Councils brace for appeal

THREE councils and an action group are set to join together and fight an expected appeal to build more than 80 homes between Henley and Shiplake.

Developer Taylor Wimpey was granted outline planning on appeal for 95 homes at the site of the former Thames Farm off Reading Road in 2017 om appeal. But this has been reduced to 84 to provide adequate drainage, as the land is unstable and vulnerable to sinkholes.

The developer wanted to stabilise the site through compaction grouting, where a substance would be injected into the ground to reduce the void space and improve ground strength.

This grouting would make the site impermeable, requiring a new off-site surface water drainage system, which would include a basin on the western part of the site.

It has now notified the town council of its intent to appeal to the Planning Inspectorate after South Oxfordshire District Council turned down its drainage plans.

Henley Town Council, Shiplake and Harpsden parish councils and the Thames Farm Action Group continue to object to the proposal over the risk to the drinking water and aquifer of more than 40,000 people.

The town council has now committed to spending up to £20,000 to engage with partners and legal counsel.

Councillor Michelle Thomas, who chairs the planning committee, said: “We remain deeply concerned and troubled by this application as it is a threat to Henley and the surrounding parishes’ drinking water supply.”

Kester George, chairman of Harpsden Parish Council, said: “The council strongly supports the district council’s refusal of Taylor Wimpey’s application.

“As the aquifer is the reservoir on which some 40,000 people depend for their water, it must be right to protect its source of supply.

“Taylor Wimpey’s plan to fill the voids in the chalk subsoil threatens both to cut off one of the reservoir’s main sources of supply and to pollute it.”

Chris Penrose, who chairs Shiplake Parish Council, said: “Throughout the planning journey on Thames Farm, we have aimed for diligent technical scrutiny by the relevant authorities to ensure any construction is built in a sustainable way for the long term.

“To this end, we have commissioned and contributed funds, alongside Henley Town Council and Harpsden Parish Council, to geotechnical reports to aid informed decision-making and held relevant authorities to account,”