People in the Vale of White Horse are being encouraged to have their say on modifications that have been identified to ensure the district’s Local Plan 2031 can be adopted. The plan sets out where the main housing sites around the district should be, as well as identifying the jobs, roads, schools and other infrastructure that will be needed to support housing growth. In his interim report, published in June, the inspector looking into the Vale’s Local Plan 2031 said that the plan would ensure the council could meet its housing need requirements and that he is likely to find that it is sound, subject to some ‘main modifications’. Vale of White Horse District Council has now published the main modifications identified by the inspector necessary to make the plan sound. How you can have your say People can now view the main modifications and have their say by visiting www.whitehorsedsc.gov.uk/localplan. Comments must be directly related to the main modifications rather than the overall Local Plan. The documents are also available for inspection at the council’s office 135 Eastern Avenue, Milton Park, Milton, OX14 4SB (Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm), and at public libraries across the district. The consultation runs until 5pm onWednesday 14 September. If you have any questions please call us on 01235 422600, or e-mail planning.policy@whitehorsedc.gov.uk What are the main changes? The inspector Malcolm Rivett has identified some areas that need to be addressed to ensure the plan is sound. The key main modifications include:
- proposed housing sites at Harwell Campus within the North Wessex Downs AONB (1,400 dwellings), and south of East Hanney (200 dwellings), have been removed from the plan
- sites previously proposed for release from the Green Belt, but not allocated for housing, have also been removed from the plan
Cllr Mike Murray, cabinet member for Planning Policy at the Vale, said: “We’re now very close to having the Local Plan in place and the main modifications consultation is a key stage in ensuring we get it adopted.” Cllr Matthew Barber, Leader of the Council, concluded ““The Local Plan process has been a long and arduous one. Thanks to the work of so many parish councils, community groups and individuals we are now incredibly close to adopting the new Local Plan and taking much greater control over developments in our district."