Sir, while I agree with Philip Clarke the road he refers to (Bicester Advertiser, March 5) is totally inadequate and needs the attention of Oxfordshire County Council, I feel he is using this as an excuse to take attention away from the ongoing developments within Chesterton.


The development he refers to off Green Lane was vigorously supported by the parish council despite it encroaching on agricultural back land and contravening the then current Local Plan for Chesterton.

To Cherwell District Council’s credit this application was rejected by the planning committee three times and only gained permission on the second appeal, largely due to the parish council’s active representation and support. The parish council was warned by me, and others, that if permission were granted for this development then a precedent would have been set and it would be difficult, if not impossible, to oppose further development. It would effectively open the floodgates. Indeed this has proved to be the case and the planning committee was advised by the senior planning officer a refusal decision for the latest development would prove very difficult to defend at an appeal in view of the approval gained for the development behind Green Lane.


In total approximately 150 additional houses have either gained permission or are in the planning process, which will increase the number of house in the village by 50 per cent. Do the residents of the village celebrate the prospect of a huge increase in traffic, pressure on the village school, not to mention the effect on the character and identity of the village? Philip Clarke and the parish council are responsible for being incredibly short-sighted in stubbornly pursuing an agenda that has directly resulted in unleashing the current situation. It did this despite the fact it did not have the support of the majority of the villagers and has directly resulted in significant harm to the village.
In my opinion, when compared to the damage caused to the village by the scale of the development, the issue of the road pales into insignificance.


David Chapman, Chesterton