THE Vale District Council Local Plan Part 2 is out for consultation and is managing to squeeze through a plan for an increase of an additional 2,000 homes on top of the figures shown in Part 1 of the plan.

The Strategic Market Housing Assessment (SHMA) prepared for Oxfordshire a few years ago required 20,560 homes to be built in the Vale to house the increase in population required for the projected growth in employment in the 'Science Vale' (Harwell, Culham and Milton Park, mostly).

As Oxford City has limited space, the Government says that the Vale has to build more houses to cope with Oxford’s overflow and last year the councils spread out the requirement with the Vale agreeing to take an additional 2,200.

That adds up to a total of 22,760 homes to build in the Vale (without using much Green Belt, Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty or the land required for the possible Thames Reservoir).

Yet the Local Plan Part 2 is allocating land for 24,718 dwellings.

No detailed explanation is given for the increase except that it will 'complement the spatial strategy and support infrastructure delivery'.

The National Planning Policy Framework requires all new development to be 'sustainable' and to contribute to the infrastructure required by the new residents. So how can additional housing be required to support infrastructure? All development must support infrastructure or it’s not sustainable.

We only need new schools, better roads, more health facilities and leisure facilities because we have more housing.

Developers have to contribute to these costs and the council gets a 'New Homes Bonus' and extra council tax from every new home built.

The housing target has increased but this has not been publicised. Why not? And why is the increase needed at all?

The SHMA projected the increase in jobs in the Science Vale and calculated the number of homes required.

We believed then and still believe now that those targets were too high and that the infrastructure in the Vale can’t cope with that level of growth.

Now without any detailed justification the Vale planners are increasing the housing target. Are they hoping that we won’t notice?

Well, we have noticed that they are trying to slip an additional 2,000 homes into the plans.

If you have a view on whether these are needed, then please write to the planning policy team at the Vale and let them know what you think.

They can be contacted at planning.policy@whitehorsedc.gov.uk