Cholsey was fantastically represented at the inquiry by the Parish Council, Neighbourhood Plan team and residents. The Public Inspector received 300 written objections to the appeal and a petition attracted 1600 signatures. Now we would like to send 300 postcards from Cholsey residents to the Secretary of State to make our feelings known to him. We’ll provide the postcards and we’ll arrange postage – all you need to do is fill one out and sign it.
Here’s how to send your card
- Decide what you want to say to Michael Gove about this development. Have a look at our suggestions, below.
- Come and write your postcard! You can choose one of the ready-printed postcards or a blank card to design yourself. We will have a table outside Park’s butchers on the following dates. And there will be more postcard writing opportunities at the Pavilion and the Oxshed in early January so watch this space!
Postcard writing on the Forty, outside the butchers:- 21st December, 10am-1pm
- 22nd December, 10am-1pm
- 23rd December, 10am-1pm
- Leave the written postcard with us when finished. We will add a stamp for you and post them in a coordinated way. We’re aiming to have 10 cards arrive each day for a month in the new year.
Can’t get to a card signing session?
Would you like to fill in a postcard but are prevented from doing so for any reason?
- Maybe you are working to a deadline and don’t have the time to get out?
- Perhaps you find the weather at this time of year too difficult to face?
- Do you have a young child/other caring responsibilities and find it difficult to organise getting of your house?
- Perhaps you just can’t get to the venues at the times we will be there.
- Or in fact for any other reason….
Then there is another way!
- Let us know that you/someone else you know would like someone to come to your doorstep by leaving a comment on our Facebook page that you would like a call. Just your name and the word ‘home’ will be enough.
- Someone from the group will then send you a message to get your/their address and arrange a convenient time to call.
- A member of the group will turn up, complete with card and pen and after a couple of minutes for you to fill it in, will take your card away, add a stamp and put it in the post.
Reasons to write
Here are some thoughts and facts from the planning process (not an exhaustive list):
Development should be plan-led
- This development is not in the Cholsey Neighbourhood or South Oxfordshire Local Plans. We will no doubt need to build more homes in Cholsey, but this should be community led.
- Major developments like this one require infrastructure that must be planned and paid for. This is what Neighbourhood and Local Plans are for. National planning policy says that housing should be delivered through sustainable Local plans where they exist.
- South Oxfordshire has already committed to building 23,500 new houses as part of the current Local Plan, and in fact will deliver some 30,000 new homes. This number is far more than the actual local housing need assessment in our area.
- Cholsey has already delivered more housing growth than required by a ‘Larger Village’ – over 700 new homes during the period of the Local Plan (2011-2036). Leavesley’s proposal would result in an additional 70% growth on top of Cholsey’s current targets. It is not sustainable.
- Of course, developers want to build more houses and make more profit. Leavesley claims that they are doing so to address in their barrister’s words the “outrageous and unacceptable” affordability ratio in South Oxfordshire. Leavesley are required to provide affordable housing on the site, but it is questionable how many of the homes that would be sold at market rate will genuinely be ‘affordable’ to local residents.
- Social benefits including affordable housing and specialist housing for older people could be delivered on a smaller site as needed.
Permanent loss of ‘Best and Most Versatile’ agricultural land
- If more housing is truly needed in addition to Local Plan numbers, then other poorer quality land should be considered for development.
Limited public transport options
- This is a particular concern for the proposed older persons’ housing. No improvement has been proposed to the substandard circular bus route and there is poor accessibility at Cholsey railway station. There is not “good access” to public transport as claimed by the developer.
- No designated cycle route has been proposed to Wallingford.
Lack of secondary school capacity
- Oxfordshire County Council’s education witness states that there will not be enough places at Wallingford secondary school for children living on this development site, or potentially other children in Cholsey and surrounding areas such as Moulsford, if this appeal is approved. The developer’s proposal shows no regard for the social and environmental harms caused by having to send children 10 miles away to secondary school in Didcot.
Environmental impact
These points are given last, sadly reflecting the low priority given to environmental impact in planning decisions. Given the nature and climate crisis we are facing, it is deeply worrying to many of us that this is not a central consideration in deciding where and how new homes are built.
- There is a lot that should be said about the loss of open space and wildlife, and what this means to Cholsey. It is particularly depressing to note from the planning application that the developers claim they will achieve only a 0.67% net gain in biodiversity on the site.
- Cholsey Parish Council, like many others, has declared a Climate Emergency. Building 430 more houses in the mainstream way would result in an estimated 43,000 tonnes of carbon emissions just in the construction process. It is indefensible to over-provide housing in a greenfield area, increasing carbon emissions while also removing a carbon sink provided by food-growing land.