Funding boost for Rushy Bank

Article in Witney Gazette, June 2016

Last week saw the welcome announcement that a cash boost of £200,000 from a West Oxfordshire District Council grant had been given to the Young Dementia UK Homes project for Rushy Bank. This money will help build the first residential facility for people suffering from early onset dementia in the country in Charlbury.

Since West Oxfordshire District Council's resolution to grant planning permission last November, the Rushy Bank Partnership have been working hard to satisfy a number of planning conditions for the site, including finalising road layouts, an archaeological dig, and the legal agreement over financial contributions (section 106). With these now almost resolved, the partnership is looking forward to formal planning consent in the near future.

Rushy Bank planning permission

On 2 November the Uplands Area Planning Sub Committee approved the Rushy Bank Partnership's planning application by 9 votes to 3!

The publicly available minutes of the meeting give a very balanced and useful account of the discussion and the democratic way that these issues are handled:

Land South of Forest Road, Charlbury

"The proposed layout of the site was shown and amendments to the previously submitted scheme were outlined. In particular it was noted that there was a smaller number of units and the layout on site changed.

Mr Rod Evans addressed the sub-committee in objection to the application. A summary of the submission is attached as Appendix E to the original copy of these minutes. Mr Evans, in response to Mr Beaney, clarified that he was not against development in the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) but any growth needed to be sustainable.

Councillor Liz Leffman, local ward member, addressed the sub-committee in support of the application. A summary of the submission is attached as Appendix F to the original copy of these minutes. Mr Cotterill asked Ms Leffman if she considered the site suitable for dementia care. Ms Leffman indicated that the facility would provide support and help for residents and would be well managed.

Mr Jeremy Smalley, agent for the applicant, addressed the sub-committee in support of the application. A summary of the submission is attached as Appendix G to the original copy of these minutes.

The Development Manager continued his presentation and advised that the main issues for consideration were principle, precedent, siting design and form, landscape impact, highways, amenities, archaeology, benefits and S106 contributions.

The sub-committee noted there was an element of self-build in the application and that the development was considered sustainable in the proposed location. It was acknowledged that it was an on balance decision relating to aspects of sustainability.

The Development Manager concluded by recognising there was a range of views both for and against the proposal. It was highlighted that the scheme was being locally led and the amendments to the previous scheme were an improvement and acceptable in their own right. The Development Manager suggested that the benefits accruing from the development outweighed the harm when the relevant policy and other tests were applied and as such an on balance approval could be recommended.

The Development Manager advised that consultation responses were still awaited from Oxfordshire County Council in respect of highways and archaeology. The recommendation was therefore for approval subject to clarification of the legal agreement and the receipt of responses in respect of highways and archaeology. It was confirmed that if the outstanding responses raised objection then it would be referred back to members.

Mr Graham highlighted concerns about the previous application but acknowledged the considerable amount of consultation since then. Mr Graham suggested that it was still a difficult decision.

Mr Graham acknowledged that the development was on the edge of Charlbury and the changes that had been made to reduce the impact on the AONB. Mr Graham advised that, on balance, the development was acceptable and the increased buffer zone would help reduce the impact.

Mr Graham then proposed the officer recommendation and this was seconded by Mr Owen.

Mr Owen indicated that the scheme had been developed over some time and was a local project that showed innovation and vision and was well designed.

The Development Manager, in response to Mr Cotterill, confirmed that the road within the site would predominantly remain private.

Mr Colston expressed concern that the houses were an adjunct to the main development and probably would not be acceptable on their own. Mr Colston suggested the dementia unit was some distance from the town and sought clarification on whether there would be time limits on construction of the self-build units.

The Development Manager indicated that there was a waiting list of people wanting to construct their own homes and whilst there were some legal options it was likely that applicants would have a financial imperative to complete as soon as possible.

Dr Poskitt indicated concern at the location of the footpath and access to Charlbury. Dr Poskitt advised that it was important that the archaeology situation was clarified on site and asked about the moving of the speed limit on the road. The Development Manager reiterated that if there were any issues relating to archaeology then the application may need to be referred back to the sub-committee. The Senior Planner advised that it was proposed to move the speed limit further away from the access.

Mr Saul, in supporting the proposal, asked if the footpath would also access the railway station. The Senior Planner indicated that this could not be confirmed.

Mr Cottrell-Dormer suggested the scheme was too remote from Charlbury and it was wrong for dementia patients to be placed that close to a river and railway line. The Development Manager reminded members that residents safety was primarily an issue for the operators of the home and they had a management plan in place.

On being put to the vote the proposition was carried.

Permitted, subject to a legal agreement, conditions and no objection being raised in respect of highways and archaeology."

West Oxfordshire support for self-build

WODC news item on their support for self-build

A news release this month from West Oxfordshire District Council shows how important self-build is becoming in planning policy terms:

News release

Helping aspiring homeowners create their own ‘grand designs’

West Oxfordshire District Council is on the look-out for anyone with a local connection to the District who has ‘grand designs’ to build their own home.

As part of the Government’s ‘Self-build and Custom House-building Act,’ the District Council would like to hear from anyone hoping to build their own home or looking to contract a builder to construct it for them. This includes individual homes and larger developments.

Cllr Warwick Robinson, Cabinet Member responsible for Planning said: “We believe there is an interest in custom and self-build housing within the District as it can be seen as a more affordable route to home ownership and it often inspires innovative, creative design and construction

“We are keen hear from anyone who has any self-build plans and are urging them to sign up to our new online register. This will help us find out more about the number and types of homes they would like to build as we are also working with other individuals and groups to identify suitable land for such projects.”

“Signing up to the register doesn’t mean we can guarantee that a suitable plot will be identified, or become available, however we will do everything we can to help.”

The Council’s self-build register will be reviewed regularly, helping to inform them of the level of demand for plots in West Oxfordshire and enabling them to develop a strategy for matching people to plots in their area.

Self-build homes are subject to the same requirement for planning permission as other homes.

For more information about custom and self-build housing, including sources of funding and advice, or to register an interest, see the Council’s website www.westoxon.gov.uk/housing or call 01993 861000.

Oxford housing crisis & Charlbury

A BBC news item of 19 October makes clear the extent of the housing crisis in our region. Oxford is now one of the most expensive and unaffordable cities in the UK, and those on low and middle incomes are being priced out. This is leading to longer commutes, pressure on the roads and a lack of people to do the jobs that we all rely on to keep places running.

The report discusses objections to new homes in places like Eynsham, who are fearful of the changes that new homes will bring to their communities. But with a main line railway station into Oxford and major new community facilities in the pipeline, Charlbury needs to make a contribution to this local crisis.

Rushy Bank reapplication

Revised layout for Rushy Bank site, September 2015

The Rushy Bank Partnership consisting of Young Dementia UK Homes, the Beacon Project Charlbury and our development partners, resubmitted a planning application for the Rushy Bank site at the beginning of September.

We will be holding a public exhibition of the revised proposals in the Corner House, Charlbury, on 12 September 2015, 10-12pm.

The Revised Development Proposal 

• No housing along the Forest Road frontage. This is to address concerns about the potential for archaeology in that area.
• Previously proposed mini roundabout replaced by T junction
• Reduction of number of homes from 29 to 25
• Further revisions to house design and positioning in response to community comments

The Benefits

• A supported 12 bed living facility for Young Dementia UK Homes for those suffering from early onset dementia
• All homes for sale are custom/self-build with priority for local people. 50% of these are at discounted sale prices to deal with the affordability gap in Charlbury’s housing supply.
• Scheme could make a significant financial contribution towards education (OVER £100,000 based on County Council figures) and other County and District provided services, and funds towards the Community Centre or other priorities identified by the Town Council.
• Sustainable location close to railway station and no further away from town centre than the extent of Ticknell Piece,The Green and Woodstock Road houses. Closer to the Town Centre than the recently approved Ditchley Road housing. 
• Very low visual impact as a result of extensive landscaping, careful siting, low density and location behind the employment area. 
• Up to 12 jobs associated with Young Dementia Home 
• Additional residents will help to sustain local amenities and facilities 
• Improvements to highway safety that will slow traffic as it approaches the town down Forest Road.

Rushy Bank & affordable homes

Section about affordable housing in "Friends of The Evenlode Valley leaflet"

Everyone in Charlbury has received a leaflet from the "Friends of The Evenlode Valley" and a number of people have submitted public planning comments on the basis of the information contained within it. It does however contain some misleading information, which should be taken into account.

There are three main social benefits of the Rushy Bank project: more affordable housing for local people, sheltered housing for those suffering from early onset dementia, and funds (section 106) for infrastructure improvement and community use by the town.

Let's be clear: this project has not been instigated by a developer looking for cheap land to make a big profit. It has been developed by Young Dementia Homes UK and The Beacon Project Charlbury over a number of years, and we went out and found a Charlbury-based developer and a Charlbury-based architect. Even the ecological, archaeological and landscape consultants are Charlbury-based! (that's the kind of town we are).

"Affordable" housing is a grossly overworked term, isn't it? So let's be clear what this application contains. 29 houses are being proposed, in addition to the 12 bed sheltered housing unit. Of those, 9 will be built by a social housing provider. That's low rent, shared ownership, etc. That's the usual sort of "affordable" housing we are used to. But what isn't clear in the Friends leaflet is that social housing providers only pay something like £10-15k per plot for land!

But this project is innovative in having another 10 out of the 29 houses proposed as being custom-built for Charlbury people at below market value, probably at least 25% below! And those enjoying this discount won't sell it on at a profit as soon as it's built, as there is a proposal by the Beacon Project for a phased lock-in for this discount so that it can be passed on to the next local person wanting to buy a house. The mechanism for passing on discounts will be wrapped up in the section 106 agreement that will accompany any planning consent and the team are liaising with the planner and housing officer to finalise this.

The other 10 houses would also be custom-built (i.e. internal layout, number of bedrooms, etc) and be sold at full market value. The reason these are needed is to allow the landowner enough of a return on the land to allow for the very low, or discounted land return for the rest of the development, and also to fund the road improvements, landscaping, groundworks, community payments etc.

So, that's 9/29 social housing (31%), 10/29 discounted custom-build housing (34.5%) and 10/29 full market value housing (34.5%). 

Given that both the social housing and the Beacon Project (discounted) housing would all be priority for local people, that is 65.5% of the development which would be more affordable housing for local people.

We hope this counters some of the misinformation on the issue of who is really benefitting from this proposed scheme. The developer is also proposing to run the development as an open book so that everyone and anyone might inspect the financial side. This isn’t a requirement.

The issue of the location is an entirely different matter - that is up for debate and depends on where we see acceptable development in the town, and how sensitive this scheme is to its proposed location.

We hope this is useful information about some aspects of the proposed development that we feel passionately about and have worked towards for a number of years in our own town. Let the application stand or fall on its merits, but not on false information.

Rushy Bank planning application - second public display

Now the planning application has gone in and information leaflets distributed around the town, the Rushy Bank development partnership will be holding a second public display of proposals for the site on Saturday 21 March (10-12) in the Corner House. We look forward to seeing as many people as possible there to look at the exciting detailed designs for the site.