Among those enjoying an idyllic life in the Oxfordshire countryside, Boris Johnson‘s sweeping reforms to the planning system today will come as a major concern.
For a four-year battle has been taking place over the proposed Chalgrove Airfield development for a new market town of 3,000 homes and four schools.
But the new draft laws mean developers in some areas will be able to get going quickly once a local plan is agreed, slashing red tape and fast-tracking building.
The Chalgrove development has been held up for four years with not a single brick yet laid amid the intervention of neighbours and political battles.
A four-year battle has been taking place over the proposed Chalgrove Airfield development for a new market town of 3,000 homes and four schools in the Oxfordshire countryside
Local resident Simon Reynolds wrote on Facebook today: ‘Fast tracking will simply mean the local people get even less of a say than we do at present and we are not really listened to now.
‘South Oxfordshire District Council have paid lip service to local objections but it’s all we can do. Comment on the planning application for the airfield while you can, before September 1.
‘Over 200 objections so far, let’s make it three times that. Obviously the more detailed the better but even a short objection with relevant points is good.’
And a spokesman for the Campaign to Protect Rural England in Oxfordshire said today: ‘As a result of Jenrick’s planning overhaul will campaigners be forced to accept Chalgrove development after a four-year battle to stop it?’
The Chalgrove development would feature a town centre, two primary schools, a secondary school and a sixth form college, as well as a bypass for access to nearby villages
One resident replying to a consultation in 2018 said the plans were ‘frankly laughable’ and urged work to end on the ‘blinkered view of a mythical Nirvana’.
Another, Jacky Nabb, told BBC News that the plans felt like ‘somebody just twisted my stomach’, adding: ‘It sounds really dramatic, but it broke my heart.’
The development would feature a town centre, two primary schools, a secondary school and a sixth form college, as well as a bypass for access to nearby villages.
Homes England, which owns the site, leases part of it to ejector seat maker Martin-Baker and could use a compulsory purchase order to get them to leave.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson visits a site in Ealing, West London, on Wednesday last week
HE has said the plans will help the council ‘meet the unmet housing need of the area at the same time as protecting the green belt and safeguarding local jobs’.
It comes as the Housing Secretary today defended his reforms against criticism that the move to speed up building will create slums and ignore local concerns.
Robert Jenrick dismissed allegations the newly-unveiled draft laws for England could create a new generation of low quality homes as ‘complete nonsense’.
And he insisted local people will be able to make ‘a meaningful contribution’, despite confirming there is nothing that can be done to halt disliked projects once an area is designated for growth.
Homes England, which owns the Chalgrove Airfield site (above), leases part of it to ejector seat maker Martin-Baker and could use a compulsory purchase order to get them to leave
Mr Jenrick said the major overhaul would protect green spaces while making it easier to build on brownfield sites despite Labour branding it a ‘developers’ charter’.
The Royal Institute of British Architects said there was ‘every chance they could also lead to the creation of the next generation of slum housing’.
The new process will involve quicker development on land which has been designated ‘for renewal’, with a ‘permission in principle’ approach.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) said this will balance the need for proper checks with a speedier way of working.
Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick, pictured on July 10 outside 10 Downing Street, has insisted ‘we will cut red tape, but not standards’
Another new category will see land designated for growth where new homes, hospitals and schools will be allowed automatically to empower development.
The reforms have caused unease within Tory ranks, with fears that local concerns will be ignored in order to build more quickly.
The Local Government Association’s Conservative chairman James Jamieson said: ‘Any loss of local control over developments would be a concern.’
Mr Jenrick has insisted ‘we will cut red tape, but not standards’ as he says it currently takes seven years to agree local housing plans and five years to get building.