Developer resubmits plans to build homes in village near Banbury

Neptune Land Promotion Ltd resubmitted the outline planning application for the development of land south of Bloxham Road in Milcombe after the initial application was refused by Cherwell District Council’s planning committee in June last year.

The new application includes mostly the same details; however, the number of homes is reduced from 90 to 50, and the developer has scrapped plans to build a new village hall after Milcombe Parish Council confirmed it was not needed.

In the application’s form, Neptune Land Promotion said it hopes: “To deliver a high-quality development which will make a positive contribution to Milcombe.

“The proposal will meet an identified housing need within the district and within the village itself, including the provision of a range of new family homes and affordable homes.”

Alongside the houses, Neptune says the development will include a green space for ‘amenity and repose’ and ‘will provide a development opportunity for a SME (Small and Medium-sized Enterprise) developer and will create construction jobs for local people’.

They also say that the current site, which is being used as agricultural land, ‘makes limited contribution towards the character of the area’ and that the proposed plans ‘will not be harmful to residential amenity’.

However, some Milcombe residents have raised their objections to the plans, stating that the village could not cope with 50 new households moving to the village.

One resident said: “Local services such as the GP surgery and schools are already oversubscribed. Another influx of new residents will place further strain on these essential services, making it even harder for current residents to access healthcare and education.”

They have also said that the plans would cause significant damage to the wildlife that calls the area home.

They said: “The proposed site is home to diverse wildlife, bats (Which are seen often over this site) deer, which are seen in the field, birds, and hedgehogs, all of which will be severely disrupted by the loss of natural habitat, additionally more green space removed.”

For more details visit: https://planningregister.cherwell.gov.uk/Planning/Display/24/03399/OUT#undefined

Comments can be submitted until Thursday, March 6 before a decision is made on May 6.