Press Release - John Cotton happy for Chalgrove Airfield to be environmentally unsound

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Chalgrove Airfield Action Group
Chalgrove – 14 th March 2018
John Cotton is happy for the proposed Chalgrove Airfield development to be
environmentally unsound.
South Oxfordshire District Council and Homes England, formerly the Homes and Communities
Agency, are working together to try and build 3000 additional houses on the site of
Chalgrove Airfield, a site with a wholly inadequate local road network to support that level of
development. The current system comprises of a single B-road plus some single-track roads
with passing places. Homes England have already pledged tens of millions of pounds for
three small schemes, but without a massive increase in taxpayer’s money to fund much
wider ranging road improvements, this development will place a huge strain on the local
roads. There are risible proposals for any additional public transport options, and the leader
of SODC, John Cotton, has already stated at a public meeting in Chalgrove that this will likely
be a car-based settlement, and that he is “fine” with that.
Chalgrove is not on any major bus routes; there is no railway line and no prospect of one
being built, and there are no other suitable and sustainable alternatives to adding a few
thousand daily car journeys to the local roads. Homes England, who previously promised a
Guided Bus Route, cycle routes and multiple bypasses have since distanced themselves from
such grand plans, instead suggesting that the development at Chalgrove will generate the
highest percentage of bus journeys per capita outside London!
Chalgrove Airfield Action Group will once again call on SODC to rethink their plans at the
next full Council meeting on March 20th. Sadly, if John Cotton and Homes England get their
way, it looks like the future of South Oxfordshire is to be stuck in an endless series of traffic
jams.
About the Chalgrove Airfield Action Group
Following the announcement of Chalgrove Airfield being South Oxfordshire District Council’s preferred option for a new town,
the Chalgrove Airfield Action Group formed with the primary purpose of supporting Chalgrove’s response to the consultation.
Our mission now is to help Chalgrove and surrounding villages and hamlets to find sustainable alternatives to excessive local
development. We want to ensure that our elderly residents and children not only have access to affordable homes, but also
have somewhere to live that provides a safe environment without excessive and unnecessary traffic and associated pollution.
For more information please contact press@chalgroveshield.org.uk
chalgroveshield.org.uk press@chalgroveshield.org.uk facebook.com/chalgroveshield