People worried 3,100 house plan for Bicester will overwhelm Bucknell

Forming part of the wider 6,000 home eco-town off the B4100 Banbury Road, which has already been given the greenlight in the Local Plan, the plans have been put forward by Hallam Land Management comprising a 177 hectare site.

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It would be called Hawkwell Village and include up to 3,100 homes and a mixed-use local centre with takeaways, a pub and wine bar.

But people who live in Bucknell, a village to the northwest of the proposed site, say they didn't know about the project and were not consulted before the planning application was submitted to Cherwell District Council on December 23, 2021.

NW Bicester Masterplan

Heather Lawson, who has lived in Bucknell for seven years, said: "I had to put leaflets through people's letterboxes asking, 'are you aware of this?'. Around 50 people had no idea this was going on. The developer has been trying to keep this under the radar.

"At the moment, it’s a proposal, but if we don’t make a big enough protest it will be too late - it will go through planning."

Heather is concerned that because of the huge scale of the estate with its boundary close to Bucknell's, it will make Bucknell look like an extension of Bicester, losing its distinctive village character.

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Hawkwell Village site location is marked in red. Pic via Cherwell Distrct Council planning portal

She added: "There’s this feeling of ‘lets build as much as we can' and they’re not looking 20 or 30 years into the future. In the meantime our village is already becoming a rat run.

"I’m sure something will go through, but at least reduce the number of homes. We can’t let them walk all over us.

"A village like ours is just going to be swallowed-up. This isn’t going to be a village, it's going to be an extension of Bicester."

The massive site would also be home to informal open space, allotments, burial ground and play areas.

Illustrative CGI of the site showing open space

Tying in with the eco ethos of the area, a solar farm is proposed, sustainable drainage systems, and new highway, cycle and pedestrian routes.

Heather, as well as other people in Bucknell who object to the plans, say they are also worried about the influx of vehicles the new site would bring and the impact building could have on the village's flooding problems.

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A Hallam Land Management spokesperson said: "We have created a consultation website to give people easy access to the materials, with information summarised in consultation boards, and which was used for a virtual exhibition ahead of the submission of the application.

"This also hosts a web-link to all of the planning documentation on the Council’s website, where people can submit comments, which will be analysed and considered by Hallam and separately by Cherwell District Council, as the Local Planning Authority.’’

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