West Oxfordshire District Council has confirmed that the Salt Cross Garden Village Area Action Plan (AAP) has now been approved by the Planning Inspectorate. Only minor modifications were made, preserving the District Council’s climate-conscious specifications.
Residents will likely have followed the lengthy process of getting the AAP approved without the modifications that would remove many of the District Council’s ambitions around net-zero. Read more about it in our previous article.
The Planning Inspector’s report will now be discussed by the District Council’s Executive at a meeting on 11 February before being considered for adoption at a Full Council meeting on 25 February.
Once adopted, Salt Cross Garden Village developers will be able to start submitting planning applications for the various stages of the project. This development will ultimately see around 2,200 new homes built on a site north of the A40, near Eynsham. There is a designated website for the Salt Cross Garden Village development that will be updated as the project develops; find it here: Home - Salt Cross
Leader of the District Council, Cllr Andy Graham, commented following the Planning Inspectorate's decision:
“Salt Cross has always aimed high, and the Inspector’s report shows that we were right to do so….Despite legal challenges and changing national policy, we’ve held the line and delivered a robust, ambitious plan that responds directly to the challenges we face, from the climate emergency to the need for well-planned, sustainable growth.
“Salt Cross will be a place that reflects the values of our district – sustainable, forward-looking, and built to last. We also hope it will serve as a model for other local authorities seeking to deliver genuinely climate-conscious development through the planning system. The lessons from Salt Cross can help raise the bar nationally.”
Read more about this news on the District Council website. We will keep residents informed on the development of Salt Cross via our website.