Though this may not be within our area – North of Hanwell Fields, it does show the council have yet again ignored comments from the residents of Banbury, and blatantly chose to forget the democracy of a public consultation with regard to the local plan.

This is a misrepresentation of public rights.

As voters, council tax payers and residents of Banbury we should expect our council to behave in a manner that is fit for purpose, presently I don’t we can say it is. It certainly does not have our interests in mind.

What are we doing about it ? Moira and I attended a meeting with Hanwell Parish Council to discuss what options we may have with regard to both BAN5 and BAN2, the answer is not a lot. We then discussed what we can do about the council, my view is that we shame them in to making changes. To do this we are going to raise a petition against them, hopefully to be timed in accordance with the planning inspector’s visit. I also received a call from the ITV program ‘tonight’ to chat about the possibility of being part of documentary about the effects of planning on local communities. After several more calls and the passing of information I have heard that unfortunately we came close to being chosen but ultimately the producer has decided to feature a local action group in the North of England. I had explained that not only are we effected by such large developments but so is Hanwell Village, as well as other communities around Banbury. Anyway the show is to be broadcast on the 8th August, 7.30pm ITV1. It will be very interesting.

Now the planning has been approved, Persimmon have been given 12 months to finalise their plans and a further 12 months to start the build. As yet Amber have still not submitted an application for the remainder of the BAN5 site. One detail in our favour now Bretch Hill has been approved is the council have their fulfilment of housing numbers, meaning we could argue that their is no need for further approvals.

I still maintain that these site have been approved prematurely to protect the precious South of Banbury, more importantly Saltway.

Next thing we need to do put together some demands for when the construction starts, for instance, a ban of construction traffic before 9.00am on Dukes Meadow Drive, No mud left on the road. Construction vehicles can only park on their designated land and not block DMD. You get the idea, so if any one has any particular concerns about the effects of the construction then please leave comments below.

Thanks everyone, we’ve lost a battle but not the war.

Malc