“Land Behind the Moors” Green Belt land under threat in Kidlington

A planning application has been submitted for 340 houses on Green Belt land known as the “Land Behind the Moors” in Kidlington and we are urging our members to object.

‘The Moors’ is the name of the road in north-east Kidlington that runs from a junction with the Banbury Road to the crossing with Church Street and High Street at the centre of Old Kidlington. Behind this road are five fields, marked in red on the map below, with a proposal for housing on the four fields shown in yellow orche.

The deadline to respond is 26^th June 2025. The application can be found here where you can also comment on it.

We suggest the following key points to raise in your comments:

This is a Green Belt site, it is not a “Greybelt” site

This is Green Belt land and we consider there are no exceptional circumstances to allow development. The Green Belt is under threat, with planning policy allowing development of any land within it which is deemed to be “ Grey Belt”. THIS SITE  IS NOT “GREYBELT”

For a site to be “greybelt” it must “not score very strongly” on any ONE of 3 of the 5 factors which form the purpose of the Green Belt as set out in policy in the National Planning Framework ( NPPF). It must score lower than “very strongly” on factors  a,b, or d.

It is our judgement that this site scores very strongly on AT LEAST 2 FACTORS which prevent it from being defined as “Greybelt”. It needs to score “very strongly” on only one to be protected.

The five purposes of the Green Belt :

a. to check the unrestricted sprawl of large built-up areas; THIS SITE SCORES VERY STRONGLY AS IT IS ADJACENT TO THE BUILT UP BORDER OF KIDLINGTON. ON THESE GROUNDS ALONE IT IS NOT GREYBELT

b. to prevent neighbouring towns merging into one another;  This site does not score “ Very Strongly” on this factor as it is north-east of Kidlington, not between Kidlington and the City of Oxford

c. to assist in safeguarding the countryside from encroachment; This site scores very strongly but this factor is not considered when assessing if a site is Grey Belt.

d. to preserve the setting and special character of historic towns; and THIS SITE SCORES VERY STRONGLY AND IS ADJACENT TO ST MARYS CHURCH. ON THESE GROUNDS ALONE IT IS NOT GREY BELT.

e. to assist in urban regeneration, by encouraging the recycling of derelict and other urban land. This site scores low, but this factor is not considered when assessing if a site is Grey Belt.

Additional areas of objection :

• This is the only area of open countryside in North-Eastern Kidlington. The fields, with footpaths running through, are heavily used for exercise, relaxation and dog walking.
• The site is adjacent to St Marys Church, a heritage site
• The area is ecologically rich: deer, badgers, foxes, weasels, and grass snakes are to be found in the area, while a 2013 survey of the wider location by an RSPB officer identified 27 species of breeding birds, including some on the RSPB red list.
• The site is only 4 fields away from the River Cherwell. These closer fields regularly flood, causing wildlife to seek refuge on this site. The flood impact and ecology of the whole area must be considered.

• The site itself is subject to ground water flooding. Development of the site may cause run off flooding to existing homes on The Moors.

• We have concerns there may be severe harm to traffic safety due to the access to the site and the additional number of vehicles both in construction and on completion.

• We have concerns over infrastructure and services capacity in the area should this development go ahead.

CPRE Oxfordshire will be working with the campaign group “Land Behind the Moors” to develop our response and we’ll keep you updated of progress on our website.

If you would like to know more about this site, subscribe to the campaign group newsletter by emailing landbehindthemoors@gmail.com, or add them as a friend on Facebook on LandBehindTheMoors.