Plans for 80 houses refused in Oxfordshire village

Around 70 objections had been made to the proposed development in Steventon, a village south of Abingdon and west of Didcot, before it was rejected by Vale of White Horse District Council last week.

Gladman Developments wanted to build the homes to the north-west of the village on a nearly nine-hectare plot of land that runs alongside the main Abingdon Road.

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Rejecting the application, head of planning Adrian Duffield said the site had not been allocated for development under the Vale of White Horse Local Plan.

He added the site was liable to flooding, and that the application “fails to adequately assess drainage implications” of the new homes.

Gladman Developments has been contacted for comment about the decision.

Villagers had warned the development would overwhelm St Michaels Primary School, where there is already a lack of places.

One villager Rona Quigley said: “We have a coming influx of children attaining school age from six different new housing schemes in Steventon.

“This year we have children living in the village who have not been given a place at the village school as there is no space for them.

"In the past some children have had to go to St Blaise at Milton Heights but it is now serving a new and growing development by Redrow Homes so would have difficulty absorbing an overspill from Steventon.

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“The primary schools to the west of Didcot are oversubscribed so no help there.”

Some claimed the displacement of school children would increase ‘already busy traffic’ on nearby roads.

Resident Sarah Snuggs said: “The village school was oversubscribed this year and children already living in the village did not manage to gain places.

“Inevitably a housing development will introduce new families in need of school places with no feasible way of accommodating these children locally.

"Presumably they will need to go to schools outside of the village increasing the already busy traffic.”

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Another villager Paul Warren added: “The additional 80 homes would very likely introduce a large amount of additional school age children to the local area, with existing residents with children risking losing places at the already oversubscribed St Michaels School.

"This would mean even more traffic as children would need to travel out of the area for schooling again increasing traffic volumes and increasing pollution.”

Similar concerns for the school were raised during a consultation process prior to the application.

Gladman said it was willing to speak with the relevant bodies regarding healthcare and education provision.