Banbury traffic chaos ahead for rail commuters and local road users.

If you are Banbury rail commuter, local business or resident the local traffic situation is about to get worse and you have very limited time to object.

You need to act quickly as the consultation deadline is the 6th of July.

A new development planned for near Banbury train station will see hundreds of new homes built with no substantive improvements to local roads and access routes, exacerbating current traffic problems.

Having spoken to the local postman, it appears the council only wrote to residents directly adjacent to the proposed development, yet many in the surrounding area will be impacted, including rail commuters, schools and hundreds of residents who share road access.

Please take a few minutes to read this blog and object to the latest in a long line of poorly thought out planning proposals which have led to traffic chaos in Banbury.

It is important as many people as possible voice their concerns to ensure we are heard and that Cherwell council take these issues seriously.

Overview of the development

The planning application is for a large new development of 200 dwellings accessed by Higham Way.

The proposal has carried out several surveys but does not adequately address the issue of local access and traffic in a way which gives any confidence they have given this enough consideration.

Objections summary

Planning objections need be made based on “material planning considerations”. The main ones I am highlighting are “Road Access”, “Highway safety”, “Traffic generation”, “Previous planning decisions”, “Noise”, etc.

Your objection only needs to be a handful of words to say you are concerned about local traffic, parking and safety, but I have outlined what I believe are the key points:
Traffic: The local road network is already at capacity since the train station car park opened. Local roads and the junction with Higham Way, Merton St and Middleton Rd often become grid locked.

Safety: Traffic pressures have led to more dangerous local roads as some drivers drive aggressively, try to cut through the estate and jump the lights to avoid the queues.

Access: Given the existing issues a second access route is already required to the area to alleviate traffic on the local roads, such as extending Higham way and connecting to alternate routes.

Previous planning decisions: The council has failed to act adequately on previous issues raised about the junction and when challenged on local noise arising from works which they approved, the council did not act good faith and refused to release a noise survey despite the story featuring in the Banbury Guardian.

Objecting is easy

You can follow this link : https://planningregister.cherwell.gov.uk/Planning/Comment/16/00472/OUT

Or follow these instructions if you prefer :

1. Go to the planning portal : https://planningregister.cherwell.gov.uk
2. Scroll down and enter planning reference: 16/00472/OUT and click search.
3. A single result should be returned. Click on the reference number.
4. Click on “Comment on this application”.
5. Enter your details, ensuring you select “objection” and type a short objection.
6. Click “submit”. You should receive an email confirmation shortly after.

If you want to view the full planning documents they can be found using the link below. There are many documents, however, the “Design & Access statement” is perhaps the most useful overview.

• https://planningregister.cherwell.gov.uk/Planning/Display/16/00472/OUT

Remember 

You need to act quickly as the deadline is the 6th of July.

Thank you for you support.