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More alarm at eco-town plan
2:15pm Wednesday 9th July 2008
Comments (10)Worried parish councillors in Kidlington believe plans to build 15,000 new homes north of the village would be a disaster for local businesses.
Parkridge, the developer behind the proposed eco-town near Weston-on-the-Green - dubbed Weston Otmoor - has organised a series of roadshows across the county to win over the public.
But Kidlington Parish Council contacted the Oxford Mail last night with grave concerns about the whole project.
Parish councillor Andrew Hornsby-Smith, also a member of Weston Front, the campaign group set up by Weston-on-the-Green residents to oppose the eco-town, said vital resources would also be directed away from Kidlington if the plans got approval.
He said: "If you give people a choice between taking a tram to take a train to take a bus to get to work in Oxford, or drive along the A34, they will drive along the A34.
"Why would people choose to live by the A34 and M40, if it wasn't to commute to different places by car?
"The A34 will be jammed and that will have a knock-on effect on businesses in Kidlington and the hauliers who use the road. If you block that road with traffic you screw industry for the South of England."
However, the parish council's primary concern was that the eco-town would stunt growth in Kidlington, the county's largest village.
Mr Hornsby-Smith explained: "In Kidlington we have put forward to the district council plans for 1,300 new homes on the basis of a local consultation last year.
"People want better shops and better facilities in the village and we need more houses to deliver what they want.
"The problem with Weston Otmoor is that the houses built there can be offset against the Government targets for the whole of Oxfordshire.
"Our work for Kidlington would be undermined by the eco-town.
"Weston Otmoor is in a far less sustainable location than Kidlington, which is on a premium bus route to Oxford. We believe the proposed town is in a location that will generate substantial commuting. Much of that will be to the main employment areas on the eastern and south eastern fringe of Oxford."
The deadline for Parkridge's consultation is Friday, August 29, after which the Government has said a shortlist of up to 10 eco-town sites will be announced.
If Weston Otmooor reaches this stage, Parkridge has promised to consult local people and stakeholders once again.
Your Say YourOxford Mail
luke, Oxford says...
3:15pm Wed 9 Jul 08
Keith, Bicester says...
4:57pm Wed 9 Jul 08
DR, WOTG says...
6:45pm Wed 9 Jul 08
...... an industrial estate / warehouse transport hub, at a key junction of major roads and a railway. The alleged "eco-town" will provide a secure supply of workers who are forced to live there and can't easily leave to get jobs anywhere else.
The business of ProLogis, the mutinational US company behind Parkridge, is to build warehousing and industrial distribution hubs at strategic transport locations - look at their web site! That is almost certainly what they want to get out of Weston Otmoor, and think of the heavy goods traffic that will bring to the roads around here, including Woodstock, and Oxford. If the people of Weston on the Green are NIMBYs, it is worth those living in the wider region having a think about just how large the back yard affected by a development like this will be.
Oh, and Wayne Hemingway, design guru and prominent member of the Government's EcoTown Challenge Panel that is advising on the merits of the proposals is also working for ....ProLogis, designing houses for one of their other schemes! Sure he won't let that influence him.
Then there's Caroline Flint's promise not to build on the green belt, which is achieved, it seems, by moving the green belt..... And the Government's promise that the proposals "will be decided by the normal planning process", which is achieved by the Government changing the normal process.
Then there's the issue about discriminating against the poor by placing a huge chunk of the region's social housing into a ghetto where the residents will not be allowed freedoms such as using cars that the rich living elsewhere take for granted. Weston Otmoor residents' access to jobs, schools and other services will be restricted to what is in Weston Otmoor or directly linked through the railway to Oxford.
There is a lot more to opposition to this scheme than NIMBYism. Please look at all these issues before condemning 30,000 people to live in this bizarre experiment.
Rockabilly Dude, Half Way To Memphis says...
10:25pm Wed 9 Jul 08
Mr Ison, England says...
12:05am Thu 10 Jul 08
John W. Whitworth, UK says...
1:38am Thu 10 Jul 08
But the plan for the current Parkridge roadshow has no power station. It's gone completely to be replaced by houses.
How can they be allowed to submit one plan to the government to get shortlisted and another to the people for consultation? It's outrageous!
Terry, Kidlington says...
7:32am Thu 10 Jul 08
Niko Bellic, Liberty City says...
7:59am Thu 10 Jul 08
I blame Henman
Rockabilly Dude, Half Way To Memphis says...
5:41pm Sat 12 Jul 08
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lets build, woodstock says...
3:01pm Wed 9 Jul 08