Detailed Policies sets out: The Local Plan 2031: Part 1 sets out the Spatial Strategy, ‘Building on our Strengths’ to help shape where new homes will be built, where opportunities • policies and locations for the new housing to meet the Vale’s proportion of to provide new jobs will be created, and where new infrastructure and services Oxford’s housing need, which cannot be met within the City boundaries will be provided. • policies for the part of Didcot Garden Town that lies within the Vale of White Horse District The Spatial Strategy has three main strands. These are: • detailed development management policies to complement the strategic policies as set out in the Part 1 plan, and where appropriate replaces the remaining saved policies of the Local Plan 2011, and • focus sustainable growth within the Science Vale area • additional site allocations for housing • reinforce the service centre roles of the main settlements across the district, and • promote thriving villages and rural communities whilst safeguarding The Local Plan 2031: Part 1 identified development site allocations and the countryside and village character. policies to ‘fully’ meet the objectively