A new housing site at Dalton Barracks will help meet the need for new homes in the Vale of White Horse and contribute to the requirement to assist with Oxford’s unmet housing need.
That’s according to Part Two of the Vale of White Horse Local Plan 2031 which the district council will publish on 11 October and expects to submit to the government for examination in early 2018.
Vale of White Horse District Council adopted part one of its Local Plan last year, in which it allocated the majority of the homes the district needs for the next 15 years, along with identifying the infrastructure the homes will need. A number of these houses are already built or have been granted planning permission.
The district council is now using part two of the plan to allocate space for the remaining 2,200 homes which will help address Oxford’s unmet housing need.
The publication draft Local Plan: Part Two identifies the location for 1,200 homes at Dalton Barracks along with 600 homes adjacent to Kingston Bagpuize with Southmoor (within Fyfield and Tubney Parish) and smaller sites at East Marcham and East Hanney.
The release of the site at Dalton Barracks was announced by the MOD. It is large and predominantly brownfield. Developing Dalton Barracks would provide an opportunity for a sustainable development, providing a new community with a range of services and facilities, including new schools, a local centre and opportunities for employment, all within easy reach of Abingdon and Oxford.
Allocating homes adjoining Kingston Bagpuize would provide an opportunity to re-route the A415 out of the existing village, effectively providing a bypass, and deliver a range of local infrastructure, including a new primary school.
As well as addressing Oxford’s unmet need the Local Plan: Part Two also sets out policies relating to Didcot Garden Town and development management and proposes the allocation of an additional 1,400 homes to support Science Vale.
Based predominantly at Harwell Campus, these homes will help to ensure that housing is located close to new jobs and public transport. Following feedback on the previous draft, proposals for a development West of Harwell (100 homes) and North East of Marcham (400 homes) have been removed from the plan.
The council is mindful that the government is consulting people on ‘Planning for the right homes in the right places’, which considers how housing need is calculated. However, it is required to work on the existing housing needs figures until any new government guidelines are finalised and published and must also consider economic growth, affordable housing and the need for new infrastructure.
Cllr Matthew Barber, Leader of Vale of White Horse District Council, said: “The Vale Local Plan is a hugely important document which guides how our communities will grow over the coming years. It is absolutely vital we get this right to ensure that homes are built in sustainable locations and with the appropriate infrastructure to support.”
“We’ve already achieved the major hurdle of working to get Part One adopted. We will shortly publish the final version of Part Two which looks at the requirement for how we can help address Oxford’s unmet need along with an additional allocation to support Science Vale.”
For more information on the Vale Local Plan 2031 visit www.whitehorsedc.gov.uk/localplan
The final draft ‘Publication Version’ of the Local Plan 2031: Part Two will be released on Wednesday 11 October.