HANWELL VILLAGE NEWS RELEASE
22 JULY 2007

PERSIMMON PLANNING APPEAL AT HANWELL FIELDS:
INQUIRY STARTS TUESDAY 24 JULY

BACKGROUND

Hanwell is a small Ironstone village of approximately 120 houses located about a mile north of Banbury in North Oxfordshire.  The majority of the village is a conservation area with two historic listed buildings - the 12th Century St. Peter's Church and Hanwell Castle and its grounds dating from 1498 - and many old houses and cottages.

The village accepted the Hanwell Fields development of 900 houses, and this has been carefully planned to become the definitive northern edge of the town, leaving a strategic gap of open countryside between the urban edge and the village of Hanwell.

Persimmon Homes are now attempting to push through on appeal another 400 houses on the unallocated land to the north of Hanwell Fields.  Cherwell District Council has earmarked and approved in principle the Bankside scheme of about 900 houses to the south of Banbury as the next major development.

PUBLIC INQUIRY STARTS TUESDAY 24 JULY

John Spratt, Chairman of Hanwell Parish Council, comments:

“A huge amount of evidence is being submitted by the applicants and the District Council and the Parish Council has submitted a brief statement to the Inspector about some of the key planning issues they have raised.  We understand that Hanwell Fields Community Association has done the same.

We have also written to Cllr Michael Gibbard urging that the District Council should issue the planning permission for Bankside as soon as possible, given the dismissal of the legal challenge.”

Arnold Bailey, Parish councillor, adds:

“We shall be strongly supporting the District Council’s arguments at the inquiry and insisting that its planning policies should be defended.  One of the key issues for Hanwell is the gap of open countryside protected by the Hanwell Fields development but seriously threatened by the appeal site.  We are confident that the Inspector will find in favour of the Council’s planning policies and reject the appeal.”

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION :
CALL ARNOLD BAILEY ON 07887 568976
OR EMAIL: arnold.bailey2@btinternet.com

Issued on behalf of Hanwell Parish Council, Oxfordshire.