Archive for category: News

A planning application that involved the demolition of two failing barns and replacement with six homes on Woodway Farm in Aston Rowant was, despite objections from numerous parishioners and the parish council, passed at a planning meeting in July.

At that meeting, the applicant made a change that hitherto had not been part of the application – it was new to the parish council, the SODC planning officer concerned, OCC highways, district councillors on the planning committee or residents – that the main entrance currently used by the farm will be dedicated to the new development and combine harvesters, while the bridleway that is almost directly opposite the entrance to Aston Rowant Road will be given over to all other farm and equestrian traffic.

Ordinarily, that wouldn’t be an issue.

However, that bridleway will, when in operation, form a crossroads very close to a chicane installed a few years ago precisely to make the junction of the B4009 and Aston Rowant Road safer.

The council considers that the junction will, once the development is built, become unsafe.

The problem is that many drivers traverse the B4009 beyond the speed limits and that some, impatiently, do not give way at the chicane and so run it – at speed.

An example of this could be seen on the August bank holiday weekend where it appears that a van heading toward Kingston Blount had raced through the chicane, mis-judged the gap and clipped its near side rear wheel on the chicane and come off. The van was stranded for days just beyond the installation.

The council worries that drivers travelling from Kingston Blount into Aston Rowant will continue to attempt to run the chicane looking to beat oncoming traffic which has priority.

Drivers may not see traffic turning out of Aston Rowant onto the B4009, may not see through the various poles (one for signage, one for the required light and a telegraph pole) and the yellow ‘keep right signs’ on the chicane, will have their vision obscured by foliage, and may miss traffic behind the chicane turning onto and out of the bridleway.

The parish council thinks accidents are more likely.

Crossroads are nothing new, but they can be dangerous. It’s one reason why the Mill Lane / Lower Icknield Way crossroads in Chinnor was re-routed a few years ago.

On behalf of the council, I have tried – with assistance from our district and county councillors – to engage with SODC planning and OCC highways. We three have been, disappointingly, consistently ignored.

That leaves me writing this comment and asking residents, who agree with the new ‘crossroads’ being a safety issue, to email their concerns to the relevant council teams via and , citing P25/S1671/O.

Concerns need to be made known and mitigations demanded.

Our fears solely revolve around the fact that this arrangement could, and would, pose a huge safety risk for anyone using this junction, including the applicant.

Please help your parish council fight this development.

The deadline to comment is 21 September 2026.

Land at The Paddock, Church Lane, Aston Rowant

P26/S3792/PIP

Construction of a minimum of one dwelling and a maximum of one dwelling

This planning application should be refused for the same reasons it was refused previously and by the Inspector in the previous appeal. The fact that SODC does not currently have a five-year housing supply does have a bearing, but the significant harm that would be caused is not outweighed by the benefit of one new house.

Aston Rowant Parish Council believes the reasons to refuse this application are as:

The development is outside of the village boundary and therefore would extend the boundary into open countryside. The north side of Aston Rowant is particularly vulnerable to expansion as it still retains a very strong sense of a rural setting with few new houses. The existing village boundary next to the proposed site has old farm buildings or is bounded by ancient hedgerows.

The application has not demonstrated that it is physically well-related to the settlement for the purposes of Policy S5(1)(j) of the August 2026 NPPF. It would project built development into the countryside rather than fill a gap within the village.

There is another house opposite the site which has already extended the boundary, but planning permission was only achieved through a technical issue at appeal. That property is more in keeping as it extends the already built-up row of existing houses which is not the case with this proposal.

Aston Rowant has recently had six new houses approved, all of which are outside the village boundary. We feel that this shows that Aston Rowant has taken housing and has extended to meet demand already.

It’s worth noting that the August 2026 NPPF now specifically requires consideration of landscape character, countryside qualities, ecological networks, established trees and hedgerows.

The site is bounded by two chalk streams which must be protected. The stream on the east side flows all year and the stream on west side is seasonal. Both of these flow into the Holbrook where brown trout migrate all the way up to the village. Further development will harm the stream and run off from the site will harm the fish. There are major conservation concerns about protecting chalk streams and we must do all we can to protect them.

Aston Rowant is not a sustainable village for new housing. There are no shops, the bus service is poor (it’s often been suggested that the routes may be cut – a proposition not unreasonable given that the two bus routes are subsidised to the tune of around £200,000pa).  The buses from the identified stop less than half a mile away cannot be used for commuting, and there are no footpaths or safe ways to walk to the bus stops a mile and a mile and a half away that serve coaches that go to London and Oxford. Cars would be necessary for all aspects of living here. Nothing in this respect has changed since the last planning application.

Further, the application has not demonstrated that safe and suitable access can be delivered without unacceptable conflict with users of Church Lane and the bridleway, or without harmful loss or alteration of the rural hedgerow boundary.

ARPC has spoken to many residents, and the primary concern was the development of a new house here is outside the village boundary and sits on an ancient track that leads to the Fiveways junction with the Ridgeway and important national walking trails. Development on this site will spoil an ancient rural area adjacent to village.

We call on SODC to avoid allowing the district-wide housing shortfall to extinguish all scrutiny of where housing is placed. Otherwise virtually any field adjoining any small village could qualify for building.

In summary, the applicant may have established a district-wide housing-supply gateway but has not demonstrated that this particular greenfield site is physically well-related, sustainably accessible and satisfactorily served by infrastructure. The previous Inspector’s findings about countryside character and severe car dependence remain the strongest evidence of this available.

Please register an objection by either sending responding via SODC’s planning portal here or by sending an email to citing P26/S3792/PIP.

The deadline to comment is 21 September 2026.

Temporary Traffic Regulation Order – S14 Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984

Temporary Road Closure at Chinnor, B4445

In the interests of public safety it will be necessary for Oxfordshire County Council to close a short section of B4445 to facilitate Civils work, surfacing work, drainage work, lining work, loop cutting and gully cleaning work .

A Temporary Traffic Regulation Order (TTRO) is being made to implement the temporary closure and will operate from 21 September 2026 up to and including 08 October 2026. This is a 24 hour daily road closure.

(The maximum duration of a TTRO on a road is 18 months and on a footpath is 6 months, or until completion of the works, whichever is the earlier.)

Notice of intention to make the Order will be published in the local press.

Access will be maintained for emergency service vehicles and for those frontages within the closure area, subject to the progress of the works and liaison with the works supervisor.

A copy of the drawing showing the extent of the closure and the alternative routes for traffic is below.

Further information regarding the works may be obtained by contacting Vasim Abuvacar, Oxfordshire County Council on 0345 310 11 11.

The parish council has had a report of an Oak Processionary Moth infestation in a tree adjacent to the play area.

The hairs of the caterpillar are dangerous to humans and dogs and can cause serious skin irritation and in the ‘wrong’ person, anaphylactic shock.

Until we know the extent of the issue and how (and when it can be dealt with), the play area and tables under the trees are, with immediate effect, closed.

The council has put barrier tape up to mark the area along with ‘closed’ signs. Please respect the closure and do not attempt entry.

In explanation, forestresearch.gov.uk says:

“Older caterpillars develop tiny hairs containing an irritating protein called thaumetopoein, from which the species derives part of its scientific name. Contact with the hairs can cause itching skin rashes and eye irritations, as well as sore throats and breathing difficulties in people and animals. The risk of exposure to these hairs is highest in May and June.

The caterpillars can shed the hairs when threatened or disturbed. The hairs can be blown by the wind and they accumulate in the caterpillars’ nests, which can fall to the ground. They can stick to trunks, branches, grass and clothing as well as to equipment, such as ropes, used by tree surgeons and forestry and ground-care workers.

Among the groups most vulnerable to the health hazards are:

• curious children;
• curious pets;
• people who work on or close to oak trees;
• anyone spending time close to infested trees; and
• grazing and browsing livestock and wild animals.”

The infestation has been reported to the Forestry Commission.