More housing proposed for Shilton Road
- Gordon Elliot
- Jul 10
- 2 min read
There has been a late entrant in the Local Plan process for a possible new site for housing in Burford. The idea is to build around 100 homes on the west side of Shilton Road, beyond the existing Cotswold Gate development. Details can be found in the article below from Peter Higgs, mayor of Burford, which will also appear in the August edition of The Bridge:
BURFORD TOWN COUNCIL REPORT
Local Plan call for sites – a late call!
Early last year West Oxfordshire District Council launched the call for sites for the 2041 Local Plan preparation. The Call for Sites, which was part of the early consultation on the local plan objectives and broad spatial strategies, generated a large number of potential sites, many of which are very speculative. WODC has published a list of these sites and is now in a screening process to prepare a West Oxfordshire Housing and Employment Land Availability Assessment (HELAA). This screening process will take account of the sites' development potential, suitability, availability and achievability.
The HELAA will be subject to consultation, probably at the same time as the first draft of the Local Plan. The town council responded last year to the Strategic Planner prior to the screening on the five sites which we were advised of in our parish to provide input into this screening process. This feedback was submitted early August 2024.
In June we were alerted to a sixth site that had been advised to Carterton and not Burford but was in Burford parish. This site was submitted by Deanfield Homes, and is situated on Shilton Road, south of the Cotswold Gate development, and adjoining it. It was for quote “around 100 homes”. It is shown in the plan below.
At our July meeting we considered our response and objected to the site being included in the 2041 plan.
Our reasons were material planning considerations that it was too far from the centre of Burford, would generate more traffic on the already congested junction of Shilton Road with the A40 and was creating ribbon development towards Carterton, whereas the Cotswold Gate development previously fitted neatly into the footprint of the town between Burford Garden Company site and the Burford Golf Club.
Finally, as we had already considered five potential sites which were all closer to the town centre and which could cover all the anticipated need for housing to 2041, this unsuitable site was not needed in this planning horizon. There are still unsold properties on Cotswold Gate.
We now await the results of the WODC screening process.
The five sites already considered are
- the caravan site near Burford School
- a small site by the corner of the A40 and Tanners Lane
- the south side of Sheep Street between Burford Surgery and the cemetery
- On the north side of the A40 opposite the road to Westwell
- The present site of Burford Laundry in Witney Street
Peter Higgs - Mayor
Comments from the town council on the five sites already considered can be found by following the link below. At the moment the front runner appears to be on the south side of Sheep Street beyond the surgery.
Comments