West Oxfordshire District Council approves plan to build 1,000 homes in west Witney (From Oxford Mail)
Get involved: send your photos, videos, news & views by texting OXFORD NEWS to 80360 or email us
West Oxfordshire District Council approves plan to build 1,000 homes in west Witney
3:34pm Monday 18th March 2013 in News
By Tom Jennings, covering Witney and West Oxfordshire. Call me on 01865 425403
COUNCILLORS have granted permission in principle for 1,000 homes west of Witney.
West Oxfordshire District Council's lowlands area planning subcommittee has agreed the application this afternoon.
The plan will bring with it a new junction on the A40 at Downs Road, at least 30 per cent affordable housing, a new primary school and space - if needed - for a new secondary school.
It will also provide £100,000 developer funding towards reopening the Corn Exchange and £250,000 towards revamping facilities at West Witney Sports Ground.
Comments(10)
Patrick in Devon
says...
6:54pm Mon 18 Mar 13
Dreaming Spires
says...
11:01pm Mon 18 Mar 13
Phian
says...
11:02pm Mon 18 Mar 13
I have heard it suggested that a line could run beside the A40 but where would it terminate at each end, who owns the land and how much would it cost ?
PDplum
says...
8:31am Tue 19 Mar 13
Kirst1712
says...
8:48am Tue 19 Mar 13
Andrew:Oxford
says...
9:25am Tue 19 Mar 13
Phian wrote:There was a line in the olden days, some of the former trackbed is built over.
where would this rail line be laid ?
I have heard it suggested that a line could run beside the A40 but where would it terminate at each end, who owns the land and how much would it cost ?
In other European countries, such as Scotland, reopening of railway lines is quite common. The Alloa line, Airdrie-Bathgate and now the Borders route.
Even in England HS1 was opened between London and the channel tunnel.
Essentially if you can identify a 4 metre strip of land, then a single track railway can be built.
I'd say the terminuses should be Carterton and the Oxford Business Park via Oxford Railway Station.
You are right to query how much it would cost though. I mean, would the people of Witney & Carterton really be prepared to give up sitting in their on the A40 in return for a 15 minute journey into central Oxford?
amber leaf
says...
10:45am Tue 19 Mar 13
Andrew:Oxford
says...
11:03am Tue 19 Mar 13
amber leaf wrote:Is "millions" really such a lot of money?
there is no chance their a rail line between carterton - witney- oxford it would cost millions to install !!! come on now people wake up u all know full well this not going to happen ........
If you think about it, if on average each space in the Westgate carpark in Oxford is occupied for just 4 hours a day that's £6M a year in revenue...
Weak hand-wringing anxieties over car use and congestion doesn't solve the problem of getting 2000 people to work. Even if they all used the bus, that's an additional 33 double deckers going across the Swinford toll bridge during the morning and evening peak just to accommodate them.
xjohnx
says...
5:55pm Tue 19 Mar 13
Andrew:Oxford says...
6:24pm Mon 18 Mar 13
How about a light-rail link to Oxford?