Homes approved despite sewage and flooding fears

Community facilities will be built at the development in Barton

About 1,400 homes, shops and a primary school will be built on the outskirts of Oxford despite concerns over flooding, sewage and traffic.

South Oxfordshire District Council's (SODC) planning committee approved the development at Bayswater Brook in Barton on Wednesday.

The council included the project in recent development plans to meet unmet housing need from the city but some groups have said it would be "too much" for Oxford's sewage system.

But a condition that none of the 1,450 homes can be occupied until sewage upgrades are finished was also approved.

The site is owned by Christ Church, Oxford, and the plan has been managed by Dorchester Residential Management.

The Environment Agency objected to the plan because it said it would "pose an unacceptable risk of pollution to the water environment and surface water quality".

The new homes will span a site close to the A40 junction opposite Marsh Lane to Oxford Crematorium, which runs north of the new Barton Park development.

Bayswater Brook was previously part of the Oxford Green Belt but removed to allow the project.

Another plan for a cycle and pedestrian bridge over the A40 was deferred to a later meeting.

Oxford City Council's planning committee is set to approve the parts that fall within its boundary at a meeting next Tuesday.

SODC has included the development, north of Barton, in its recent draft Local Plan

SODC and Vale of White Horse District Councils included Bayswater Brook in a recent draft Local Plan that outlines where building should go until 2041.

Other major sites proposed include 3,000 new homes south of Grenoble Road in Oxford, which is also in South Oxfordshire.

Another 3,500 are expected to be built adjacent to Culham Science Centre, along with another 1,700 at Berinsfield Garden Village.

Another 1,800 homes are expected to be built at Northfield, south of Oxford’s Unipart factory.