Land west of Common Road, North Leigh

The proposal is for the erection of around 88 dwellings as well as associated public open space, infrastructure and works. Access will be achieved by a new access road off Common Road. Supporting this enquiry is a concept masterplan or framework plan, which is based on full consideration of the various constraints and opportunities affecting the site's development potential. (Those constraints and opportunities are identified on a separate plan accompanying this submission). Whilst the site measures 3.85 ha the net developable area is 2.52 ha, and at a density of 35dph this would provide around 88 new homes. A green area of open space is to be provided in the south western corner of the Site, which will provide biodiversity enhancements and green space. Trees and hedgerows on site will be retained wherever possible. Where hedges and trees need to be removed, new planting and trees will reinforce green connections across the development. Attenuation areas are proposed at the lowest areas of the Site. Given its anticipated low biodiversity value it is anticipated that a minimum 10% biodiversity net gain can be achieved as part of the proposals.

A pedestrian footway exists along both sides of Common Road leading to bus stops and Park Road. The Site is located c. 4.5km northeast of the centre of Witney, which is a ‘main service centre’.

Constraints/Designations - According to the Environment Agency’s flood map for planning, the Site is located within Flood Zone 1, and therefore at low risk of flooding from fluvial sources and surface water. There are no built heritage assets within or close to the Site, and the Site is not located within a conservation area. There are no statutory designations (Scheduled Ancient Monuments, Registered Battlefields or World Heritage Sites) located within or adjacent to the study site boundary. There are no statutory or non-statutory sites of nature conservation value within or immediately adjacent to the Site boundary. The Site is not situated within the Green Belt. Neither is it the subject of any statutory landscape designations. The site is not situated within the AONB which, along with the floodplain and Green Belt affects a substantial part of the District. The site is anticipated to have a low biodiversity value.

Overall, in what is a heavily constrained District the Site is very much unconstrained from an environmental and technical perspective and it is considered that, subject to appropriate mitigation where required, the proposed development would not give rise to unacceptable impacts in relation to landscape, flood risk and drainage, ecology, or highway safety.

Policy OS2 of the Local Plan covers locating development in the right places. That includes limited development at villages which respects the village character, local distinctiveness and help to maintain the vitality of these communities. Proposals for residential development will be considered in accordance with Policy H2 of this Local Plan.

In our view the proposed scheme accords with the policy's principles. The development is considered to be of an appropriate scale and proportionate in scale to the size of the settlement. Indeed, this is supported by the fact that it reflects the scale of other developments allowed at North Leigh. It’s not considered to harm neighbouring amenity nor lead to the coalescence of settlements. It will sit in an area or corner of the settlement between existing development to the north and to the east.

Coupled with the proposed planting mitigation, the development will not harm the setting of the settlement and will not significantly harm the key physical characteristics of the countryside. Indeed, the framework plan shows development being pulled back from the site boundaries to allow a suitable amount of planting to soften its visual impact. No development is proposed in the south-western corner of the site to again soften the visual impact of the housing and provide a softer, more informal edge to the development. It will not affect the Green Belt, an area of flooding, the AONB, any heritage assets or open space that positively contributes to the character of the area. The proposal is therefore considered to broadly accord with Policy OS2.

Accompanying this 'idea' are the following plans and technical documents: • Site location plan • Analysis plans including a constraints and opportunities plan • A Framework plan • A landscape note and supporting plans.