The obituaries have started -

in the Banbury Guardian. But the Death Certificate hasn't been officially issued yet - as far as we know. There was a Planning meeting on March 1st. The most important in Chippy's history. Your Editor wrote an account of it the day after (READ IT HERE). Then some strange goings-on. The official minutes were not published on the WODC website until the 15th March (two weeks later) and then on the 20th March the meeting (agenda, minutes and reports) was removed entirely from the Index of Meetings Page and archived - after just five days. We've never seen this happen before so quickly. Normally they sit there for months. But far far stranger is the minute of the hour-long meeting. Here it is....all of it.....all 58 words....

The observations of Mr Allcock, Chipping Norton Town Council, Care Consultants, the applicants agent and Oxfordshire County Council were received and considered. The Head of Planning be given delegated authority to draw up conditions and grant permission subject to the applicant first entering into a legal agreement to secure the amended Heads of Terms dated 25th February 2004.

So no decision was made. It was delegated. Has it now been made Who knows And if it has - on what terms exactly Where can we - the public - see the amended Heads of Terms The original version was discussed in "secret" session at the previous Planning meeting on Feb 2nd. The public were barred. The amended version hasn't been made public. Only "headlines" have been reported. That's where all the detail is (like who pays how much, for what and to who). Without the detail, no elector can see whether the Council have made a good deal or not. And that surely is our right. These Heads of Terms substantially vary the Planning Application that was originally made and are referred to by the applicant's agent in his letter. But there is no revised application - just side agreements between lawyers. For the Planning Committee to delegate such a crucial multi-million pound deal to an officer without the full facts and figures being clearly laid out for the Public does seem truly extraordinary! At least it does to an ordinary concerned elector.

Read that minute again. Would you think those 58 words represent the conclusionof a Planning application involving more money than the whole of West Oxfordshire's entire operating budget. Goodness me. They wrote a lot more than that last week about the new 5,000 croquet lawn in Eynsham! Roll on the Freedom of Information Act.

But there could still be an Appeal against the District's decision. Not by Parker Knoll this time but someone like the CPRE who published a new Strategy about Market Towns only last week - which this decision seems to directly contradict. Or perhaps the Planning Inspector could decide to go ahead with the hearing on the original application after all - since there are so many public interest and policy precedents involved. Stranger things have happened.

It wouldn't matter so much if the likely outcome didn't fly in the face of the Council's own Local Plan and policy on employment sites. 120 new houses and 400 fewer jobs makes no sense to anyone. And we must watch like hawks as the Appeal by PA Turney moves ahead. They have applied to build Housing on their Station Yard "employment" site. Another deal in the offing If the WODC have actually done the deed at Parker Knoll they now really owe it to the town to press for the development and marketing of the meagre 5 acres of land allocated for employment to be progressed with great urgency. Apart from getting new jobs in the town - there is another reason why this is so critical. If the development plans are not right - right kinds of units at the right price - or there is no taker for the land for employment purposes, then - as the Planning Officer has made clear - it is open to the landowner to apply for another use. The only guarantee given is that he will not apply for Housing on these 5 acres. No promises about retail use at some stage in the future. Tesco's moment could still come. The show is not over until the fat cat has sung a positively final aria and the industrial units are built!

IT'S A DONE DEAL !

The Planning Officer published his report on the latest Parker Knoll outline planning application for their 14 acre site yesterday (23rd February). This proposes :
1. 5 acres employment-generating land. To be actively marketed for 3 years.
2. 9.1 acres Residential (10% to be Open Space plus a spine road so net development land is appx 8 acres. 40% Affordable Housing)
3. Contributions to Infrastructure (Total of around 530,000)
(For your information: Land with residential planning permission sells for 1.5m- 2m per acre. Employment land sells for 350k- 400k per care)
The Planning Committee discuss the report next Monday. Here's the crucial bit.... (or READ THE FULL REPORT)

Not exactly a ringing endorsement.... "help compensate" "could" "on balance" "reasonable" . The officers seem to accept that this plan will not actually provide sufficient land to replace all the lost jobs. But it looks as if the Planners have decided to take their tactical chance with this "windfall" application and sew up a deal which delivers 50 Affordable homes on terms which are not quite up to their Strategy objectives but pretty good nonetheless.....This is the kind of opportunity which might not crop up again in a hurry! As far as I can tell its not a bad deal at all....

The spoils are pretty evenly divided and the Appeal would be withdrawn which will save another stash of money. The Planning Committee will more or less have to accept the Officer's recommendation. Otherwise they will be way out at the end of a plank in front of the Planning Inspector at the Appeal hearing. So this looks pretty well a "done deal".

However the Town really does need to establish that this plan will not provide the amount of employment land that is required to maintain a satisfactory housing/employment balance within the town. The negotiation for additional land starts here!

There seem to be one big question to be asked and hopefully somebody on the committee will ask it for us. (Step forward District Councillor Mike Howes)

If you have a view then please please make sure you that you send an e-mail before Friday 27th February to the Area Planning Manager And please let us all know what you think in the

READ IS 5 ACRES OF LAND FOR EMPLOYMENT ENOUGH
Written before the Planning Officer's Report but still mostly relevant.

READ MORE BACK GROUND