Construction company Taylor Wimpey was granted the development on appeal in 2017 for up to 95 homes at Thames Farm, off Reading Road in Lower Shiplake.

It has since reduced this to 84 to provide adequate drainage because “the land is unstable and vulnerable to sinkholes”.

Taylor Wimpey said the new drainage plans will ensure there are no off-site impacts relating to surface water and this will include a basin on the western part of the site.

Members of the Thames Farm Action Group, which represents Shiplake residents, have concerns about the environmental impact of the scheme, which they say has no precedent in the UK.

The ground would have to be injected with grout and concrete to keep stable despite it sitting on top of an aquifer that supplies water to nearby towns.

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Freddie van Mierlo has consistently objected to the plans (Image: Contributed)

In July 2025, the planning committee of South Oxfordshire District Council voted to refuse the ground-stabilisation application despite a recommendation for approval.

Councillors cited concerns about possible impacts on the aquifer and public water supply.

The formal refusal notice stated the application “failed to demonstrate that the proposed engineering operations would not pose an unacceptable risk to the aquifer and nearby public water abstraction points”.

But now the plans have been given the go ahead by a separate planning inspector.

Despite objections from the district council the project appears to have been given the go ahead.

Freddie Van Mierlo, MP for Henley and Thame, said: “I will be working with The Thames Farm Action Group, Henley Town Council, Shiplake Parish Council and Harpsden Councils to ensure their voices are heard.”

The new report states there is a risk, but it’s “an acceptable level of risk” for the area.

The TV cook, now best known for his seafood restaurants and BBC travel series, grew up on a farm in Churchill, a small village just outside the market town of Chipping Norton.

Mr Stein later went on to study English at Oxford, further strengthening his ties to Oxfordshire alongside his upbringing in the Cotswolds.

During his time as a student, he maintained a long‑term relationship with Jill Stein, who would go on to co‑found and run the business side of his restaurant empire.

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The Cotswolds village of Churchill, in Oxfordshire (Image: Wikimedia Commons / Philip Halling)

The couple later married, remained together for many years while building their businesses, and eventually divorced after their relationship broke down.

In a recent interview with The Times, the 76-year-old revisited a near‑fatal incident in Oxford which she says has left her with permanent hearing loss.

She had moved to London while Mr Stein was at Oxford, and had arranged to meet him in Oxford for a weekend.

Ms Stein discovered that he was instead drinking at a student club and confronted him when he eventually arrived at the pub where she was waiting.

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Jack Stein, Jill Stein, Charlie Stein, Rick Stein, and Edward Stein. (Image: Newsquest)

He recalled in the book that he reacted “angrily but also very lustfully”, but remembering that night, Ms Stein told The Times: “He did nearly kill me.”

Driving fast on the Oxford bypass, Mr Stein crashed into roadworks and hit a 44‑gallon drum, sending an oil lamp through the windscreen and into her head.

Ms Stein said: “He could see that I was bleeding quite a lot and I said, ‘oh, just put me to bed. I’ll be fine.’ And he thought, even though he was drunk, ‘no, I’m not sure about this’.

“‘I think I’ll ring the ambulance’. So he rang the ambulance and, because it was a 999 call, the police came along as well, and they breathalysed him.”

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The crash occurred while Rick Stein was studying at Oxford University. (Image: Murray Bosley)

At the John Radcliffe Hospital, a brain surgeon operated on her, and during her interview with The Times, Ms Stein pointed to her left side and added: “And that’s why I can’t hear in this ear.”

Asked how long it took her to forgive him, she reflected: “I never blamed him really. I don’t know why, but I didn’t.”

Mr Stein later began a relationship with Sarah Burns, a publicist who had worked with his company, while he was still married to Jill Stein.

The affair eventually led to the end of his first marriage, and he went on to marry his second wife in 2011, with the couple now living between Australia and the UK.

The monarch, who has long‑standing ties to the Cotswolds through his Highgrove estate near Tetbury, has written a moving reflection on his late mother’s final summer at Balmoral.

In his latest remarks, Charles sets out the deep personal importance of the Scottish residence to the whole family.

The late Queen died in September 2022, prompting an outpouring of grief and tributes from around the world.

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Just a day after her death and his accession to the throne, the King addressed the nation and paid tribute to his “darling mama”.

Further reflections on his mother’s final months have now been shared in the foreword to a new book, Balmoral by Mary Miers, as reported by The Telegraph.

In the text, the King explains that Queen Elizabeth “particularly treasured her time at Balmoral”.

He goes on to note the poignant detail that “It was here, in these most beloved of surroundings, that she chose to spend her final days.”

Balmoral Castle had long been regarded as the late Queen’s favourite residence, where she traditionally spent summers with her family away from public duties.

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The King underlines the strength of the family’s attachment to the estate, writing, “Since my earliest childhood, it has held, and continues to hold, a uniquely special place in the hearts of my family and myself.”

His reflections echo those of his sister, Princess Anne, who was with Queen Elizabeth for the last 24 hours of her life – an experience she has said she felt very “fortunate” to share.

The Princess Royal accompanied her mother’s coffin from Balmoral Castle in Aberdeenshire to the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh.

She then travelled with the coffin as it was taken on to London and said in a statement at the time: “It has been an honour and a privilege to accompany her on her final journeys.

“Witnessing the love and respect shown by so many on these journeys has been both humbling and uplifting.”