The owners of Wicklesham Quarry SSSI claim Faringdon residents voted to concrete over the whole of Wicklesham Farm- and that it is ‘safeguarded’ for development in Faringdon Neighbourhood Plan. The farm, shown above in pink, south of the A420, is over 362 acres. It was put forward in the Vale District council’s ‘Call for land’. You can see this map on the Vale’s website. https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/83c42d77f9104794a8cb49a815ff2352
The claim is made in the application for a screening opinion to Oxfordshire County Council. There can be no doubt: the current proposal for a huge industrial infrastructure development in Wicklesham Quarry SSSI- seven 80’ high blocks, a massively polluting data centre, and two multi-storey car parks – is the first step in the landowners’ plan to DOUBLE the size of Faringdon.
If permitted a massive industrial development at Wicklesham Quarry SSSI would turn the A420 and roads in Faringdon into a solid traffic jam. Local people are already well aware of the existing traffic problems on the A420, which grinds to a halt on a daily basis, creating gridlock in Faringdon itself.
Air pollution would reach horrendous levels, both from traffic and from the black clouds of diesel fumes created by a data centre, which use hundreds of diesel generators as back-up, whenever there is an interruption in electricity. (The intended use of diesel generators is confirmed in the application itself.) Data centres use as much electricity and water as medium sized towns. See more here: https://www.change.org/p/the-vale-of-white-horse-district-council-and-secretary-of-state-michael-gove-protect-wicklesham-quarry-from-development/u/31633411
Fewer than a thousand residents voted for this neighbourhood plan. Thousands more were deeply suspicious of the role played by the landowners. Together with their agent, the landowners sat on the 3 -person ‘Employment Land Group’, & wrote the policies themselves, as well as the travesty of so-called ‘evidence’ used to justify them. Should we be surprised that Faringdon residents say they were MISLED by the fraudulent claims of this neighbourhood plan?
The neighbourhood plan failed to tell people that Wicklesham Quarry was:
- A Priority Habitat, with a European Protected Species- Great Crested Newts,
- Part of West Oxfordshire Heights Conservation Target Area, for the restoration of rare habitats and species in Oxfordshire’s Biodiversity Action Plan.
The neighbourhood plan wrongly claimed Wicklesham Quarry was a
- brownfield site, and tried unlawfully to
- override planning conditions to restore the land to agricultural use.
In 2017 the High Court ruled that the policy to build on Wicklesham Quarry SSSI was in conflict with the Local Plan. The judgment states:
“Neither the examiner nor the District Council were lawfully satisfied that the FNP satisfied the basic condition that the making of the plan was in general conformity with the strategic policies contained in the development plan”.
GET READY to submit YOUR VIEWS on this proposal SOON.
A new planning process is ABOUT TO START on the proposal for this development- which would permanently destroy Faringdon’s most important environmental site for earth sciences and biodiversity - UNLESS WE STOP IT.
You can read more about why Wicklesham Quarry SSSI is internationally famous on the main page of the Petition to Protect Wicklesham Quarry from Development (link below). At the bottom of the page are ‘More updates’ which give plenty of information to help YOU decide what is important. A recent update on ‘The mystery of Wicklesham Quarry’ gives more details about the famous SSSI. https://www.change.org/p/the-vale-of-white-horse-district-council-and-secretary-of-state-michael-gove-protect-wicklesham-quarry-from-development/u/31749365
ONLY OUR VOICES WILL HELP TO STOP THIS! I will post a link to the planning application once it is available.
Local Wicklesham supporters- GET READY FOR A CALL FOR HELP. We must work together to let the people of Faringdon know what is happening on their doorstep! If we don’t no one else will!
If you have any questions, comments, or want to see documents or evidence, please email protect wicklesham@gmail.com. I will do my best to help.