Please do respond to these consultations.
To help, CPRE Oxfordshire has prepared 5-minute guides to responding, picking out what we think are the major issues.
Sustainable Water – not a Mega-voir!
- Thames Water’s Water Resources Management Plan – closes 21 March 2023
Despite years of well-justified opposition, Thames Water is still pursuing plans for a mega-reservoir near Abingdon, with all the environmental destruction this would cause. Meanwhile, issues such as fixing leaks and reducing demand get much less attention. This impacts on all our water bills and also means restoring our much-damaged chalk streams will take longer.
Find out more, including links to the consultation info and CPRE Oxfordshire’s tips on how to respond on our website here.
Help us see off damaging 5 Year Housing Land Supply Rules for good!
- Government consultation on planning reforms – closes 2 March 2023
Over the past few years, many of our local communities have paid the price of a particular planning policy – the 5 Year Housing Land Supply rules. This has allowed developers to bring forward applications on sites that would not normally be supported, typically on greenfield sites adjacent to rural villages. After campaigning from CPRE and others, the Government is now looking to abolish these rules but we must make sure they hear our support for these changes. (The developers will certainly be having their say!).
This consultation also covers important issues such as the introduction of National Development Management Policies. As proposed, this would give the Secretary of State free reign to create, modify or revoke such policies unilaterally, without consultation. We think that’s a power grab too far.
We also think it’s a missed opportunity to bring in a genuine brownfield first policy and to provide the protection of high-quality farmland from development that has been promised.
Find out more, including links to the consultation info and CPRE Oxfordshire’s tips on how to respond on our website here.
We hope our consultation guides our helpful – please feel free to share this email and/or links to our webpages.
With grateful thanks for your support.
Yours sincerely
Helen Marshall
Director, CPRE Oxfordshire
T: 01491 612079 | M: 07791 376365
(Normal working days Mon-Thurs)
E: [email protected] | www.cpreoxon.org.uk