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CPRE believes that good land-use planning is the unsung hero of environmental protection and has always been one of CPRE's top campaigning priorities.

Good planning can help slow the growth of road traffic, encourage urban regeneration in our towns and city, curb urban sprawl, protect designated environments like the Oxford Green Belt and the county’s three AONBs, protect and enhance the beauty and tranquillity of the Oxfordshire countryside and safeguard wildlife habitats.

Campaigning to establish, and then improve, the land use planning system has always been a priority for the CPRE. At the national level, we were closely involved in the establishment of the system in 1947, with the Town and Country Planning Act, and subsequent revisions, particularly the Planning and Compensation Act 1991 and Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004.

Today, through our network of eight district groups and our county branch, CPRE Oxfordshire engages in the planning process on a daily basis.

CPRE appears at more public inquiries and local plan examinations than any other organisation, and at the national level, monitors an estimated 200,000 planning applications a year.

In 2010 alone, CPRE Oxfordshire appeared at numerous Public Inquiries including:

the Public Inquiry into the proposed incinerator at Ardley (July 2010)

the Public Inquiry into the Upper Thames Reservoir (July/August 2010)

the Public Inquiry into the proposed wind farm at Fewcott (June 2010)

the Public Inquiry into Evergreen 3 (November 2010)

CPRE Oxfordshire also appeared at the Examination in Public Hearings into Oxford’s Core Strategy during 2009 and 2010.

Planning Reform

Following the 2010 General Election the Government pledged to radically reform the planning system. This reform will include the localisation of planning powers, scrapping the regional tier of planning, streamlining national planning guidance and abolishing the Infrastructure Planning Commission.

On 6 July 2010, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government confirmed that Regional Strategies will be revoked, thus signing the death knell for the controversial South East Plan. In the longer term the legal basis for Regional Strategies will be abolished through the “Localism Bill” that was published on 14th December 2010.

In a Guidance Note, the Secretary of State provided some clarification on the impact of the revocation, including how local planning authorities can continue to bring forward their Local Development Frameworks (LDFs) and make planning decisions in the transitional period.

While regional planning has been scrapped, most of the other changes the Government wants to introduce will need legislation. CPRE is working hard to try and make sure that a reformed planning system will deliver for the countryside.

Making localism work for the countryside

The recently published Localism Bill promises to be a significant step towards devolving power to local people through neighbourhood plans.

CPRE believes getting communities more involved in shaping the future of where they live and work is vital. We are campaigning to ensure the new system will deliver better decisions about the quality of development and when and where it should take place.

In advance of the publication of the Coalition’s reforms package in November 2010, CPRE issued a Charter for planning reform: “Making localism work for the countryside”, October 2010, which sets out the improvements CPRE believes will make a reformed planning system truly successful.

These include:

an open and accessible process and a sound evidence base;

greater weight for parish plans and locally distinctive communities;

a countryside that is valued and a national framework that protects the environment;

a strategic overview, a fair appeals process and greater priority for enforcement.

CPRE is also asking the Government to introduce a limited community right of appeal. This is crucial to ensure that development is in line with the vision set out by local people.

CPRE National Office has published a useful Briefing on the Localism Bill (PDF), and a Briefing on the Community Right to Appeal (PDF).

What the new planning reforms will mean for Oxfordshire?

The revocation of the Regional Spatial Strategies in July 2010 means that local planning authorities preparing LDFs can if they wish re-consider their core strategies – notably in relation to future housing targets for 2006 – 2026 which had been set down in regional policy.

Many councils are taking this opportunity to revise the controversial housing numbers downwards, usually in line with the draft plan submitted originally by SEERA (so called Option 1) – a figure which they feel they can justify and defend. The 4,000 house strategic development area (SDA) south of Oxford has now been revoked along with the whole SE Plan.

The progress on Core Strategies in Oxfordshire can be found at:

Oxford LDF

South Oxfordshire LDF

West Oxfordshire LDF

Cherwell LDF

Vale of White Horse LDF

What are the current threats to Oxfordshire’s countryside?

The map below illustrates the many planning issues currently facing Oxfordshire and the Oxford Green Belt including housing, windfarms, mineral extraction, waste and transport infrastructure (first produced by the Oxford Mail in July 2010).

Click on map to show an enlarged version

Find Out More

Below are a list of links to further information regarding this campaign:

CPRE National Office Planning Policy

Oxford Local Development Framework

West Oxfordshire Local Development Framework

Cherwell District Local Development Framework

Vale of White Horse Local Development Framework

South Oxfordshire Local Development Framework

South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) website

South East Plan Examination in Public