Watlington Relief Road planning application will not be decided in March

Watlington Relief Road planning application will NOT be decided in March

Oxfordshire Roads Action Alliance asked for clarification from the County Council on the likelihood of a decision regarding its planning application for the Watlington Relief Road being made in March.

ORAA has objected to the planning application, as have three surrounding parishes. Its question followed the public statement from Watlington’s county and district councillor, and MP, that the County’s Planning & Regulation Committee would decide the application at its last scheduled meeting of the current administration on 31st March. The MP’s statement followed the controversial award of £11.1m towards the £19.3m scheme in the County’s capital budget for 2025/26. Funding for the road capacity scheme as active travel was heavily criticised but the County says “the requisite information was compiled and submitted” to attract almost 75% of the fund for active travel and market town improvement to the WRR scheme over other investments. The MP told the press: “I am glad that the Liberal Democrats are delivering on a scheme that has been promised for far too long.” The final hurdle was the planning committee meeting in March, he said.

ORAA asked the county: Given the information requested by the Local Planning Authority is extensive and includes environmental and ecological information that is time sensitive, will this have been provided and uploaded onto the planning portal to allow for the necessary processes prior to a P&RC meeting stated by the MP as 31st March, including the advertising and contacting of participants in public consultation and allowing time for responses which can reasonably be asked by consultees to be extended?

The County has confirmed to ORAA: “It is no longer possible for all steps to be carried out to enable the application to go to Committee on 31^st March.”

The description of the development has changed. A bridleway between Watlington and Pyrton is no longer proposed and junctions from Pyrton Lane onto the relief road are included. The County said the changes were necessary following the receipt of consultation responses and the issuing of the Regulation 25 letter from the County Planning Authority. “The applicant has sought to overcome the concerns raised. In doing so it has been necessary to slightly amend the description of development so that it more accurately reflected the altered proposals. The changes are set out within the Reg25 Response Document that accompanied the revised drawings – submitted in October 2024.” said the County.

The P&RC meeting at the end of March was the last scheduled planning committee meeting of the current administration. It will be in its pre-election period prior to 1st May county council elections.

ORAA asked: How would the County Council justify during the pre-election period using its resources and civil servants on the proposed Watlington Relief Road, or that the planning application could be progressed fairly given its controversy during the pre-election period?

A spokesperson for the County said: “National guidance on local authority publicity does not impose any restriction on the Council’s ability to determine planning applications during the pre-election period. The pre-election period does not mean that the normal business of the council ceases.”

The planning application has objections from statutory consultees including the Environment Agency and a request for deferral from government agency Active Travel England. The County Council’s road safety and highway standards team have said the application should not be decided on road safety concerns. South Oxfordshire District Council also requested the application is not decided at this time. The County’s Climate Action Team says building the road will increase vehicle miles travelled. It would not contribute to tackling climate change.

The County’s planning authority says to progress the application, further information is required on:

• Landscape and visual impacts
• Arboriculture
• Biodiversity
• Drainage and Flooding
• Heritage
• Transport

“Many of the comments received have commented on and/or expressed concerns about the proposed
development that may have implications for how it is assessed against development plan policies and other material considerations, and you should seek to take this opportunity to address them accordingly through amendments and additional information to be submitted,” said the LPA. Handling arrangements for the application will be updated.

ORAA maintains its objection. The road is not needed for housing planned in the area. Developers have agreed to implement, at their cost, off-site highway improvements and traffic management that will improve journeys for many people, without the need to build the road.