District council objects to plans for up to 135 homes in village near Banbury

Cherwell District Council has recommended refusal of the planning permission proposal for up to 135 new homes to be built on the outskirts of Deddington.

The application, which will be decided at the council’s planning committee meeting on Thursday, April 13, is for a site on the northern edge of Deddington, lying west off the A4260 Banbury Road, which is considered the main road between Banbury and Oxford.

The housing developers state in the application that the houses will range in size from 2-bed to 5-bed properties, and 35 percent of the homes will be allocated as affordable housing.

A total of 259 letters of objection were received from local residents concerned with the extra pressure that new homes will put on the village's infrastructure.

Some of the concerns raised include the loss of green space and open countryside views, as well as light pollution and the impact the development will have on the historic character of the village.

Locals also believe the village amenities, such as local doctors, schools, and sewage works, which are already under pressure, would struggle to handle the extra homes.

Deddington Parish Council has also stated its objections to the proposal, saying: "The development extends the village boundary unacceptably to the north, creating a ribbon formation. The density of the scheme is too high for Deddington area and the proposal would have an adverse impact upon landscape of the area."

The parish council also noted worries over the impact on traffic the new homes will have and its reluctance to take on the added maintenance of the extensive parkland that the proposal includes to the far north of the site.

In response, the developers said: "There are no adverse impacts as a result of the development that would not be outweighed by the benefits, including providing market and affordable housing, extensive public open space, various economic benefits, and more than a 10 percent biodiversity net gain."

The developers also previously suggested that the proposed new nursery could replace the existing Deddington Village Nursery, which is housed in a small temporary building located off Hempton Road.

Cherweel District Council has recommended a refusal for the proposal, saying: "The site is located outside the built form of the village and within an area of open countryside. By reason of its location and proposed scale of development, the proposal would have a poor and incongruous relationship with the existing settlement, appearing prominent in the open countryside. Its development would therefore have an adverse effect on the landscape of the approach to Deddington, to the detriment of the character and appearance of the countryside.

"It is considered that the development of this site would conflict with the adopted policies in the local plan, to which substantial weight should be attached. Furthermore, the proposal constitutes residential development in the open countryside, beyond the built-up limits of the settlement, for which it has not been demonstrated that there is an essential need."