Parish Council issues strong rejection of Vale's IHSP Document
Ashbury Parish Council issued a strong rejection of the Vale of the White Horse Interim Housing Supply Policy (IHSP) document. The full response from Ashbury Parish Council is available online.
The Vale's IHSP document distributes houses around the Vale according to the size of each village: Ashbury's allocation was 19 houses, all to be built by 2014.
The full IHSP planning document can be read at
The Ashbury Parish Council response was driven primarily by the results of the village meeting held in the Village Hall on the 22nd of November.
In brief, the majority view expressed was that there was no great objection to limited development in the parish, especially if this was accompanied by the prospect of increased facilities and had a bias towards smaller properties. There was a strong feeling that this was being thrust upon us too quickly as a result of poor management at District (VWHDC) level.
In brief, the majority view expressed was that there was no great objection to limited development in the parish, especially if this was accompanied by the prospect of increased facilities and had a bias towards smaller properties. There was a strong feeling that this was being thrust upon us too quickly as a result of poor management at District (VWHDC) level.
The earlier ORCC survey (see Ashbury Housing Needs Survey 2011) indicated a possible “affordable housing” need for 4-6 residents. There was a large majority in favour of this way of enabling individuals or families with a true connection to the parish to stay in ‘not for sale’ properties built on “exception sites” and restricted to villagers. The results are available publicly, as above.
The proposed greenfield development below Malthouse is dependent upon the IHSP being adopted by the Vale, which is, in the opinion of the Parish Council, very likely. The parish and especially those most closely affected will be kept informed and involved as plans evolve. You are welcome to contact any of the Parish Councillors about any of these issues. It is perhaps worth reminding everyone that Parish Councils have no powers whatsoever to refuse consent to planning applications. They can make objections on criteria known as ‘planning grounds’ only. An objection from a Parish Council means an application is more likely to go before the District Planning Committee but does not guarantee that changes will be made.
Watch out in the New Year for activities around the creation of the Village Plan, covering much broader issues than housing.
Upcoming
Events
Parish Council Meeting
Monday 5th March 2012
at 7pm
in the Pub
All Welcome
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