Following the local elections, the Conservatives no longer control South Oxfordshire District Council.

Instead, the Council will be run by a coalition made up of Liberal Democrats, Greens and a small number of independents. This new group is opposed to the Local Plan for the area, which was submitted by the previous council. The Plan included proposals to build a large number of houses on several green belt sites. The Local Plan had already been sent for inspection before the election but the new council is trying to have it withdrawn so they can submit one of their own.

The new council is also opposed in general to the Expressway and specifically to routing it across green belt land and so there will be much more opposition to this road than there was from the previous council. Highways England have decided the corridors they are going to consider for the Expressway, one of which runs past us. Later in the year they will publish their preferred routes through the corridors.

Elizabeth Gillespie was re-elected as our district councillor with a reduced majority. She is opposed to the Local Plan as well as the Expressway. In fact she disagreed with the Conservative group about the Local Plan and had been suspended from the group under the previous council. Since the election she has lost her appeal against the suspension, and she has resigned from the Conservative party group. She will now sit as an Independent Conservative.

There has been an amendment to the planning application for the replacement of an outhouse at The Orchard in Cuddesdon (P18/S3070/HH). The planning department had been concerned about the appropriateness of the replacement building. The applicant has written to explain the design and the Parish Council remains in favour of the proposed development.

Mike Mount
Parish Clerk
 

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