Bicester 1,000-home Roman site plan requires study

Cherwell District Council has ordered the developer Vistry to submit the assessment for the Bicester proposal following a scoping application decision which highlighted concerns about traffic, wildlife and the loss of open countryside.

The plans, which include an 80-bed care home, a local centre and open space, sits on about 75ha of farmland and is parcelled between the A41, the Chiltern railway line and the Blackthron Road.

The site wraps around the Grade II listed Blackthorn Hill windmill and Mill House Farm, and it includes a Local Wildlife Site and land within a Conservation Target Area.

In a formal scoping opinion, the council stated the unallocated greenfield site has the potential for “significant environmental effects” and sets out what Vistry’s environmental statement must cover.

Map showing developments in Bicester, with the red section showing where the latest 1,000 homes could go (Image: Cherwell District Council)

Topics include population and human health, biodiversity, land and soils, water, air quality, climate, heritage assets, transport and cumulative impacts with other major developments around Bicester and Upper Heyford.

The decision does not approve the scheme but sets a high evidential bar before any outline application can be decided.

Ambrosden Parish Council “strongly objects” to the proposal, citing its absence from any local plan allocation and fears over infrastructure, traffic and biodiversity.

Launton Parish Council raised concerns about extra pressure on the A41 roundabout, possible drainage impacts on Launton Brook and an already stretched sewerage network.

Councillors also question why a development of this scale does not clearly include a new school to absorb the likely rise in pupil numbers.

View of the site where the homes could be built (Image: Cherwell District Council)

An environmental document for the early-stage plans also raised concerns about the damage to a “high archaeological potential” site.

A geological survey showed it lies on a landscape of rich Roman activity through anomalies including ring ditches, potential boundaries and kilns.

READ MORE: 1,000 Bicester homes could damage Roman site near A41

Environmental groups warn the scheme could damage a highly sensitive landscape of meadows and wildlife corridors.

The Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust says the site, which sits close to the Upper Ray reserves and several Local Wildlife Sites, risks severing an important chain of habitats.

It argues that, to avoid this, the northern part of the site should be retained as a substantial nature reserve, with between 34 and 42ha, roughly 40 per cent of the land, dedicated to wildlife and green space, delivering biodiversity net gain entirely on site.

Oxfordshire County Council says a full Transport Assessment must examine impacts on key A41 junctions and walking and cycling routes to schools and neighbouring developments.

Network Rail has lodged a holding objection over potential extra use of nearby level crossings and insists that no works proceed until rail safety and protection measures are agreed.