Councillors reject plans for warehouse site on farmland just outside Banbury

The proposed development of 140,000 square metres of land just north of Junction 11 of the M40 was rejected by Cherwell District Council’s planning committee at a meeting last Thursday (March 21).

Plans for the industrial estate on Huscote Farm were originally submitted by Greystoke CB in 2022 but were withdrawn before a public inquiry was held.

The plan was resubmitted in December last year and attracted hundreds of objections from Banbury residents, the town council and nearby parish councils.

At the meeting, chairman of the Banbury Civic Society Robert Kinchin-Smith spoke about how the land was a ‘beautiful and unspoilt’ part of Banbury’s countryside and how its ‘ancient hedgerows and biodiversity supports an abundance of local wildlife’.

He also said: “Developing the area would have a hugely detrimental impact on our local landscape and heritage”.

David Hutchison, the executive director at the Pegasus Group, which represented Greystoke CB at the meeting, asked the council to defer their decision because they had new information to submit.

However, the council declined this because they believed the applicant had already had a significant amount of time to submit all of the necessary information.

The council supported Cllr Andy Beere’s proposal to reject the application, with the councillor listing 15 reasons for rejection, which included a build-up of traffic, damage to the wildlife and the site not allocated for development in the local plan.

Leader of the council, Cllr Barry Wood said: “That one reason was good enough (for refusal), and that 15 reasons was luxury!”