500 homes at campus near Oxford 'immense danger' fears

Housebuilder, Crest Nicholson, recently bought Wheatley Campus from Oxford Brookes University and has plans to build 500 homes on the site.

Initially in 2018, the university was refused outline planning permission to demolish its Wheatley Campus.

READ MORE: Emergency services called to major Oxford route

However, this decision was successfully appealed and overturned by the government in April 2020.

Car leaves Wheatley Campus (Image: Ed Nix)

Householders have warned they are “extremely worried” about the vehicular access to the site, as the main road available to motorists accessing the site will be Waterperry Road.

This has been described as a "very narrow road" leading to Wheatley.

CLICK BELOW TO SUBSCRIBE TO ED'S WEEKLY POLITICS NEWSLETTER FOR FREE

Sign up to Ed Halford's free weekly Politics newsletter here (Image: Newsquest)

Commenting on the public planning portal, a couple living in the village said the new homes will “create immense danger for pedestrians in Holton” by “massively increasing traffic flow” along roads which schoolchildren walk along.

A common fear is that the nearest schools and GP practices are "already oversubscribed" and would "struggle to cope with more motorists and demand for school places".

A narrow road in Holton (Image: Contributed)

Currently, the main concern of villagers’ is that vehicles will only be able to access the site via two junctions on Waterperry Road.

Wheatley villager John Wolstenholme said the village was already used as a “rat-run between the motorway and the mini plant” and highlighted that Waterperry Road was always busy due to it being a “popular walking and cycling route”.

A Waterperry Road householder commented on the portal that the idea of all 500 homeowners exiting the development onto the road where he lives was “bonkers”.

A car travelling through Holton village (Image: Contributed)

He acknowledged the “need for new and most importantly affordable housing” was “very real” but said there was a lack of “necessary infrastructure” to accommodate the expected increase in the local population.

Holton Parish Council has warned the current plans for vehicular access “create the potential for a major incident” due to the likely traffic flows through Holton.

Road through Holton (Image: Contributed)

In the council’s response to the planning application, it said: “In reality, much of the site generated traffic will, in order to avoid the congestion that will arise on the Wheatley roads, pass along the narrow village road through Holton which has no pavements.”

The council added: “The volume and speed of the traffic through the village is already a cause of great concern to the residents because of the danger to pedestrians in particular and an increase of hundreds of additional vehicles will create the potential for a major incident”.

Oxfordshire County Council has also highlighted the “deletion of western access” to the site means it will be more difficult for public transport services to access the development.

The council said: “On that basis, it is likely that it would not be possible to serve the site by bus at all, given the lack of available services.”

Currently, the local bus services, the U1 and the U5X, access the site by travelling through Wheatley.

In the planning application’s ‘Transport Assessment’, SWECO, acting on behalf of Oxford Brookes University, stated: “It is proposed that both site accesses will be on Waterperry Road to the east of the site.

“This will comprise of the existing College Close access, and an additional access approximately 90m south of the existing access.”

Wheatley Parish Council has also objected to the development going ahead and have referenced the same traffic concerns expressed in Holton Parish Council’s objections.

The council has suggested that both villages will be overwhelmed with motorists, who are on their way to accessing the A40.

Marni Barnard, who lives by the village green in Holton, said her main fear was that householders would become “trapped” by the influx of traffic from the development.

She explained: “It is going to be a nightmare and cars will invariably back on to the A40.”

Ms Barnard warned that villagers in Holton and Wheatley will have to experience a permanent “traffic log-jam” and school children will be at a greater risk when walking along the village’s narrow pavements.

An Oxford Brookes University spokesman said: “Oxford Brookes University remains committed to moving all of its activity from the Wheatley Campus to improve the student experience.

"Doing so will allow the site to be redeveloped for housing and contribute towards the delivery of much needed homes, in accordance with the Local Plan allocation.

"Detailed work has been undertaken that demonstrates that both a previously approved access scheme and an alternative access arrangement  for the site would be appropriate both to the housing development and surrounding area.

"As part of the ongoing planning process, the university will continue to engage with local authorities and stakeholders on the development of this work and in ensuring the most appropriate access scheme is taken forward.”

The developer has said 35 per cent of the homes would be affordable.