18/00870/FUL

1 Pullens Lane Oxford OX3 0BX

19 May 2018

 Demolition of existing dwelling and erection of a 55 bedroom care home with associated car parking, landscaping and infrastructure 

This application succeeds two earlier applications that from 2016 having been withdrawn, and that from 2014 (14/00983) having been refused. The first ground for refusal of the 2014 application stated: “Having regard to the overall scale of the proposed development and associated intensity of its use, the proposals would result in a physical overdevelopment of the site with inappropriate levels of traffic generation which would fail to preserve the quiet, verdant and rural character of the Headington Hill Conservation Area. As a consequence the proposals fail to respect the site’s context and would give rise to significant harm to the special character and appearance of the Conservation Area contrary to the requirements of policies CP1, CP6, CP8, CP9, CP10, CP11, NE15 and HE7 of the Oxford Local Plan 2001-2016, policies CS2 and CS18 of the Oxford Core Strategy 2026 as well as policies HP9 and HP10 of the Sites and Housing Plan 2011-2026.”

Given that the current proposals aim at providing exactly the same number of accommodation units, and additional car parking provision, we can see no reason why the same conclusion of the unacceptability of this scale of development should not be reached. The Transport Statement ignores the particular environmental characteristics of this site, of Pullens Lane, and the effective ‘shared space’ utilisation of the latter. In terms of the criticisms in the earlier refusal, of “… excessive size, rectilinear form and repetitive detailing …”, some mitigation has evidently been attempted, although the level of accommodation is maintained, and it is notable that the services of the Oxford Design Review Panel appear not to have been sought, suggesting recognition that the design remains flawed, in the context of the site and Conservation Area in which it sits. We consider that the application should be refused.