6 Days to Object.

Bicester Town Council, the Parish Councils and the planning committee should be under no illusions from the many thousands of words and colourful pretty graphics and pictures deployed in the developer’s planning application. that this scheme, is based largely on smoke and mirrors and does not stand up to even the most basic closer examination. If granted planning permission, it would lead to the destruction of wildlife, fields, villages and a way of life in North Oxfordshire, which has survived many hundreds of years, through wars, recessions, and many changes in local and national politics; it would be sacrificed to the greed and self-interest of property development.

If approved, this would be development by stealth, seemingly enacted by developers attempting to carry out a substantial further land grab for profit, as they expand their plans well beyond that in the “Adopted Cherwell Local Plan 2011-2031 (Part 1)”. Overall, the process has been conducted by attempting to stifle proper consultation and investigation into the effect of the plans and stifling any proper debate of the impact of such a wide ranging scheme.

7 Days to Object.

How about the blatant land grab that the developer proposes. Taking what they call Hawkwell "Village" right up to the edge of Bucknell village - essentially destroying a centuries old community by stealth and sprawl.

The developer is trying to grab more land; 30-40% more than in the original NW Bicester plan. That's just a plain, massive land grab.

And as for 3,100 houses being a village ... that's more like a town (but with no facilities).

8 days left to object.

Did you know that the developers claim that the ecological status of the Hawkwell site will improve once 3,100 houses, roads, solar farm, etc have been built.

Maybe they need to go back to school? (more about the schools they are NOT building another day). How on anyone’s earth can concreting over acre upon acre of arable and pasture land lead to an improved ecological status.

Illogical, ill-thought through.

9 Days left to object

The Cherwell Plan for NorthWest Bicester envisaged that 3,000 jobs would be created for residents.

What jobs are they going to be then? We're really keen to know!

The (lack of) space for employment - less than 0.7Ha, which is about the size of a football pitch - in the developer's plans shows that they have no intention whatsoever on delivering the requirements of the local plan.

Or maybe those jobs will be for delivery drivers and Uber drivers? That would be great; even more congestion!

10 Days Left to Object

Almost a decade ago, when the 'current' Cherwell Plan was put together, an assessment was made of potential sites for building additional housing stock across the district.

Over the next ten years, many developments have gone ahead and the landscape of available land for development has evolved.

In the Cherwell Plan, assumptions were made that brownfield sites, such as MOD Bicester, would never become available for housing.

That plan must not blindly be considered as final; MOD Bicester is now being decommissioned and should be considered as part of the plan. The question is obvious - why not use this brownfield location for development, with its proximity to the M40 and a potential new motorway junction, rather than allowing the irrecoverable destruction of pristine greenfield countryside?

11 Days left to object

Make sure your voice is heard. Whether it’s (for example) the increase in traffic, the raised pollution levels, increased flooding risk, creaking infrastructure, proximity to villages, ignoring the Cherwell Plan, that concern you, object now.

Time is ticking, it’s time to stop a land grab that Putin would be proud of.

Just 12 days left to object

Danger of Death

Coming to the countryside near you - a lovely solar farm - sounds very clean, very eco, very green.  

Beautiful rural farmland to be replaced by this?

The Doctor will see you now.

Oxfordshire’s Care Commissioning Group (OCCG) oversees the provision of Primary Care (i.e. GP Practices). OCCG have said in response to the Planning Application that without significant funding, they “will not be in a position to support the growing population with primary care health services.” These services already support a population of 53,000 in Bicester.

They go on to say that the current GP Practices could not handle the increase in population that Hawkwell would bring. The new facility at Graven Hill (amalgamation of Alchester Medical Group and Montgomery House Surgery) has no capacity to take additional patients when it opens in a couple of year’s time.

They also say that the Health Impact Assessment provided by the developer is “totally inadequate in terms of considering the health needs of the population”.

The Doctor will see you now? Maybe not if Hawkwell gets built.  

Over 12,000 vehicle movements a day.

… based on each residential property in Hawkwell having two vehicles, each vehicle making two journeys a day. That conservatively gives 12,000 extra traffic movements a day.

That’s quite an increase based on current volumes - and it all has to go somewhere. All using an infrastructure that just can’t cope, even with today’s traffic levels.

The 10-tonne bridge junction would be an absolute nightmare - the daily amount of traffic would be equivalent to a single lane of traffic on the busiest section of the M25 (J13-14).

Just imagine the queues. Imagine the pollution. Not very eco.

Is it time to look forward to the next level of what will become traffic-hell in Bicester?

And not at all helped by Oxfordshire County Council removing the funding for the realignment of Howes Lane.

Hawkwell? More like Hawkhell …

Glorious Bucknell morning.

A view of beauty.

The arrival of a fresh new day.

A breath of fresh air.

Completely destroyed if Hawkwell goes ahead.