Green light for 450 homes after appeal granted

West Oxfordshire District Council initially turned down the application for the sites in Witney

A plan for up to 450 homes on the edge of an Oxfordshire town has been given permission after previously being dismissed by a council.

The project on two parcels of land in Witney, proposed by the Mawle Trustees and Northfield Life Interest, was turned down by West Oxfordshire District Council (WODC) in May 2023.

But a planning inspector overturned that objection – for a site south of Oxford Hill and a smaller patch off Stanton Harcourt Road – after the developers appealed.

Inspector Philip Mileham said the homes would bring a number of benefits.

The planning inspector said the application across two sites would lead to multiple benefits

He also pointed to environmental benefits from a “proposed biodiversity net gain” and social benefits from “future occupiers utilising local services and facilities and contributing to community activities”.

WODC pulled its objection in May after it said it was "no longer in dispute on any of the reasons for refusal".

The inquiry continued as a round table session focussing on "the main issues" in June.

It is the latest application to be overturned in West Oxfordshire.

In April, Catesby Strategic Land Limited was given permission to build 134 homes on land south of Burford Road in Minster Lovell.