21/00269/VAR

The Lodge 122 Banbury Road Oxford Oxfordshire OX2 7BP

23 February 2021

Variation of condition 2 (Develop in accordance with approved plans) and 8 (Landscape carry out after completion) of planning permission 18/03113/FUL (Erection of 2no. dwellinghouses (Use Class C3) within the grounds of 122 Banbury Road, including new access off Belbroughton Road, landscaped amenity space, car parking, bin and cycle storage.) to reflect
changes to scheme design and remove reference to previously permitted landscaping scheme.
We consider that the scale of variation from the proposals to which consent was granted (application 18/03113/FUL) is such that a new application for full consent is required.
The provision of underground parking for two cars for each house, served by lifts, and of sizeable basement-level ‘terraces’ would necessitate a large increase in excavation, disposal of material and installation of retaining walls etc. This is inconsistent with the carbon-reduction policies of the City Council, and has implications for heavy construction traffic generation, for permanent
damage to the root zone of many of the retained trees, and potential disruption of the prevailing hydrological conditions. No section drawings or details of the proposed lift installations are provided, nor of the appearance in the elevated and depressed positions of the lifts. We question the practicality of the difficult manoeuvres necessary to position cars on the lifts. This site meets all the criteria of the City Council for a car-free development, yet the proposed variations would increase the on-site parking provision to at least 4 cars per house, in gross contravention of policy M3 and Appendix 7.3 of the current adopted Local Plan; notwithstanding that the consent granted to the original application pre-dated adoption of this Local Plan, clearly any variations proposed should conform to current policies. We object to this application for the reasons outlined, and would urge refusal.