Cherwell Valley sports facility expansion approved

An appeal by Bicester Sports Association for redevelopment of the sports facilities in Chesterton has been approved by planning officers at Cherwell District Council, after changes were made to transport provisions.

The original application had been rejected as CDC deemed the surrounding area to be in a geographically unsustainable location. It has no access via public transport and poor walking and cycling routes and would not reduce the need to travel or be accessible or offer a genuine choice of alternative travel modes over the private motor vehicle. The site was therefore not approved as an appropriate location for this scale of development whether considered as a replacement facility or a new facility.

In addition, CDC had stated that the proposed development would detrimentally impact on the rural character and appear of the area by virtue of being a prominent and visually intrusive form of development in an open countryside location.

However, following an appeal by the BSA to the planning committee and commitments to transport provisions, the appeal was approved this week. CDC welcomes plans for a minibus for clubs to use (if they wish and have an appropriate driver) and encouragement to car-share in a Travel Plan, as well as improvements to The Hale and informal crossing points between Chesterton and Bicester.

Plans include the relocation and reorientation of existing pitches and its archery zone, two new training pitches with floodlighting, two match pitches, a new ‘flexible’ sports pitch, rugbytraining grids and a new clubhouse with events space.

BSA made the case that the Appeal scheme proposes a range of measures that will benefit existing users and will allow users of the facilities as extended to access the site to a reasonable degree by sustainable transport modes. The scheme is policy compliant in this regard. That is on a standalone basis; the Council has not expressly said what its position would be if the Appeal Scheme was developed alongside the Great Wolf scheme but plainly that scheme would only serve to further enhance the Appeal Site’s accessibility credentials.

BSA’s position, endorsed by the Council’s own landscape officer, is that there would be very limited and localised character effects in Year 1, reducing to neutral in year 15; and there would be very limited and localised visual effects which would diminish through the establishment of a contextually appropriate planting regime on the eastern and southern boundaries which will all but eliminate adverse effects from these directions.

The appeal made the case that night-time impacts would be very limited and very localised and can be tied down through the imposition of suitable conditions.

A spokesperson for Cherwell District Council said: "The Planning Inspectorate has overturned the previous decision of Cherwell District Council and approved this application, but with a significant number of conditions which need to be resolved.

"They cover matters such as transport to and from the sports facility, and its impact on the character of the local landscape.

"Cherwell District Council is ready to work with Bicester Sports Association and their agents to find appropriate solutions to these matters to enable this enhanced sports facility at Chesterton to be realised.”