The local authority has rejected proposals for a major housing project in Wallingford after receiving overwhelming opposition from the community.
Croudace Homes submitted plans for a 400-dwelling residential scheme accompanied by 80 retirement properties on a site located west of Shillingford Road in the northern section of Wallingford, with the application filed in October 2024.
While the submission reserved all elements apart from access for future consideration, revisions made in response to public feedback outlined provisions for various recreational amenities. These encompassed archery facilities, football pitches, a clubhouse building, an indoor sports hall, community allotments, children’s play areas and either a skate park or pump track.
South Oxfordshire District Council spent over twelve months evaluating the proposal before determining it would not approve the scheme.
Throughout a consultation process lasting thirteen months, the authority collected more than 1,100 formal objections from residents and workers within Wallingford.
A community organization established specifically to challenge this and other large-scale developments locally, operating under the name Wallingford Stop the Sprawl, actively urged community members to participate in the consultation and submit their opinions.
Objections were also submitted by Wallingford Town Council and Brightwell-cum-Sotwell Parish Council, alongside multiple departments within the county council. The education authority expressed concerns that expanding Wallingford School to accommodate additional pupils would be “not feasible.”
South Oxfordshire District Council’s own landscape specialist raised objections, warning the project would result in “long-term landscape harm.”
The local authority denied outline planning permission citing that the proposal does not align with the spatial strategy outlined in development plans, would adversely affect the landscape and rural character of Wallingford, and would not deliver affordable housing, biodiversity net gain or essential infrastructure including educational facilities.