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WHATS HAPPENING TO THE PARKER KNOLL SITE?

Some people are losing track - not surprisingly. Parker Knoll submitted a Planning Application to build on their site several months ago - a mix of housing, community facilities and a ludicrously small allocation of land for employment purposes. They didn't get a fast enough answer so they appealed. This means the decision on that application was taken out of the District's hands.  In a well-established ploy by developers they then submitted a second identical application to the WODC. This is like saying "OK we'll negotiate with you on this second application but the original one is still there moving along an Appeal track. We'll see which horse we back when we know where we get to with you". Everyone expects the second application to be rejected at a District Planning Meeting - probably in February. That is when the real talking will begin. Its getting urgent that the town makes its own constructive views known to feed into that discussion process. A group of business people in the town have become increasingly concerned that the town has not been saying clearly enough just what it wants to see happen. They have been getting some serious professional advice. The group have discussed their ideas with a number of council officers and consulted with local politicians. They have put their proposal into a draft letter to the WODC and hope to get the backing of the Town Council next Monday.   READ THE LETTER IN FULL

UPDATE: The Town Council decided on Monday by a margin of one vote that it couldn't endorse the letter. The majority felt that the town should stay with its stated position of insisting that the whole of the present Parker Knoll site should be preserved for employment, and that any variation to this position would send out mixed signals. They also believed that efforts to persuade Parker Knoll to stay should continue and the company should be given no encouragement to think they may be about to get residential planning permission for even part of the site. They felt there were parts of the letter which they could support but nobody said what they were. The minority group felt that events had now moved on. The Oxford County Council had already accepted the principle of mixed use for the site and the District Planners were beginning to address the issue of what type of new employment provision would be required - as well as the acreage. Both parties feel that the site should not be considered in isolation. The letter attempted to express what was best for the town in the event that Parker Knoll do leave and a plan is needed which covers both sites (ie Parker Knoll and the County- owned site directly opposite which has been scheduled for housing in the Local Plan). The minority group were worried that if the town did not stake out its long-term vision now, they might miss the chance to do so altogether - since events would probably start moving quickly soon.

Its more a disagreement on tactics than principle. Both groups are concerned above all about  how to keep 400 jobs in the town. The experienced majority have won the argument so they must now play their hand. We all wish them luck. A revised letter will still be sent but from individuals rather than with the formal support of any organisation.

The majority who opposed endorsing the letter were: Councillors Graves, Grantham, Coles, Burrows, Evans and Jarrett. The minority voting to endorse the letter were Councillors Hannant, Alcock, Galbraith, Wills-Wright and Qadir. Councillors Stephenson and Simmons abstained. Councillors Davidson and Wilkes were absent. Councillor Beacham had withdrawn from the discussion and vote- having declared an interest.

PLANNING COMMITTEE UNANIMOUSLY REJECT PARKER KNOLL APPLICATION

Parker Knoll's application for a mixed use development on their London Road site has already gone to Appeal (scheduled for June 22) The power to determine this proposal now rests with the Planning Inspectorate. On Jan 5th the Upland Planning Committee of the Council had to decide what it would have done had it been able to determine this application. Their decision and the reasons for it will now form the basis of the Council’s case at the public inquiry. The Committee unanimously endorsed the conclusion of the Planning Officer's Report which was to refuse the application for the following reasons:

1 That the proposal would result in an unacceptable loss of employment land and undermine the Council’s policies to protect the supply of useful employment sites and thereby enhance Chipping Norton as a sustainable local centre.
2 The proposal does not make adequate provision for supporting infrastructure. Furthermore the proposal makes insufficient and unsatisfactory provision to deliver housing to meet identified local housing needs.