21/01176/FUL COMM

Former Dominion Oils Site Railway Lane Oxford OX4 4PY

11 August 2021

Redevelopment of the Former Dominion Oils site and adj. land to provide residential development comprising 100% affordable housing (51 houses and 40 flats) and open spaces. Estate road, access, footpaths, landscaping, and car parking. 
Whilst we applaud the substantial contribution this proposed development would make to addressing Oxford’s housing need, we do have concerns regarding additional vehicular traffic generated. We note the conclusions in the traffic report submitted by the applicant that there is no reason to expect harm from the small increase in traffic expected to be generated by this application which is described as “well within the local road capacity”. However, we should welcome reassurance from the informed opinion of the Highway Authority who do not yet seem to have commented on this matter. We do have concerns that the additional traffic may seriously impair conditions of safety, the local environment and the well-being of existing communities in the roads forming the only access to the site. Bus services in the locality are neither sufficiently frequent nor available later in the day or on Sundays, and the suggestion of the possibility of a future rail station is highly speculative, so it must be anticipated that car usage will be the habitual mode of travel, raising concerns about traffic effects and possible informal parking. We welcome the provision of 100% ‘affordable’ housing, but we query the inclusion of a substantial proportion of shared ownership properties. We are also disappointed by the suspicion that the quality of the architectural design has been compromised by efforts to effect economies in construction. We would point out that the proposed arrangements for cycle parking, particularly for the apartments, would fail to provide adequate security. We would urge careful consideration of all these factors before determining consent to this application.