Four
village sites proposed to meet housing demand
One could be earmarked entirely for affordable homes
FOUR potential housing sites in the Lower Shiplake
area have been put forward by would-be developers in response
to an invitation by South Oxfordshire District Council to
landowners to come up with ideas of where new homes could
be built.
And it has been suggested that one of them could be devoted
entirely to affordable housing.
The four sites reported to members of Shiplake Parish Council
this week are:
- Thames
Farm, Upper Bolney Lane, Harpsden — an
area totalling more than six hectares which agents
for the owner,
Claire Engbers, are suggesting should be divided into
two lots. The smaller area covers the land and farm
building
which was subject to an appeal for a farm shop several
years ago. The second area covers the remainder of
the agricultural
holding.
- A
site in New Road, next to Ridgeways, which backs on to
five homes in Baskerville Lane. This site
was the
subject of an unsuccessful appeal for housing in the
1990s. While
the agents acting for the owners accept that the
site has been deemed unsuitable for residential development,
they
suggest it would be suitable as a 100 per cent affordable
housing site. The agents point out that land can
be
released for affordable housing where residential development
would
otherwise not be permitted.
- Land
next to Apple Tree Cottage in New Road, Shiplake, which
it is suggested
could accommodate four houses.
- Another
site in Mill Road between Kingsley Gate House and Lock
End.
Outside
Lower Shiplake two substantial sites have been put forward — land at Foxhill
Farm, Playhatch, which lies between Playhatch
and Caversham Park Village, and on the
other side of Henley Road, Lowfield Farm, which
backs on to gravel pits and the marina.
District councillor Malcolm Leonard pointed
out that the council was merely compiling
a list
of possible
sites. “Don’t
get too worked up about it at this stage,” he said. “You
will have plenty of opportunity to comment on
them if anything develops from it in the future.”
But some members felt they should prepare
some indication of their feelings towards
the suggested
sites now.
Rumours were already circulating about the
sites, and Lord Phillimore
felt the district council had not been sufficiently
clear in its presentation of what the exercise
it was undertaking
in identifying possible housing land involved.
Although information was available on the
council’s
website, ‘it is not right that the ordinary citizen
should have to read a mass of documentation to understand
what is going on’, he said. People were
confused and worried.
Members felt the Thames Farm site should
not be developed because of the narrow nature
of
Reading
Road at the
access point to the site. They also considered
that four houses
on what was known as the ‘paddock’ site
next to Apple Tree Cottage in New Road was an
over-development.
The land next to Kingsley Gate House was at present
a field and its development could have an impact
on flooding in the
area.
Some members felt the New Road site had potential
for affordable housing. But Cllr. Eddy Ryder,
who drew up a report on
the four sites, wondered whether the applicants
knew what affordable
housing meant — that for homes to be affordable
the land had to be donated.
The chairman, Cllr. Richard Dean, felt building
on the New Road site would extend the size
of the village.
The council did agree to support an objection
lodged by Eye and Dunsden Parish Council
to the Lowfield
Farm and
Foxhills
Farm sites.
Roads talks
A site meeting with an official from Oxfordshire
County Council’s highways
department is to be set up to discuss various matters regarding
roads in Lower Shiplake.
County councillor Peter Skolar told the parish
council that he had obtained agreement for
the site meeting to take place, although
a date
had yet
to be arranged.
Items to be tackled included drainage problems in Reading Road,
Mill Road, Mill Lane and Station Road, the erosion of verges
in Mill Road
and the reinstatement
of the verge in Memorial Avenue.
Work to raise the height of the kerbing at the junction of Station
Road and Reading Road, where there have been accidents when cars
have left
the road
and ploughed
through garden fences, should be starting in early May, Cllr.
Skolar said.
The yellow lines marking the turning circles for vehicles in
Mill Lane near Shiplake Lock would also be re-painted.
But a notice warning drivers that they should not park in the
turning circle, which had disappeared, could not be replaced
by the county,
he said.
This was because it was a ‘non standard’ sign and as such did not
have official recognition. “The county council cannot replace signs that
are not recognised,” he explained. “However, if someone
were to put up a sign saying this was a private area for turning
only and not for parking,
the county would not object.”
On camera
Henley’s CCTV cameras are proving their worth, district councillor
Malcolm Leonard told the parish council, and are resulting in more
arrests than cameras
in other towns where they are being supported by the district council.
He gave two examples of where the cameras had resulted directly
in offenders being caught. In one case a man was seen sitting
in a parked
vehicle
taking drugs. He was arrested and found in possession of a Class
A drug.
In another instance, two men were seen acting suspiciously in
a shop. The camera operator saw them walking away from the store
and then withdrawing
money from
a cash point. It turned out that the card they were using had
been stolen.
Trees axed
Residents have become concerned at the number of trees being
felled on land at the corner of New Road and Crowsley Road in
Lower Shiplake.
Cllr.
Mrs. Joy
Arnott
said about a dozen trees had been chopped down. But it was pointed
out that if they were on private land there was nothing that
could be done
unless they
were
the subject of tree preservation orders.
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