Link road homes plan to 'cause congestion' (From The Oxford Times)
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Link road homes plan to 'cause congestion'
1:00pm Saturday 20th October 2012 in News
By Oliver Evans, covering Banbury. Call me on 01865 425271
ELEVENTH-HOUR plans to build 300 homes on the site of a failed Witney link road plan will choke the town, councillors have said.
Members of West Oxfordshire District Council’s cabinet were warned by backbenchers about the controversial scheme at a meeting.
It has been added to a district-wide blueprint of where 5,500 homes should go by 2029.
The “Witney East” site was part of the Cogges Link Road that was scrapped after council chiefs failed to get Government approval to force sale of the land. A further 1,000 homes in Downs Road remain in the latest draft of the council’s local plan.
Carterton North East member Henry Howard said: “The time taken by residents to get into Witney is going to be unacceptable to them.
“With that in mind it will be quicker for both sets of people to go to Carterton and they will be most welcome.”
Woodstock and Bladon councillor Julian Cooper warned of congestion, saying: “We now seem to be saying we can put some more in Witney East and magically Bridge Street will get more capacity.”
Chadlington and Churchill’s Neil Owen said the plan would have a “serious impact” on Ducklington Lane and the Shores Green junction.
Some 700 homes are proposed for east Carterton with 400 more in the town centre on former Ministry of Defence (MoD) land.
A consultation last year sought views on east and west sites only.
Brize Norton and Shilton member Verena Hunt said: “If the east site goes ahead and swallows up Brize Norton village, it is not going to stop there.”
Last year’s consultation proposed 4,300 new homes in the district by 2026, but the extra MoD land, the failure of the link road and national planning reforms had boosted this to 5,500 strategic director Andrew Tucker said.
He said: “It does present both a clear and deliverable strategy for accommodating growth where it is needed and in the most sustainable way.”
And council leader Barry Norton warned the council could be “at the mercy of developers” if it fails to meet Government housing targets with its own agreed options.
The plan also proposes 600 homes in Chipping Norton, 450 in the Eynsham and Woodstock areas and 350 in the Burford and Charlbury areas.
Some 35 to 50 per cent of homes will be affordable depending on the area and the plan proposes 60 hectares of district business land.
About 50 people attended Wednesday’s meeting at Langdale Hall, Witney, where the consultation was approved to start next month.
Comments(7)
Andrew:Oxford
says...
5:23pm Sun 21 Oct 12
bodchris wrote:If the development is big enough, the central "boulevard" will go all the way through and out the other end...
They didn't want the road...so let them have houses instead, either that or a small nuclear power station/sewage farm/waste burner/land infiil site.
Charl2010
says...
9:06pm Sun 21 Oct 12
Statigy two: build houses then link road (they will have to be build the link road Jue to the amount of houses cars and traffic)
A win win situation for the councel plus more counce tax and the real truth of the matter is dont trust anyone exp the council and government they all lie
Carfax Cabby
says...
9:12pm Sun 21 Oct 12
nickwilcock
says...
8:51am Mon 22 Oct 12
The idea of building any new houses in this part of the world until the A40 has been dualled between Barnard Gate and the northern Oxford bypass is plain daft.
Although the bicycle-brains will fulminate, the reality is that alternatives such as 'guided buses', the Carterton to Oxofrd railway and other pipe dreams will never solve the lack of capacity on the A40. Daft proposals to build more houses at Barton and to restrict the A40 even further must be robustly dismissed.
If the government expects West Oxfordshire to accept more housing, it must fund significant A40 improvements - including the 'tin hat' bypass!
bodchris
says...
9:56am Mon 22 Oct 12
nickwilcock wrote:I was being unpleasently cynical about building more houses in the site, in actuality Nick I am in 100% agreement with you. Until the A40/A34 is siignificant;y improved (preferably 3 lanes) then 'town planning' is a joke in all West Oxfordshire. No new homes/estates until road improvements (also better broadband!).
The usual ill-informed comments, which merely indicate that the 'contributors' haven't bothered to study the proposals.
The idea of building any new houses in this part of the world until the A40 has been dualled between Barnard Gate and the northern Oxford bypass is plain daft.
Although the bicycle-brains will fulminate, the reality is that alternatives such as 'guided buses', the Carterton to Oxofrd railway and other pipe dreams will never solve the lack of capacity on the A40. Daft proposals to build more houses at Barton and to restrict the A40 even further must be robustly dismissed.
If the government expects West Oxfordshire to accept more housing, it must fund significant A40 improvements - including the 'tin hat' bypass!
the wizard
says...
4:59pm Mon 22 Oct 12
bodchris wrote:Another three lane road. Oh please do us all a favour ! Why do you think they have been abandoned everywhere else ? As if there hasn't been enough carnage already !
nickwilcock wrote:I was being unpleasently cynical about building more houses in the site, in actuality Nick I am in 100% agreement with you. Until the A40/A34 is siignificant;y improved (preferably 3 lanes) then 'town planning' is a joke in all West Oxfordshire. No new homes/estates until road improvements (also better broadband!).
The usual ill-informed comments, which merely indicate that the 'contributors' haven't bothered to study the proposals.
The idea of building any new houses in this part of the world until the A40 has been dualled between Barnard Gate and the northern Oxford bypass is plain daft.
Although the bicycle-brains will fulminate, the reality is that alternatives such as 'guided buses', the Carterton to Oxofrd railway and other pipe dreams will never solve the lack of capacity on the A40. Daft proposals to build more houses at Barton and to restrict the A40 even further must be robustly dismissed.
If the government expects West Oxfordshire to accept more housing, it must fund significant A40 improvements - including the 'tin hat' bypass!
Its plain, its simple, OCC do what is cheap, they talk !! and that is it. The council here should be ashamed that they are going to view, let alone accept or recommend any further developments until the traffic has been sorted.
In case nobody has noticed there are many houses still for sale in Witney, without adding more.
bodchris says...
4:02pm Sun 21 Oct 12