Consultation closes on 10th October- get your objection in NOW!
The proposal for a vast 33,592 sq m commercial/ industrial development at Wicklesham Quarry SSSI is a stalking horse that will be used to justify the applicants’ aim to build on the whole farm of over 362 acres. If the applicants obtain planning permission, by misusing a neighbourhood plan to try to circumvent the Local Plan, it will immediately be obvious that this proposal WAS NEVER INTENDED TO BENEFIT THE TOWN OR PEOPLE OF FARINGDON. It was always a stalking horse for unplanned, urban development.
The cynical exploitation of a neighbourhood plan, and the pretence that Wicklesham quarry would be used for ‘local development’ – even though the site has been repeatedly rejected by the Vale of White Horse District Council – is part of a long-standing strategy by the owners of Wicklesham Farm.
You can read about how this application fails to meet the ‘conditions’ of Faringdon neighbourhood plan's Policy 4.5B 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/32909856
Submit your comments to the consultation online here: https://myeplanning.oxfordshire.gov.uk/Planning/Comment/MW.0151/23/ or by email to: planning@oxfordshire.gov.uk.
FARINGDON’S HISTORY OF EXCESS LAND ALLOCATION
Faringdon has a history of seeking to allocate excess, unnecessary ‘employment land’, for which there is no evidence of demand, over and above the strategic allocations of the Local Plan. This has been driven by local landowners seeking to convert agricultural land for urban development for profit, with demonstrably adverse effects on the town itself.
In 2008 the landowner of Wicklesham Quarry made a speech to the Vale of White Horse District Council on “the successful allocation of much-needed B1/B2 employment land, now known as the 4&20 Business Park.” Mr Allen-Stevens said:
“Faringdon businesses were grateful to the District Council for allowing the leeway in the last Local Plan for the 4&20 Business Park to progress. It was attracting a lot of interest from businesses looking to expand, relocate or come afresh to Faringdon, despite the credit crunch, which was great news.” Now, he urged them to allocate Wicklesham Quarry claiming “that it offered considerable advantages to be Faringdon’s industrial centre”.
So what became of Faringdon's '4&20 Business Park’? The answer is: NOTHING. It NEVER existed. After being included in the Local Plan as 'employment land' following intense lobbying by the landowners, predictably, with backing from Faringdon Council, it failed to attract a buyer from 2004 to 2015. The 2008 speech by Mr Allen-Stevens was the usual hype we have heard over many years from this landowner and his sister, as they have relentlessly pursued the aim of allocating their own farmland for urban development, in excess of what the town actually needs. In this project they have been consistently supported by Faringdon Town and District Councillors.
The resulting excess allocations of ‘employment land’ have had predictable effects, gradually killing off parts of the town. After ten years of advertising the ‘4&20 Business Park’ – in which no one showed any interest – the owners obtained permission by default for an unplanned, out-of-town retail park. This use, in conflict with the Local Plan, would never have been granted permission in its own right. However, the ‘business park’ formed a stepping stone that gave them presumptive permission for an alternative use. The effects of edge-of-town supermarkets on town centre retail businesses and premises have been predictably adverse. Faringdon’s principal supermarket closed in 2018 and the premises have been unused for the past six years. Two butchers have closed, and several small shops, mainly independent businesses, and pubs. The town centre is full of empty premises. All this was the wholly foreseeable outcome of excess land allocation and unplanned development.
Unless local people SPEAK OUT, a similar fate is visible on the horizon involving the town’s most important environmental site, Wicklesham Quarry SSSI- which is OUTSIDE the town’s development boundary- a fact which sets an important precedent for the applicants' long-term plan. WICKLESHAM QUARRY IS A STALKING HORSE FOR BUILDING ON WICKLESHAM FARM – AS THE MAP OF THE ‘CALL FOR LAND’ (above) DEMONSTRATES.
The proposal does NOT MEET Policy 4.5B of Faringdon neighbourhood plan (see link above), because there is NO EVIDENCE OF ‘DEMONSTRABLE NEED’ FOR A VAST COMMERCIAL/ INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT - or even a small one - at Wicklesham Quarry. The town contains sites earmarked for redevelopment for employment use in the neighbourhood plan, which have not been used. There are numerous empty offices in the town centre, and industrial units available to rent at Volunteer Way, Pioneer Road, and RAC Estate. The creation of even more industrial/ office space outside the town itself will make letting existing commercial properties even more difficult, with further adverse effects on the town itself.
The allocation of excess land, leading to unplanned development of sites such as the 4&20 site, undermines the strategic policies of the Local Plan. Faringdon is a prime example of this. It is why the neighbourhood plan was found by the High Court to be ‘in conflict with the strategic policies of the Local Plan’: Wicklesham Quarry is outside the development boundary.
The claim made in Faringdon over many years that the town ‘needs more employment land’ comes from landowners themselves, but it is not supported by long and bitter experience of numerous businesses in Faringdon itself. Nor is it supported by the Vale of White Horse District Council, which is responsible for strategic allocations of employment land based on the objective analyses of Employment Land Reviews. In theses analyses, Wicklesham Quarry has been consistently REJECTED.
There is every reason to suppose the same process of unplanned development would happen again with Wicklesham Quarry. It has been advertised for sale since 2021 without attracting a buyer. There is no reason to believe planning permission would make the site any more attractive to a prospective purchaser, AS THE APPLICANTS ARE FULLY AWARE. And once it predictably fails to attract firms to Faringdon- the applicants’ intentions are ALREADY MAPPED OUT – as shown above. They intend to BUILD ON THE WHOLE OF WICKLESHAM FARM, using Wicklesham Quarry as their justification. Wicklesham Quarry is just a stalking horse for their real aims.
Faringdon Councillors are in denial of the fact that these applicants have taken them for a ride- both at the 4&20 site, and now, once again, at Wicklesham Quarry. Unless the people of Faringdon act NOW to prevent it, the future of the town will be dictated by people who have only ONE AIM IN MIND- PROFIT, regardless of what becomes of the town, its businesses, landscape and rural environment, or the impacts on the lives of its residents.
The consultation closes on 10th OCTOBER. MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD WHILE YOU STILL HAVE A CHANCE!
Please keep in touch! Email: protectwicklesham@gmail.com