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Search the Public Notice PortalPlans for the next phase of a large housing estate at a former Oxfordshire airbase have been submitted despite ‘forever chemical’ concerns.
The reserved matters application has been submitted to Cherwell District Council for parcels 17, 18 and 34 on the former RAF Upper Heyford base near Bicester.
This 62-homes plan, with associated roads, footways, parking, landscaping and community orchard, also proposes a sports park and pitches with car parking.
It forms part of a wider Heyford Park application by Dorchester Living, which could ultimately see up to 9,000 homes built on the site.
However, campaigners argue this level of disturbance is unsafe, as a multi-agency investigation into per‑ and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the area is underway.
The local planning authority, alongside Bicester MP Calum Miller, have called on the Government to pull together to understand the risks of the man-made chemicals, historically used in fire-fighting foams.
Environment Agency and third-party investigations found PFAS in watercourses near Heyford Park, with some PFOS levels, seen in firefighting foams, up to 43,000 times above UK standards.
More recently, public Ministry of Defence documents also indicate that historic contamination risks were identified at the former base, but were not tested in historic land quality assessment.
Timothy Moore from Upper Heyford submitted his views on the planning portal, calling for the application to be refused on the basis that it fails to adequately address contamination risks.
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He said: "No further development should be permitted until independent verification confirms that contamination has been fully remediated to a standard safe for residential use, in accordance with environmental health requirements and relevant planning policy."
Andrew Selway, of Heyford Park, also rejected the application, stating it should not proceed unless it can be demonstrated that the proposed development can proceed "without causing unacceptable harm".
He said: "Given these ongoing investigations, I do not believe it is appropriate for substantial intrusive groundworks to proceed without up-to-date, parcel-specific contamination investigations which specifically consider PFAS where appropriate.
"The proposed excavation has the potential to disturb soils, alter drainage pathways and mobilise contaminants if present.
"The local planning authority should not rely solely upon historic investigations undertaken many years ago, particularly where environmental understanding has changed significantly."
He says "transparency is essential" for what investigations have and will take place for residents to understand the risks.
He added: "The absence of this information only increases public concern and undermines confidence in the planning process.
"Transparency is essential, particularly where development involves intrusive excavation on land that is already subject to ongoing environmental investigations."
