In February 2007 the Oxford Green Belt Network (OGBN) gave evidence to the Examination in Public (EIP) into the Draft South East Plan. The Inspectors’ Report following the EIP was published in August and our Annual General Meeting will give us an opportunity to discuss together the implications of this Report. More of that below, but first an indication of some of the other issues with which OGBN has been involved this year.

University Book Depository

The University of Oxford is seeking permission to build a vast store to house the books which can no longer be fitted into the Bodleian. The site chosen is on the Osney Mead industrial estate, bordering the Bulstake Stream which marks the boundary of the Green Belt. The proposed building is huge and will be highly visible in the views of historic Oxford from the villages of North and South Hinksey and from the Hinksey Hills, those sites from which Matthew Arnold gained his views of the "dreaming spires".

The City’s Local Plan states that, "The City Council will ensure that the visual amenity of the Green Belt is not harmed by development within, or conspicuous from, the Green Belt which, although not prejudicial to the Green Belt’s main purposes, might be inappropriate by reasons of siting, materials or design". We consider the planned development to be highly inappropriate, far worse than the existing Newsquest building which has attracted so much adverse comment. We cannot understand how the plan has been allowed to get so far and hope that the full Council, which takes the definitive vote on 19^th November, will reject this site, so damaging to the purposes of the Green Belt.

Shipton Quarry

The cement works at Shipton-on-Cherwell closed in the mid-1980s and we would welcome the removal of the old buildings which have become an eyesore, especially to those who enjoy walking along the towpath of the Oxford Canal. But the present owners of the site wish to keep it in commercial and industrial use and the most recent plan, successor to several others, seeks permission for the import of cars that will be cleaned up for distribution and for various rail-based activities including a concrete batching plant and warehouses. Part of the site, which is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), will be protected and there are longer-term plans for some forestry operations. But OGBN believes that this is all too much and the ideal solution would be one that combined low-level recreational use with protection of the geological and wildlife sites. It is a difficult issue, especially when the current owners wish to profit from their investment.

Eynsham Gravel Working

OGBN has been concerned for some time at the extension of sand and gravel working in the Green Belt. We appreciate the need for these materials and designation as Green Belt is no barrier to this kind of development. But more and more of the Green Belt, west and south of Oxford, is being turned over to mineral extraction and the result is usually, not restoration to farmland, but an untidy mixture of lakes, ponds and waste material.

The most recent threat is to an unspoilt area of farmland south of the A.40 and immediately to the east of the village of Eynsham. It is an area of countryside recognized as of landscape importance, and much enjoyed by the people of Eynsham for whom it is their Green Belt countryside. There is already a huge area of gravel working to the north of the A.40 between Cassington and Yarnton, and we are opposed to opening up this entirely new area. So we have supported the local Parish Council and the Eynsham Society in opposing it. It is a County matter and a decision remains to be made.

Gosford Grain Silo

The grain silo close to the Kidlington roundabout at Gosford dates from the 1940s and is something of a landmark. It is disused and surrounded by a number of businesses.

A large waste disposal company has applied for permission to demolish the silo and build in its place a Waste Reduction and Materials Recovery Facility. This would involve the bringing in, by road, of domestic waste and waste from civic amenity centres. It would be sorted and separated in a specially constructed building and then baled and bulked for transfer offsite, again by road, for re-use or disposal. OGBN understands the need to recycle waste, but we are opposed to this development for several reasons. The application is premature since the County Council has not yet reached a decision on the kind of waste treatment facility it wishes to have and it would be wrong to approve a system which may not be the most efficient. Secondly, the special building would be huge, not unlike an aircraft hangar, so that it would have a big impact on the visual amenity of the Green Belt (the whole of the site is in the Green Belt). And thirdly, we do not think that the large number of heavy goods vehicles involved in the operation can be accommodated on existing roads without serious disruption to present traffic movements.

Floodlighting at Horspath

OGBN supports Horspath Parish Council and CPRE in their opposition to a scheme to install floodlighting at the car park which serves the athletics ground on Oxford Road, Horspath. The lighting is unnecessary since the sports ground has its own lighting and it would just create a pool of light in the narrow gap of countryside which separates Horspath village from the edge of Oxford. It is important to keep narrow strips of countryside from becoming urbanised by schemes like this one.

Timbmet Site at Cumnor

The old timber yard off Cumnor Hill is to be developed for housing. We are not opposed to this which is included in the Vale of White Horse Plan for the area. But we have supported Cumnor Parish Council and local residents in opposing the developers’ wish to extend other forms of development on to adjoining agricultural land. The land is question is next to Cumnor Hurst SSSI and is part of the rural surroundings of this area, well-loved by walkers and horse riders. This is an example of how easy it is to let developments expand into Green Belt countryside unless you are vigilant about it. Where farming is unprofitable it is very tempting for owners to sell off bits of it, and the result is gradual erosion of the Green Belt to urban uses.

The above are just some of the more recent development proposals over which OGBN has taken a stand. There have been quite a lot of others over the past year, not all on the scale of those outlined, but nevertheless important to local residents. We continue to defend the Green Belt, supporting Parish Councils and Parish Meetings whenever we can, and we continue to urge these Councils, and individuals, to keep us informed of threats to the Green Belt as they arise.

Urban Extension South of Grenoble Road

The Inspectors’ Report following the EIP into the Draft South East Plan has recommended a "focussed" review of the Green Belt to the south of Oxford with a view to building some 4,000 dwellings there. This represents a population of between 10,000 and 15,000 together with all the ancillary services like schools and shops, and also employment since it would be a mixed development, so drawing in more commuters. At 15,000 it would be the size of Kidlington.

The Government is considering the Report and will publish its own views, probably around the end of this year. It could well recommend even more development (as it did in the case of the East of England report) and, for example, suggest further urban extensions in areas that have been the subject of debate in the past: the Kidlington/Yarnton/Begbroke area, Sunningwell, Radley and other places. It could suggest an enlargement of the proposed urban extension south of Grenoble Road, taking it closer to Sandford, Horspath, Garsington and the Baldons. No part of the Green Belt is safe therefore from these threats. Parishes throughout the Green Belt must stand together on this matter or we shall find them being picked off one by one.

OGBN has never disputed the need for affordable housing but we believe this should be on brownfield sites within the City and in the growing towns like Bicester and Didcot beyond the Green Belt which are now taking off in a most promising way. And some say that the old Upper Heyford base is the ideal site for a new settlement. As it is, development on the scale that is being suggested on the edge of Oxford will not only destroy a swathe of Green Belt, but it will add to road traffic in Oxford and risk damaging the historic fabric of the City. It will also cut off areas like Blackbird Leys and Greater Leys from the countryside on their doorstep. So we shall fight against what is being proposed and do all we can to preserve the Green Belt for the purposes for which it was set up 50 years ago.

It is to help us with ideas for this fight that we are using the occasion of our AGM for a discussion of all the issues involved, and we hope that it will be a profitable evening.

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