Hundreds of houses could be built in north Bicester if a developer’s appeal against a planning authority is successful.

Firethorn Developments Ltd lodged the appeal against Cherwell District Council after the council’s planning committee deferred its decision on whether to allow the 530-home proposal to go ahead.

Councillor Lynn Pratt made the call to defer the decision after 34 pages of extra information landed in front of councillors hours before the planning meeting.

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A spokesperson for the council said: “There is a national target for the determination of planning applications – 16 weeks for applications accompanied by an environmental impact assessment such as this – which can be extended by agreement with the applicant.

“If not agreed, they have the right of appeal to the planning inspectorate on the basis of non-determination.

“In January, a report to planning committee recommended the application for approval, but a decision was taken to defer, following which the applicant decided to appeal.”

Firethorn chose not to comment on the appeal at this time.

If approved, the homes, ranging from one-bed apartments to five-bedroom detached houses, would be built on land that is allocated for housing north of Bicester, between Bucknell and caversfield.

The site, on 24 hectares of land, is immediately adjacent to the active housing development, Elmsbrook.

In addition to the 530 homes the proposal includes open space provision, access and drainage, with details of appearance, landscaping, layout and scale reserved for later determination.

Pre-application discussions between the developer and planning professionals at the council started more than three years ago and councillors were recommended to approve the application, even after the chunky update was published.

More than 200 objections have been raised by individuals and residents’ groups including Elmsbrook Traffic & Parking Group and Gagle Brook Primary School, Bicester.

It is argued Bicester is already too built up and that schools, medical provision and youth facilities would not cope.

Traffic, parking and issues relating to wildlife, pollution and drainage were also raised.

Bucknell Parish Council argued the development would cross its boundary and “erode the rural character of Bucknell”, while Thames Water indicated that “upgrades will be needed” to the water network to serve any more than 49 homes on the site.

Firethorn Developments is part of the Firethorn Trust, which claims on its website to be committed to sustainability in building.

The site states: “Our industrial and logistics team is focused on developing market-leading, sustainable spaces across the UK, which enable businesses to connect quickly and easily with their customers.

“Our living team is committed to creating modern spaces in which people and communities can thrive.”

 

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This story was written by Matthew Norman, he joined the team in 2022 as a Facebook community reporter.

Matthew covers Bicester and focuses on finding stories from diverse communities.

Get in touch with him by emailing: Matthew.norman@newsquest.co.uk

Follow him on Twitter: @OxMailMattN1