MORE than 100 residents joined forces to protest an appeal by developers to build 350 homes on greenbelt land.
JT Leavesley Limited applied to South Oxfordshire District Council, the planning authority, to build the homes, retail and employment space, a community building, and a day care nursery, on the land off Papist Way in Cholsey.
The application, submitted in March last year, was rejected as it conflicts with the village’s neighbourhood development plan as the land is not a recommended development space.
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It was also rejected as “unplanned development puts pressure on infrastructure, facilities and services that have not been planned for”.
However, the developers decided to appeal this decision in May this year leading residents to rally together in attempts to get the application thrown out.
At the start of July, residents gathered next to the proposed development site with signs reading: “Cholsey. Say no to Leavesley. No to the unsustainable development of Cholsey,” and: “Leavesley us alone”.
Residents have also started a petition against the application which now has more than 1,000 signatures.
Val Bolt BEM, vice chairman of Cholsey Parish Council, said: “Enough is enough. Government growth targets pushed for 23,500 new houses to be built in South Oxfordshire between 2011 and 2035.
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“Leavesley’s speculative application is for even more houses on top of this. This has a massive impact on local infrastructure, including school places, health services, road networks, water and sewerage.”
Cholsey resident Claire Bird added: “None of this is sustainable at any level. Typical volume house building results in the emission of 100 tonnes of carbon just in the construction process of one house.
“Oxfordshire’s entire remaining carbon budget of allowable emissions will be used up on building houses if business as usual continues.
“The Government’s legally binding carbon targets would appear meaningless, which is a frightening prospect given the climate breakdown we are facing.”
Rosie Pearson, co-founder of the Community Planning Alliance, a not-for-profit organisation supporting local campaign groups and lobbying for planning change, said: “Housing targets are out of date and too high, because they do not reflect a slowing in population growth, nor do targets do anything to deliver truly affordable housing.
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“Cholsey is one of many communities across the country grappling with developers who want to build on precious green spaces and food-growing land.
“We need the right houses, in the right places, built with full regard for climate and ecology, and genuinely affordable to local residents.”
A public inquiry into the developer’s appeal will begin in the Great Hall on Cholsey Meadows on August 31. Residents plan to protest again outside.
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Read more from this author
This story was written by Gee Harland, she joined the team in 2022 as a senior multimedia reporter.
Gee covers Wallingford, Wantage and Didcot.
Get in touch with her by emailing: Gee.harland@newsquest.co.uk
Follow her on Twitter @Geeharland
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