Council set to submit objection to government's Site A application

Following a special meeting of the council's Planning Committee, the council is finalising its consultation response to the Home Office's application. 

The response will object to the proposal and call on the government not to approve it unless it appropriately addresses significant planning concerns. 

The council believes important planning questions remain unanswered and that key information needed to properly assess the proposal remains outstanding. Further information, clarification and mitigation are required before the development could be considered acceptable.

Put simply, the council does not believe the proposal should proceed in its current form.

The council has consistently called on government to ensure residents were given a meaningful opportunity to have their views heard and that local concerns are properly considered as part of the planning process. 
 
Against that backdrop, the council is concerned that residents, stakeholders, and consultees have been given a very limited period of time to review and respond to a large and complex application.

Following a detailed review of the application, the council's response will conclude that insufficient information has been provided in many areas and raise concerns about:

• transport and highway impacts 

• pressures on local infrastructure and services 

• impacts on nearby communities, including Piddington and Upper Arncott 

• drainage, wastewater and flood risk 

• environmental and ecological impacts 

• site safety, security and emergency access arrangements 

• whether proposed mitigation and management measures are sufficiently clear and enforceable 

The council's response will also highlight that, because insufficient information has been provided, it is not possible to fully understand the likely impacts of the development and the measures required to mitigate them. 

The Home Office's proposal seeks temporary planning permission for accommodation and supporting facilities for up to 1,256 people seeking asylum at Site A. 

The government is considering the application through the Urgent Crown Development process. Cherwell District Council is only a consultee in that process and will submit its response. It is not a council decision. 

Councillor Chris Aramini-Brant, Portfolio Holder for Planning and Enforcement, said: "Since this proposal came to light, we have been clear that local concerns must be properly considered and that residents deserve the opportunity to have their voices heard.

"The council has now completed a detailed review of the application and reached a clear conclusion. 

"As things stand, we do not believe these plans should go ahead, and we are making that clear through our objection. 

“We recognise the government's responsibility to provide safe and appropriate accommodation for people seeking asylum. However, proposals of this scale must still be supported by sufficient evidence, detailed information and robust mitigation measures.

"There are still important questions that remain unanswered, significant amounts of information that has not been provided and concerns that have yet to be resolved.

“We are particularly concerned that residents, stakeholders and consultees have had only 10 days in which to consider a large and complex application. That is not how planning applications of this scale are usually assessed. 

"We are calling on government to address these issues and carefully consider the evidence, alongside the views submitted by residents and other consultees, before reaching any decision.

"It is important to understand that neither the council nor the Planning Committee will decide this application. The final decision rests with government through the Urgent Crown Development process." 

The council's response will be submitted to government today (17 September) and will be available to view on the council's dedicated webpage: www.cherwell.gov.uk/Site-A-Bicester-Garrison 

Further updates will be published on this webpage as more information becomes available.