The planning application 21/30386/FUL was discussed at the PC meeting on 20th January 2022.
The following comment was submitted by District Councillor Jake Acock.
Let me begin by stating how disappointed I am to see this application, without any material changes, being discussed once more in the space of a few years. This is unfair on the residents of the Wychwoods who have had to deal with at least three consecutive applications. I hope for the residents and the tennis club that this is the last application, and the matter can finally be resolved for once and for all.
The key ground that this application should be refused is that it goes against the Local Plan, voted for by West Oxfordshire District Council in 2018. This plan stands until 2031. There are a number of policies that this application breaches:
- Policy EH8: this states that any application in a conservation area should ENHANCE and, most importantly, CONSERVE the area. This application does not do that. Having 9 poles that are 6 metres high cannot be said to enhance or conserve. Similarly, the light spill in the evenings will be visible from many other places, including Chipping Norton and other villages surrounding the valley.
- Policy EH1: any application must conserve the landscape character. This application will cause light pollution and disturb natural wildlife because of the poles being erected and the light pollution.
- Policy EH6: this policy states that external lights should be unobtrusive. It also states that lights should not result in excessive levels. This application does not meet this criterion because there would be obtrusive external light causing light pollution.
For these reasons alone the application should be refused, as it does not meet the policies set out in West Oxfordshire’s Local Plan.