Sir, Many of our towns and villages have suffered from inappropriate housing developments because the Vale of White Horse District Council does not have a Local Plan in place.
It is, therefore, of utmost importance that the Local Plan submitted to the inspector is ‘sound’.
However, the council is playing fast and loose with our communities by submitting a Local Plan which has been so poorly prepared that I fear the examining inspector will have many reasons to reject it as ‘unsound’.
In particular, the plan does not give appropriate weight to the protected landscapes in the district and housing sites have been added that were not within the original draft, such as at Kingston Bagpuize and the Harwell Campus, without additional consultation.
The council should have had an additional consultation period before submission and excluded green-field sites in the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty to maximise its chances of success.
Stephen Webb
Chapel Square
East Hendred
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