Save Rousham and our Countryside
The Issue
Rousham - one of Britain's best preserved 18th Century landscape gardens, Grade I listed and open to the public every day of the year - is under immediate and grave threat. So too are surrounding villages.
A planning application proposes up to 9,000 new houses; industrial buildings; hotels; offices; schools; wind turbines and a gigantic 42m high tower block at Heyford Park. It also includes building on greenfield land.
The planning application is out for public re-consultation until 7th November 2026. If you would like to have your say, please send your objection to Cherwell District Council on their planning portal or by email to planning@cherwell-dc.gov.uk, quoting application 25/02190/HYBRID and providing your name and address. You do not need to live in the district or the UK to submit an objection. Please also see our latest update for important new evidence on heritage, traffic and PFAS contamination at Heyford Park.
These proposals would harm the rural views that are integral to Rousham's importance as a world class garden; they would endanger our local communities and conservation areas; upset flora, fauna and a delicate ecosystem and exacerbate flooding. They would also cause a vast increase in traffic, bringing bottlenecks and hold-ups, threatening the medieval bridge that runs through Rousham and further degrading unsuitable roads. The nearby small, rural train station at Heyford would become a major transport hub. These excessive plans are contrary to the will of the local communities, democratically expressed through the Mid-Cherwell Neighbourhood Plan.
Development on this colossal scale would severely damage the rural character of this area and the setting of Rousham, recognised internationally as one of the most important gardens in Britain. It would mean environmental havoc; light pollution; noise and intolerable pressure on infrastructure and public services.
How You Can Help:
- Please submit an objection to Cherwell District Council by 7th November 2026 through the planning portal or by email to planning@cherwell-dc.gov.uk - quoting application 25/02190/HYBRID with your name and address
- Please sign this petition and share widely - public support is essential
Thank you for helping us to protect Rousham and the surrounding countryside for future generations.
10,210
The Issue
Rousham - one of Britain's best preserved 18th Century landscape gardens, Grade I listed and open to the public every day of the year - is under immediate and grave threat. So too are surrounding villages.
A planning application proposes up to 9,000 new houses; industrial buildings; hotels; offices; schools; wind turbines and a gigantic 42m high tower block at Heyford Park. It also includes building on greenfield land.
The planning application is out for public re-consultation until 7th November 2026. If you would like to have your say, please send your objection to Cherwell District Council on their planning portal or by email to planning@cherwell-dc.gov.uk, quoting application 25/02190/HYBRID and providing your name and address. You do not need to live in the district or the UK to submit an objection. Please also see our latest update for important new evidence on heritage, traffic and PFAS contamination at Heyford Park.
These proposals would harm the rural views that are integral to Rousham's importance as a world class garden; they would endanger our local communities and conservation areas; upset flora, fauna and a delicate ecosystem and exacerbate flooding. They would also cause a vast increase in traffic, bringing bottlenecks and hold-ups, threatening the medieval bridge that runs through Rousham and further degrading unsuitable roads. The nearby small, rural train station at Heyford would become a major transport hub. These excessive plans are contrary to the will of the local communities, democratically expressed through the Mid-Cherwell Neighbourhood Plan.
Development on this colossal scale would severely damage the rural character of this area and the setting of Rousham, recognised internationally as one of the most important gardens in Britain. It would mean environmental havoc; light pollution; noise and intolerable pressure on infrastructure and public services.
How You Can Help:
- Please submit an objection to Cherwell District Council by 7th November 2026 through the planning portal or by email to planning@cherwell-dc.gov.uk - quoting application 25/02190/HYBRID with your name and address
- Please sign this petition and share widely - public support is essential
Thank you for helping us to protect Rousham and the surrounding countryside for future generations.
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Petition created on 3 December 2025