Our proposals
Wider Location Plan (click to enlarge)
The site
The site sits in a well-connected, sustainable location within the village of Bloxham, to the east of Barford Road. It is situated outside of the Greenbelt and National Landscape Designations, with a Public Right of Way (PRoW) running alongside part of the Western boundary on the site. This makes it a logical location to address the local housing need in Cherwell, whilst aligning with the government’s national priorities to deliver new homes.
This Outline application is to agree the principle of residential development and access. Specific details including the site layout and design would be decided through a subsequent Reserved Matters application. The scheme would be policy compliant of 35% affordable homes.
Planning context
The adopted Cherwell Local Plan (2015) acknowledges that the rural areas play a part in meeting the District’s housing needs, and that development should be directed toward the most sustainable villages in the first instance. Bloxham is identified as one such village. Development here has the opportunity to retain and enhance the vitality of the rural areas; promoting community living.
Meeting housing needs
There is a great need and demand for new housing both nationally and locally in part as a result of lack of supply over a number of years. Across the UK, the average age of a first-time buyer is now 34.
The new national Government has made clear it wants to significantly increase housing delivery to help tackle the housing crisis. This includes increasing housing delivery rates nationally to 300,000 homes a year. The highest annual delivery figure reached nationally over the past 18 years is around 249,000.
Based on the latest figures published by the Government through its National Planning Policy Framework (2024) the housing need in Cherwell equates to a requirement for 1,118 new homes to be built every year. 1318 new homes were completed in the year 2022/23 and 1136 in 2021/22.
Design
We are committed to providing homes that respect the village’s character, blending seamlessly with the existing architectural style and building height. However, the details of the design will be determined at the Reserved Matters stage.
Sustainability
Sustainability is at the heart of our plans, with the site benefiting from existing footpaths into the village, allowing easy pedestrian access to the local facilities. We are keen to explore further enhancements to improve accessibility for residents, creating a well-integrated community.
Enhanced landscape
We will enhance the landscape, leaning into boosting local biodiversity by making use of the existing natural vegetation that currently screens the site from the road with the addition of further planting.
There is the potential to deliver further ecological improvements on safeguarded land to the east of the site. The site will deliver a minimum 10% biodiversity net gain, ensuring that existing wildlife and ecology is encouraged to thrive.
Transport
Access to the site will be provided via Barford Road. A Transport Assessment will be undertaken to assess the likely impact of the proposed development on the surrounding network and will be submitted as part of the planning application.
Drainage
We're developing an extensive drainage strategy to make sure the site meets all standards, manages surface water effectively and reduces flood risk.