The Parish Council would like to thank all those who attended the public meetings regarding the Bloor Homes development.
The turnout was fantastic, and the Dryden Hall was completely full.
A presentation was shown to the audience. Below are some of the key points from that presentation.
Bloors offers and our comments
There is no legally binding agreement in place with Byfield Medical Centre; however, two of the partner doctors are in agreement with it.
The definition of "Affordable Housing" is rents typically capped at 80% of local market rates. There is no current agreement in place with any social housing providers.
Bloor Homes have not said anything other than the "Surgery." In fact, it was said that building the surgery will leave them with no money left over for any other infrastructure investment.
Woodford Halse already has 25 acres of woodland in the centre of the village, with plenty more surrounding it. This development will actually destroy some of what already exists.
This will be a room attached to the surgery. We do not believe there is currently even a need for this.
What have we learnt since the consultation on Saturday (28th June)
Bloor Homes are only building here as they have been offered the land to develop on by the landowner; it's not strategic.
They believe they will be granted planning permission due to West Northants Council’s need to meet government targets.
There is no secure agreement in place as of yet to actually build a new surgery. There is also no word on when, during the development, it will be built.
If they do build the surgery, then they will not invest in any other infrastructure whatsoever.
The surgery will be an empty building, and it is up to the doctors at Byfield Medical Centre to fully kit it out and make it functional. We have been told by two doctors that they are willing to do that.
The capacity of the new surgery is estimated to be 8,000—therefore, zero improvement on what the current Byfield Medical Centre already has without the extra 300 homes.
The size of the building also differed depending on who we spoke to, ranging from half the size of Byfield Medical Centre up to twice the size. They don't really know.
Bloor Homes state there is no flooding issue on this site.
Bloor Homes sell 3-bed homes in Banbury for £325,000 - £465,000. In Northampton, 3–4-bed houses are selling at £300,000 - £550,000.
Our Concerns
The Byfield Road is already failing to cope with the traffic we have now. With the extra traffic this development will create, the road will become even more dangerous than it already is.
The Taylor Wimpey development initially applied for 200 houses. Once approved, they then submitted an application for 32 more and were successful. They later submitted an application for a further 155 houses and were again successful. Considering this development is less than half the size of the area Bloor Homes proposes to develop, we fear the actual total of this development could reach over 600 houses.
Despite what Bloor Homes state, flooding will be an issue. Building on this land will mean the water the land normally absorbs will have to go elsewhere.
Water, foul, and sewage disposal is currently overstretched as it is, with waste already having to be pumped out and taken away as the systems cannot handle what is already going through them right now.
There are pollution concerns. With the majority of households having two cars, even at the minimum of 300 houses, it would result in an estimated 500 more cars on the roads. The effect of the development on the wildlife and local ecology will also be devastating in that area.
There is currently no housing need for 300 more houses, and social housing is already being built in Station Gardens, which is an infill site.
There is an obvious lack of facilities, shops, parking, doctors, secondary schools, and employment.
This development could also open the doors to development in the Pool Farm Field and then all the way to Byfield.
Going Forward
The Parish Council will be sending out a small questionnaire to every household in the village.
This is a chance for everybody to tell us your opinion.
The response to this questionnaire will determine how the Parish Council continues with this.
We will either object, with very strong grounds, or we will accept and try to get the absolute most we can out of this to benefit the village.
So please, fill it out, and we will collect it from you.
Parish Council Meetings
Parish Council meetings are always on the second Tuesday of every month in the Memorial Hall, the next one being the 8th of July.
You can view the agendas and minutes of our meetings here.
This will be where future decisions on this will be made, unless any special meetings are called, in which case we will advertise those as and when.
Our Plan
We will be setting up a small team of Parish Councillors and a few volunteers to carry out the decision of the public.
The questionnaire will be delivered by Royal Mail, and the team will go around the village to collect them a short time after.
If we are instructed to object, we will draft letters/emails for the public to submit to West Northants Council during the consultation period for Bloor Homes.
We will lobby West Northants Councillors and consider engaging in professional support (e.g. marketing company, planning solicitor).
We will constantly be keeping our eyes on the planning application itself.
We can also use the National Planning Policy Framework to help object.
If we are to accept this development, then we will do our absolute utmost to get the most we can out of this development for the benefit of the village.
Final Comments
Please, we urge you to look out for the questionnaire that will be arriving in the post and fill it out. We need as many people as we can get in the parish to give us their opinion on this so we can act accordingly.
We thank all those again who came to our public meetings, and we hope to be able to serve the parish as best as we possibly can in this matter.
