Posts by Nemone Caldwell
Threat of mega reservoir looms closer following approval of Thames Water’s Resource Management Plan.
The threat of the costly and poorly thought-out reservoir south of Abingdon has been brought a step closer for the people of Oxfordshire, following the Government’s approval of Thames Water’s Water Resource Management Plan (WRMP), just one week after the public consultation closed. There are substantial and obvious flaws to Thames Water’s proposals for the 4.5sq mile…
Read MoreWe need more affordable housing – but proposed changes won’t deliver
If we’re serious about building affordable homes and helping first-time buyers, just building more houses won’t do it. Instead, new housing should be well-designed, higher density, and use the minimum amount of land. The Government’s revised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) sees mandatory housing targets re-introduced with changes to the standard method for calculating them.…
Read MoreCPRE Countryside Day – 7th September
Countryside Day is the CPRE network’s new annual celebration of rural England, inspiring us to protect and promote it for future generations and nature with lots of different activities organised by CPRE local groups all over England. This year, CPRE local groups Oxfordshire and Berkshire have organised a joint cross-border event, putting on a day…
Read MoreRevised NPPF under consultation
At the end of July, the Government issued a revised version of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) for consultation. The NPPF acts as the rulebook for planning, advising local authorities and developers on what they can and cannot do when planning developments and includes a range of policies that ultimately determine what gets built…
Read MoreAbingdon Reservoir consultation response
Thames Water continues with their plans to build a new reservoir near Abingdon and are currently seeking responses in their consultation which closes on August 28th. It is CPRE Oxfordshire’s opinion that the consultation questionnaire does not cover several of the critical questions, so we have submitted a written response to SESRO@ipsos.com. If you have…
Read MoreShining a Light on Solar: Time to Look up!
We support solar, but here in Oxfordshire we can afford to be selective. There’s no denying that the transition to renewable energy is urgent and vital – we at CPRE fully support decarbonising our energy – but did you know that less than 1% of Oxfordshire is needed to produce more than all the solar…
Read MoreAnnouncing Hedgerow Heroes phase 4!
We’re delighted to announce that our Hedgerow Heroes project has now entered its fourth year having secured another round of funding. Working in partnership with Wild Oxfordshire, the next stage of the project will see local communities coming together to plant and rejuvenate hedgerows on seven sites across Oxfordshire. These will be in key Conservation Target…
Read MoreCherwell refuses not one, but two solar farms, following impassioned reasoning from locals.
Last week, Cherwell District Council’s Planning Committee refused two solar farms: one proposed for the middle of Otmoor on the Oxfordshire Green Belt, the other on open countryside at Godington, a tiny village near Stratton Audley. In both cases the council’s planning officers had recommended approval. Local people spoke passionately about the environmental value of…
Read MoreOxford Green Belt more valued now than 10 years ago
Ten years ago we commissioned research into the Green Belt which showed that over 70% of Oxfordshire wanted it to remain undeveloped. This year we replicated the survey with a local research consultancy to see how opinion might have changed and were enthused to see that, in that time, support for the Green Belt has…
Read MoreCPRE Countryside & Environment Hustings
CPRE Oxfordshire will be holding a Countryside & Environment Hustings at 6.30pm on Monday 1st July at Yarnton village hall. Book your place here Join us for an evening of debate and discussion with the prospective parliamentary candidates for the new constituency of Bicester and Woodstock. This is your chance to hear directly from those vying for…
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