New houses in Carterton approved despite police objection

On Monday, West Oxfordshire District Council’s (WODC) lowlands area planning sub-committee gave the green light for 72 new homes on land east of Swinbrook Road, Carterton.

The application from Exeter-based Burrington Estates had received 24 letters of objection, in addition to disapproval from Thames Valley Police (TVP).

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When consulted about the proposal, the force’s crime prevention design advisor noted: “Unfortunately I am unable to support the application at this time as some aspects of the design and layout are problematic in terms of crime and anti-social behaviour.”

At the meeting, district councillor – and mayor of Carterton – Nick Leverton said he had never seen an objection from TVP during his time serving on the district council.

Other councillors raised their concerns with the proposal, including Maxine Crossland, who said: “I acknowledge that a lot of work has gone into this development and it’s within the Local Plan, but there are one or two little areas I have concerns about.

“From bitter past experience, I know this area of Carterton is subject to flooding and sewage spills on a regular basis.

“Because this development is a very long way from the town centre or any schools, it’s really beyond walking distance for the people that live there.”

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Harry St John added: “I’m concerned by the density of the site, if I’ve done my maths right, it’s about 15 dwellings per acre.

“I’m concerned residents here won’t have play area for their children and I think there ought to be some sort of space for that.”

Despite the debate, only Mr St John and Alex Postan voted against the new houses.

West Oxfordshire district councillor Harry St John. Picture: Ed Nix

The council officer for the application, Abby Fettes, said that on the morning of the meeting, she received correspondence from Oxfordshire County Council saying that objections on highways and drainage issues had been removed.

During consultation, Carterton Town Council said that access to the estate ‘will cause problems for the residents and lead to traffic congestion’.

The council added: “The issue of water pressure and drainage was raised as a concern due to long-standing problems on all new estates in that area.”