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| Timber frame design sketch for Beacon Project by Oxford Design Studio, 2014 |
The key points made to councillors were that the last two years have involved a considerable amount of community consultation and profile-raising, including:
- sending a
detailed response to the consultations over the draft West Oxfordshire Local Plan in December 2012. The draft Local Plan recognizes self-build and environmental
sustainability as key aspects of
the UK National Planning Policy Framework and
the Localism Act. Our response is detailed here.
- publishing an
article on the aims and objectives of the project in the April 2013 edition
of the Charlbury Chronicle, and
gaining some good feedback and expressions of interest locally.
- having an
information stand at the Community Led Plan public meeting in July 2013
in the Memorial Hall
- pursuing options over the Forest Road site with Cornbury Park; contributing towards the Community Led Plan; keeping a conversation going with Sovereign Housing as an affordable housing partner; opened up the core management group to new local families
Whilst the project has
shifted its emphasis slightly over that period from an interest in co-housing
towards self-build, it remains committed to bringing a more cooperative
style to any new housing development in which we are involved.
Councillors were also informed that self-build is now a
recognised means of solving some sections of the housing requirement, particularly
in rural areas. This was recognised in the current West Oxfordshire Local Development Framework.
An example of the project's commitment to environmental issues relating to development can be found in the groups proposals for the Forest Road site in Charlbury, in which we are in negotiation with Cornbury Park regarding feasibility. On
this site we are interested in:
- harvesting natural spring water which rises in the copse above the field. It was estimated in the summer of 2012 as providing 40-50 litres/minute or 50-60,000 litres/day.
- Towards the bottom of the site we would like to extend the current pond to offset the increased run-off of water from construction and housing (important following the recent floods) as well as a reed-bed for waste management. Despite being next to the sewage works, we won’t need it!
- We are also discussing with Cornbury the potential of a combined heat and power unit for the whole site using wood by-products from the Estate.
- Currently
several Charlbury families make the core, several of who have rented
in Charlbury for more than 5 years because they cannot afford appropriate family sized
homes. We all have children in the primary and secondary schools and
between us make a big contribution to local societies and the community
in general.
- We are a group from the (politician’s phrase) squeezed middle – an intermediate group who cannot afford to buy suitable housing in Charlbury, but who can afford private sector rents. We are a growing group nationally.
- If housing development is to take place in Charlbury at all (and it should if we are to remain vibrant), then it is better that we empower people who already contribute to the community to build houses so that they can stay here, rather than being forced to move out. Any other development of family homes in Charlbury will be sold at the rapidly inflating prices that we see today and not contribute to keeping a diverse socio-economic mix in the town.
- New housing here should reflect the special interest in environmental sustainability that Charlbury is known for, rather than being imposed on the town by developers who have no interest in the character of the town, beyond a superficial stereotype of what colour stone to use.
- We feel that a creative and environmental approach to local housing like the scheme we have developed will enable us to develop a Neighbourhood Plan that doesn’t just say where new housing might go, but also says what it should feel like as an extension of our current community, and how it will affect our local environment.
