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CPRE Oxfordshire
CPRE Oxfordshire
Campaigning to protect Oxfordshire's countryside for 75 years
 
 
Green Belt  
 

Latest News

June 15 2009: CPRE Oxon takes legal action over Oxford Green Belt threat.

CPRE Oxon has decided to take legal action against the Government to contest the Government's decision to approve an urban extension south of the City in the Green Belt and on Tuesday 16th June, it served papers on the Secretary of State for the Environment.

South Oxfordshire District Council has also announced they are taking the Government to court on its Green Belt plans.

A Communities and Local Government spokesperson said in response: "The South East needs a long term strategy to strengthen the economy, address housing shortages and tackle the threat of climate change.

The Government remains committed to preserving the protections offered by the Green Belt, and we have no intention of fundamentally changing this policy. The amount of Green Belt land has increased since 1997.

This does not mean that the exact current Green Belt boundaries should be set in stone. The independent expert Panel for the SE Plan has recommended miniscule changes and this reflects the pressing housing need in these specific areas, and provides the opportunity to deliver 6,000 more homes combined. We are urging the local authorities to extend the Green Belt to replace this land." (Planning Portal, 18 June).

May 6 2009: South East Plan Shockingly Bad News for Oxfordshire says CPRE.

The Government published on 6 May its approved version of the South East Plan. This is a major decision for the Government which has taken a year longer than expected to respond to the consultation on proposed changes to the draft Plan.

While the Government has reduced slightly its targets for house building in the region (32,700 new homes each year until 2026 rather than 33,250) [3], housing totals in the Oxfordshire sub-region remain as the Secretary of State first proposed at 40,680, with 4,000 in the urban extension south of the City. This is still however nearly 7,000 (23%) more than the South East Regional Assembly (which was then promptly abolished) thought the sub-region could take.

Helena Whall, Campaign Manager for the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) said in a Press Release: “The Oxfordshire sub-region plan is no worse than the provisional statement, but that does not mean that it is not still shockingly bad news for Oxfordshire."

April 19 2009: “Objectionable”, “Unsustainable” and “Undemocratic” – says John Howell MP of the City’s plans to expand into Green Belt.

From left to right: Micheal Tyce, CPRE Chairman for Thame District, Ian Scargill, Chairman, Oxford Green Belt Network,John Howell MP, Elizabeth Gillespie, District Councillor for Garsington and The Baldons, addressing the CPRE's 'Hands Off Oxford's Green Belt' rally at Horspath Village Hall on Sunday 19 April. Photograph by Rick Munday.

About 100 people came along to the CPRE’s ‘Hands Off Oxford’s Green Belt’ campaign rally at Horspath Village Hall on Sunday 19 April. Amongst those in the audience were Ann Ducker, Leader of the SODC, John Cotton, SODC Cabinet Member, Anne Purse, District Councillor for Forest Hill, Janet Carr, Parish Council Chairman for Wheatley and District Councillor for Wheatley. Residents from the Leys and Berinsfield also attended.

Caroline Lucas MEP, who was unable to attend the rally, sent a strong message of support: “The benefits of green open spaces are increasingly appreciated from a range of perspectives, including for our well being and mental health as well as the environment. As you enjoy the beautiful Oxfordshire countryside, please consider what this area would look like if the government forges ahead with meeting its unsustainable housing targets. I am sorry I cannot be with you to say ‘Hands Off Oxford’s Green Belt’ …By all working together I am confident that we can win this one and I shall certainly be doing my utmost in the European Parliament to help protect our valuable countryside from unnecessary development.”

It is expected that the South East Plan, due to be announced this month by the Housing Minister, Hazel Blears, will endorse the review of the Green Belt south of the City and would require an increase in the number of houses to be built in Oxfordshire by 2026.

CPRE will continue to challenge both the urban extension into the Green Belt and any further increase in housing imposition by the Government.

Wesley Smith leads CPRE's 'Hands Off Oxford's Green Belt' campaign walk from Shotover to Horspath. From left to right, John Howell, MP, Elizabeth Gillespie, SODC Councillor, and Helena Whall, CPRE campaign manager. Photograph by Jo Cartmell.

March 27 2009: CPRE launches 'Hands Off Oxford's Green Belt' campaign.

On March 27, Oxfordshire’s Branch of CPRE (Campaign to Protect Rural England) in partnership with the Oxford Green Belt Network, launched a hard hitting “Hands Off Oxford’s Green Belt” campaign to combat the current serious threats it faces.

A CPRE campaign map shows serious threats to the Green Belt ringing all round Oxford City, including the so-called ‘eco-town’ proposal at Weston Otmoor, threats at Marston, Shipton, and Kidlington, and the City Council’s plan for an urban extension onto South Oxfordshire’s Green Belt south of Grenoble Road.

CPRE also reports the alarming news that South Oxfordshire itself, which has up until now professed itself a strong supporter of the Green Belt when opposing Oxford’s urban extension, is now, in its just published Core Strategy, proposing two Green Belt violations of its own, at Berinsfield and, particularly damagingly, at Wheatley (see STOP PRESS).

Over the next few weeks, CPRE members and Oxfordshire’s Green Belt parishes will receive a ‘Hands Off Oxford’s Green Belt’ campaign pack including a newsletter, car-stickers and leaflets.

On Sunday 19 April members of the public who are concerned about threats to their Green Belt are invited to join a campaign walk from Shotover to Horspath, along part of CPRE’s Oxfordshire Green Belt Way, led by popular TV personality Wesley Smith, followed by a rally at Horspath Village Hall with a panel of speakers including local M.P. John Howell, Ian Scargill, Chairman of the Oxford Green Belt Network, and Elizabeth Gillespie, District Councillor for Garsington and The Baldons.

What you can do

If you would like to support CPRE's 'Hands Off Oxford's Green Belt' campaign and would like to receive the campaign pack please call the CPRE Office on: 01865 874780 or email: administrator@cpreoxon.org.uk

If you would like to join us on the 'Hands Off Oxford's Green Belt' campaign walk and rally see below for more information.

CPRE's 'Hands Off Oxford's Green Belt' campaign walk & rally, Sunday, 19 April.

Come and join the CPRE on the 'Hands Off Oxford's Green Belt' campaign walk and rally.

The walk will begin at Shotover Hill at 3.00 pm, and will be led by popular TV personality Wesley Smith (Regional TV presenter).

The walk will finish at 4.00 pm, at Horspath Village Hall, where there will be refreshments and a short rally outlining current threats to the Oxford Green Belt.

Addressing the rally will be John Howell MP, Elizabeth Gillespie, District Councillor for Garsington and The Baldons, and Ian Scargill, Chairman, Oxford Green Belt Network.

Contact: Helena Whall, CPRE Oxfordshire Campaign Manager on tel: 01865 874780 or email: campaign@cpreoxon.org.uk.

To obtain copies of the Oxford Green Belt Way guidebook go to: http://www.greenbeltway.org.uk

Latest News

2009

March 6 2009: SODC's draft Core Strategy proposes Green Belt reviews for Berinsfield and Wheatley.

South Oxfordshire District Council is looking to consult on the next stage of their Core Strategy document ‘the Preferred Options’ in late March. The Core Strategy will play a major role in shaping the future of the district over the next 20 years. The strategy will identify where significant areas of housing and employment growth will take place in the district up until 2026.

CPRE notes with concern that despite the Council’s welcome and oft-repeated opposition to the urban extension of Oxford into the Green Belt, south of Grenoble Road, the draft Core Strategy proposes Green Belt reviews for both Berinsfield and Wheatley.

Albeit on a smaller scale these proposed extensions into the Green Belt are just as much in conflict with the Green Belt and its purposes as the proposed extension south of Grenoble Road.

CPRE Oxon will be objecting to this Green Belt review when it responds to the consultation.

The draft Core Strategy is to be discussed by SODC Cabinet on 5th March. The official consultation by SODC will only begin after the document has been approved by the SODC Cabinet and amended where necessary, with a consultation period of 18th March to 1st May indicated as being probable.

What you can do

February 19 2009: CPRE expresses concern that an updated map of the 'northern gateway' site, released by Oxford City Council, has been enlarged to take in part of the Green Belt.

In a letter to the Oxford Times today (19 February), CPRE Oxfordshire expresses its concern that the city has enlarged the site for the so-called ‘Northern Gateway’ to Oxford at Pear Tree, by a third, increasing it to about 60 acres, taking in a stretch of Green Belt, lying south of the A40, and a piece of Green Belt to the north at Peartree Hill Farm.

We see no justification or rationale for the city to take any Green Belt land. Moreover, no such plan was suggested in the city’s consultations to which we responded.

January 12 2009: CPRE writes to Secretary of State requesting the suspension of the publication of the South East Plan in the light of the recommendations made by the Environmental Audit Committee.

January 12 2009: CPRE writes to the Boundary Committee to register its objection to the request made by Oxford City for a boundary extension.

2008

December 3 2008: House of Commons Environmental Audit Select Committee say housing targets are putting pressure on the Green Belt.

In a recent report, "Greener homes for the future? An environmental analysis of the Government's housebuilding plans", published on 3 November, the House of Commons Environmental Audit Select Committee calls on the Government to revise housebuilding targets in light of the economic downturn, or risk unleashing a swathe of greenfield development.

Responding to the report, Kate Gordon, CPRE’s senior planner, said:

"The Environmental Audit Committee’s excellent report hits the nail on the head. We wholeheartedly endorse its recommendations, and share the deep concerns of the Committee’s members.

The Government has a good record on building on brownfield land but the pressure for greenfield development will intensify in an economic downturn. Inflexible Government targets and planning rules are forcing local councils across the country to needlessly allocate greenfield land for housing. Without a policy change local authorities will have no choice but to grant permission for greenfield development."

The Environmental Audit Select Committee’s key recommendations:

  • The Government should urgently review the basis of its target for building 3 million new homes by 2020.
  • A clear sequential test favouring brownfield sites for development over greenfield sites should be reintroduced into planning policy.
  • Targets to make all new homes zero carbon by 2016 should be used to speed up the development of community renewable energy sources for local neighbourhoods.
  • Government should look urgently at introducing feed-in tariffs as a way of making zero carbon homes more financially attractive to developers.
  • Eco-town proposals should be re-examined to ensure they have good public transport links, and are located close to commercial centres and employment opportunities, so that they do not lead to large rises in road journeys.
  • All major housing building developments from 2016 should have to meet the same environmental tests as eco-towns.
  • The Government should investigate the potential for the redevelopment of vacant building to create up to 1.2 million new homes.
  • Despite the current market downturn, the Government should ensure that minimum standards for public transport and green infrastructure apply to all new developments.
  • More aspects of the Code for Sustainable Homes – not just energy efficiency – should become mandatory for builders from 2010.
  • The Government should suspend the implementation of its regional spatial strategies until it has carried out and published an environmental appraisal of its house-building targets.

CPRE Oxfordshire welcomes the Committee's report, in particular its acknowledgement that the Government's housing targets are putting pressures on the Green Belt and that the test of "exceptional circumstances" for building in the Green Belt should be set higher.

  • See House of Commons Environmental Audit Select Committee Report.
  • See CPRE National Office Press Release.

November 11 2008: Prime Minister's Office responds to HandsOff! Our Green Belt petition.

The Prime Minister's Office has responded to the petition submitted by John Howell, MP, South Oxon, to honour his pledge to protect Green Belt land, and to not allow proposals for 4,000 houses within the Green Belt in South Oxfordshire to be included in the South East Plan. 566 people signed the petition.

  • To view the Prime Minister's response click here.

October 21 2008: Oxford City Council plot to fast track plans to grab Green Belt land.

At a meeting of the Executive Board on Wednesday 22 October the City Council plans to set up a joint venture to develop land South of Grenoble Road with Magdalen College and Thames Water to ensure that the massive ill-gotten gains that would result from this plan – should it ever be permitted – will be equally shared amongst the plotters.

They are also proposing to spend £30,000 of taxpayers money on a consultant’s report into the way this Green Belt despoliation might be structured.

At the same time the City Council are trying to grab the land in question – and hundreds of acres more besides – off South Oxfordshire District Council in order annex it to the City and thereby become the planning authority deciding the development.

Quite apart from CPRE's objections to the unnecessary grabbing of Green Belt land – the City has long ago admitted that more than all of the houses needed to solve the City’s claimed housing problem could be built on land already within the City boundaries – how can it be proper for the City to be deliberately setting up a development consortium which would involve potential huge financial gain to the City itself as well as at the same trying to become the Planning Authority deciding whether this lucrative plan can go ahead.

This would set up an enormous conflict of interest and destroy any possibility of fairness in the planning decision.
The City must drop one plan or the other. If it wants to form a developers consortium it must not try to grab planning control of the land; if it wants to be the planning authority it must put its land in trust and not be part of the developers cartel seeking to profit from planning permission.

To be both the beneficiary of planning permission as well as the authority that grants it, as it is trying to be, makes total nonsense of the democratic process and a mockery of the checks and balances in the planning system.
Quite apart from that it is surely wrong for the City to be deciding to blow another £30,000 of its long-suffering taxpayers money  on a development which is not necessary; is not in the South East plan; has not been agreed by the Secretary of State; and is fiercely contested not only by South Oxfordshire District Council and the Parishes whose land would be grabbed if it went ahead, but by the Campaign to Protect Rural England and all who cherish the environmental and economic benefits the Green Belt provides and which an expansionist City wishes to destroy.

Bob Price, Council Leader wrote to the Oxford Times on October 3rd that the City Council “are happy with large parts of the Green Belt”  which only confirms that they and their developer associates mean to profit by building over all the rest of it if given half a chance.

October 7 2008: SODC kept in the dark about boundary review.

The leader of South Oxfordshire District Council, Ann Ducker, has today voiced concern at being kept in the dark over a review that could lead to a shift in the boundary between South Oxfordshire District Council and Oxford City Council. This could ultimately mean that responsibility for Green Belt land currently in South Oxfordshire would move to the City. Ann Ducker says: 'We first heard of this review from Oxford City Council, which out of courtesy told us it had accepted an invitation from the Boundary Commission to review its southern boundary.' 

'I’m staggered that the commission only asked Oxford City Council and didn’t seek our views given the impact a review could have on our communities.  The city has made no secret of the fact it supports development of Green Belt land in South Oxfordshire, which from the outset we have been opposed to and moving our boundary is a sneaky way of making it easier for this to happen.  Any boundary change would also mean that affected residents would be subject to higher Council Tax and different arrangements for services such as waste collection.
 
'I’ve asked the commission to explain their actions and to ensure that we are fully involved in any future boundary discussions.  In the mean time I want to reassure residents that we will continue to fight development in the Green Belt and keep them informed as more information emerges.'

September 26 2008: South Oxfordshire District Council says no to boundary review.

The leader of the South Oxfordshire District Council, Ann Ducker, has told Oxford City Council that she will not agree to a shift in the boundary between South Oxfordshire and Oxford City. In a press release issued on 29 September, she said: 'I'm pleased to confirm that the boundary commission has told us that it isn't looking to review this boundary and that it doesn't expect to start any reviews during 2009.'

September 19 2008: Oxford City Council is looking to annex enough Green Belt land to build at least 12,000 homes as part of a proposed urban extension.

Oxford City Council has asked the Boundary Committee to redraw its boundary to take in approximately 530 hectares of Oxford’s Green Belt, stretching from Sandford-on-Thames in the west to Northfield Farm in the east, currently lying within the South Oxfordshire District. CPRE Oxfordshire believes the city wants to take control of this land, making it the planning authority, in an attempt to build up to 12,000 on Oxford's Green Belt.

September 8 2008: Oxford City Council bids to change its boundary with SODC to pave way for urban extension.

Oxford City Council has asked the Boundary Committee to redraw its boundary to take in the land south of Grenoble Road, near Greater Leys. The area currently lies within the South Oxfordshire District. The city wants to take control of the parcel of land, making it the planning authority, in an attempt to speed up the housing proposals.

August 25 2008: CPRE Oxfordshire responds to SODC consultation on South of Oxford Urban Extension.

Following the announcement by the Secretary of State on July 17th in the Proposed Changes to the South East Plan, that there will be a review of the Oxford Green Belt, to allow for the building of 4,000 homes south of Grenoble Road, SODC were asked to demonstrate how it can accommodate the proposal in its planning documents if it becomes a requirement. As a key stakeholder, CPRE Oxfordshire were asked for its views on the issues and options raised by the proposal should it go ahead.

In its response to the consultation on the South of Oxford urban extension, CPRE Oxfordshire made it very clear that we don’t believe that any incursion into the Green Belt is warranted, and that there is no credible evidence to justify it.

7 May 2008: CPRE Oxforshire News Release 'Oxford Green Belt - Robustly Protected or Under Threat?

Nationally, there has been significant loss of Green Belt land since 1997 and more is planned, despite the commitment of the Prime Minister to robustly protect it. Over 1,100 hectares of Green Belt have been lost each year since 1997 and at least 45,240 homes – equivalent to a city the size of Bath - have been built on Green Belt land since 1997. A Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) investigation of the Government’s record on Green Belt policy since 1997 lists those threats to the Green Belt in Oxfordshire.

May 2008: SODC "Hands off our Green belt" campaign.

At the end of March, SODC initiated an on-line petition for people to register how important the Green Belt is to us.

At the end of the petition time (August 2008) Downing Street will send all signatories a message giving the government's reason's for either doing something or not taking any notice of what the public wants. The main thing is to have 1000s of people signing up. So please take a few minutes to sign up and encourage friends living in or near the Oxford Green Belt to do the same.

The address of the on-line petition is: http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/SOxonGreenBelt

April 2008: Proposed eco-town, Weston-Otmoor, of upto 15,000 new homes.

Proposed eco-town near Weston-on-the-Green near Bicester for 15,000 dwellings. Approximately 28% of this 800 hectare (2,000 acre) site lies within the Green Belt.

March 2008:Proposed extension of the Thornhill Park & Ride in the Green Belt aims to create a 'Transport Hub'.

To the east of Oxford, an extension of the Thornhill Park & Ride in the Green Belt aims to create a ‘Transport Hub’. Informal consultation with stakeholders ended on 20 March. The planning application is expected in 2009.

CPRE Oxfordshire submitted a statement opposing the extension as part of the consultation process.

March 2008: Oxford City Council proposes to erect up to 20 wind turbines in the Green Belt.

Oxford City Council proposes to erect up to 20 wind turbines on four sites at Cuttleslowe, Hinksey, Horspath, and Sandford which will industrialise the Oxford Green Belt, harming its openness, along with the famous views of Oxford City.

2007

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Oxford's Green Belt

Oxfordshire's Green Belt is proving too tempting for developers to ignore but it is too precious for us to squander.

The first green belt was proposed in 1935 to curb ribbon development along London's arterial roads. The 1947 Town and Country Planning Act gave local authorities powers to direct development and, in 1955, they were invited to establish their own green belts. In 1956, Oxford councillors had the foresight to suggest they designate the fields surrounding their city as green belt, following a campaign by CPRE and the Oxford Preservation Trust. Designation seems to have been complete by 1958. (For an introduction to Green Belts, see BBC News.)

Green Belts now protect 13% of England. As designated open space surrounding many towns and cities, they play a critical role in creating a high quality of life for people in both town and country. They protect the open character of the countryside next to urban areas and stop sprawl, thereby encouraging urban regeneration. They are a place where we can get a bit of exercise, explore the countryside next door and enjoy some peace and quiet. They are where we grow food, ride horses, and walk and talk in relative peace.

But the reality is that Green Belts face multiple threats, nowhere more so than in Oxfordshire where the proposals (below) currently threaten the rural character of our county.

Threats to Oxfordshire's Green Belt Shipton-on-Cherwell Bebroke and Oxford Airport Kennington Sunningwell A34 Corridor Horspath & Garsington Grenoble Road

Kennington. A 30 acre site south of Sandford Lane in the Green Belt for 440 houses. The developers say it could be one of a necklace of smaller sites around the City, most of which would lie in the Green Belt.
Sunningwell. Developers West Waddy ADP (acting on behalf of the local landowner Mr Ted Wilcox) propose up to 6,000 houses, a park and ride scheme and a waste incineration plant to be built wholly within the Green Belt, adjacent to the villages of Sunningwell and Bayworth.
Land south of Grenoble Road. A 1,000 house mixed development was included in the initial Structure Plan draft. Oxford City Council has since suggested 5,000 houses. Magdalen College and Thames Water have promoted 3,000 houses and an extension to the Science Park. At the recent Examination in Public into the South East Plan, David Lock, a planner representing Magdalen College and Thames Water suggested that 4,000 to 8,000 dwellings was the minimum size for a sustainable urban extension, such as that his clients desired south of Grenoble Road.
Shipton-on-Cherwell. A planning application by Kilbride Properties Ltd for development of the former limestone quarry (for a mixture of uses including industrial and commercial) was approved on 14 January by the County Planning Committee. This will have serious wildlife and traffic implications.
Bebroke. Oxford University and Merton College are keen to develop land they own in Begbroke between Sandy Lane and Begbroke Lane, all of which is in the Green Belt.
Oxford Airport. Up to 160,000 flights a year are planned as the airport shifts from training to commercial flights.
A34 Corridor. Oxford City Council has proposed a Strategic Development Area along the A34 corridor stretching from the City south towards Abingdon and Didcot. This would be adjacent to the City and on the Green Belt. A major hub has been suggested at Lodge Hill.
Horspath & Garsington. Oxford City Council, BMW and Brasenose College are pressing for housing and industrial development in the Green Belt.

! Thornhill Park & Ride. To the east of Oxford, an extension of the Thornhill Park & Ride in the Green Belt aims to create a ‘Transport Hub’.

! Weston-Otmoor. Proposed eco-town near Weston-on-the-Green for 15,000 dwellings. Approximately 28% of this 800 hectare (2,000 acre) site lies within the Green Belt.

! Wind Farms. Oxford City Council proposes to erect up to 20 wind turbines on four sites at Cuttleslowe, Hinksey, Horspath, and Sandford which will industrialise the Oxford Green Belt, harming its openness, along with the famous views of Oxford City.

CPRE on the Green Belt

CPRE South East told the inquiry into the South East Plan that:

The current world scale success of London is at least in part because of the existence of the Metropolitan Green Belt… [which] has also protected market towns around London, which have maintained their character, and some have become significant economic hubs themselves and rivers of the economy in the South East… The academic, research and economic vibrancy of Oxford is proof that the established fact of the Oxford Green Belt has not limited this success… There is no case for a strategic review of the Green Belts within the [South East] region. Full statement.

Further information

 
 
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All content Copyright © 2005-09 Campaign to Protect Rural England Oxfordshire unless stated.
Published by CPRE Oxfordshire, Punches Barn, Waterperry Road, Holton, Oxfordshire OX33 1PP. 01865 874780.
campaign@cpreoxon.org.uk. www.cpreoxon.org.uk.
The Campaign to Protect Rural England promotes the beauty, tranquillity and diversity of rural England by encouraging
the sustainable use of land and other natural resources in town and country. National website: www.cpre.org.uk.