A BUNGALOW will be knocked down and turned into a block of five flats despite residents' firm objections.

The five flats will be in a single two-and-a-half storey building on Bicester Road, Kidlington and after the planning decision was deferred to allow a site visit, the application was approved at Wednesday's Cherwell planning committee.

It received 23 letters of objection with people most concerned about the increase in congestion it may bring to the already busy road, due to the provision of five parking spaces on the site.

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People were also concerned about the impact it will have on the environment, saying the council is not showing its commitment to the environment after declaring a climate emergency.

Cherwell Green Councillor for Kidlington East Ian Middleton is disappointed in the decision to approve the application.

He said: "Whilst I support the principle of increasing housing density in appropriate places, there are far too many of these applications being approved on such a busy road with an endemic on-street parking problem.

"I also have concerns that none of these new developments are being held to account on Cherwell's sustainable building policies, especially as the Bicester Road is in an air quality management area.

"These need to be strengthened and given some teeth, so they can be enforceable requirements rather than just aspirations."

The application was originally to be discussed at October's planning committee, then it was pushed back to November after the applicant made amendments.

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These included reducing the number of flats from six to five so that neighbours did not have a ‘loss of light, overlooking and loss of privacy’.

The plans did receive three letters of support and Oxfordshire County Council said the proposals do not have any ‘adverse impact’ on the local highway network, both from a traffic and safety point of view.

The local highway authority said the applicant must provide full details of cycle parking that is to be included on the site.

However residents previously said that they were worried about the safety of children going to and from Edward Feild Primary School which is off Bicester Road, due to the increase of cars on the road.

Resident, Lyn Townsend, said: “This very busy area gets very congested during rush hour and school drop-off times.

“Any further building developments and the introduction of more vehicles to the area will jeopardise the safety of pedestrians and spoil the residents’ enjoyment of their neighbourhood.”

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The highways report states that parking provision is considered acceptable because the site is located along a bus route that has services to Oxford and Bicester, coupled with Kidlington being one of the more sustainable settlements in Cherwell.

Resident Neil McCulloch, 55, who lives on the road, said: “This decision is extremely disappointing. It completely ignores the widespread opposition to endless development of flats on Bicester Road.

"It adds to traffic on an already dangerous congested street with a primary school on it. And it treats the Council’s own climate change policies with complete contempt.”