Town council calls for public support in opposing 600 more new homes

THAME’S award-winning Neighbourhood Plan, feted by government and The Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI), and promoted as being ‘enshrined in local planning policy’ and ‘with the force of law behind it’, is now likely to have to be reviewed to include 600 more new homes – on top of the 770 catered for in the Neighbourhood Plan.

Thame Town Hall – Image Courtesy of Mark Percy

South Oxfordshire District Council has commenced a public consultation on its latest Local Plan which will set out plans for new development across the district to 2032.

Thame Town Council remains opposed to the additional 600 new homes which it believes will threaten the viability of Thame’s facilities such as education, medical provision and recreation facilties, and turn Thame into what one town councillor called a ‘conurbation’ rather than a Market Town.

‘No evidence’ that further growth is needed

The town council had previously challenged the draft local plan, back in March 2015, when one councillor declared: “… there is no evidence that further growth is necessary to maintain vibrancy and, indeed, such may well harm the built heritage, character and structure of the town.”

In its draft plan, SODC states: “If a review of the neighbourhood plan does not adequately progress with allocating sites (and has therefore at least been submitted to the Council) within 12 months of adoption of this local plan 2032, planning applications for housing in Thame will be supported…” Or as one town councillor put it at last night’s Thame TC Neighbourhood Plan Continuity Committee: “We are being threatened with allowing developers a free-for-all.” (Read the complete Draft Plan HERE – chapter 10 relevant to Thame)

‘Flood the foyer’ urges councillors

A public consultation meeting is to be hosted by SODC on Saturday, July 2, in the committee room at Thame Town Hall, and the Continuity Committee is urging all Thame residents against any change to Thame’s new housing numbers to ‘flood the foyer of the Town Hall’ on Saturday (11am) and support the town council in it’s objection to ‘dumping more houses on us!’.