Oxfordshire: Dozens of square metres of open land developed

The developments – which include homes, industrial buildings, transport and utility sites among other uses – have been built on areas such as grassland, forests and waterways, including lakes, canals and reservoirs.

It comes as Housing Secretary Michael Gove announced plans to repeal so-called “nutrient neutrality” rules on Tuesday.

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Under legislation derived from the EU, Natural England instructs new developments to be nutrient-neutral, meaning developers must demonstrate their plans won’t add to the ecological burden on local habitats, or pay for mitigation if they do.

However, this requirement will be watered down to become guidance under the changes proposed.

Meanwhile, the latest figures from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities show 27 square metres of forest, open land and water in the Vale of White Horse have been converted into developed use from 2019-20 to 2021-22.

It accounted for 5.6 per cent of the total land use change completed in the Vale of White Horse in the three years to March 2022.

In total, 281.5 square metres of non-developed land, which includes but is not limited to forest, open land, water, agricultural land, vacant sites and residential gardens, were developed upon in the three years to March 2022.

In West Oxfordshire 14.5 square metres of forest, open land and water were developed upon and these figures stood at 15.4 square metres in South Oxfordshire.

Across the UK, 48,500 hectares of non-developed land were built upon, of which 4,800 were forest, open land or water.

One hectare is a square of land with sides 100 metres long.

Mr Gove's plans intend to provide an additional 100,000 new homes in England by 2030, saying: "We are committed to building the homes this country needs and to enhancing our environment."

Michael Gove (Image: Michael Gove Lucy North-PA Wire-PA Images)

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But the new plans follow the Conservatives backing off on house-building targets in December after a revolt from backbench MPs.

In May, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said he would loosen greenbelt building restrictions and "back the builders" to increase the number of homes built.

Mr Starmer told Sky News: "We've got to drive housebuilding at pace.

"We need to put local areas in charge of that so change the planning rules, have development corporations as vehicles on the ground to drive building, and make sure that the dream, the aspiration of owning your own home is realised for so many people who at the moment have had their dreams shattered."