More homes (From Witney Gazette)

More homes

8:40am Wednesday 26th July 2006

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THE final remaining building from the former Early's blanket factory looks set to be demolished soon after developers put forward plans for 160 homes on the site.

A planning application has been submitted to West Oxfordshire District Council by developers David Wilson Homes and Persimmon Homes, which have jointly bought the land in Dark Lane from All Souls College, Oxford, for an undisclosed sum.

If the go-ahead is given, the redundant woolhouse will be pulled down and 101 houses and 59 flats built on the 7.3-acre piece of land, which borders the Marriotts Close site, the new West End Link Road, known as Woodford Way, Puck Lane and Mill Street.

The application has been submitted a month after Simons Developments presented plans for the re-development of the former Marriotts Close football ground and Welch Way car park into a shopping, cinema and restaurant complex, with a ten-level multi-storey car park.

There are plans for 185 new homes at Marriotts, including 50 flats, houses and bungalows on the former county council highways depot, next door to the Early's site.

More than 150 flats and houses have already been built opposite the site, on the other side of Mill Street, at Bryant Homes' Jacobs Mill development following the demolition of the rest of the former Early's buildings three years ago.

If the latest application and Marriotts get the go-ahead, that will add up to almost 500 new homes.

Michael French, of Mill Street, said: "If these plans are passed, along with the Marriotts Close complex, what will happen to the centre of Witney? Will our road structures be able to take this extra volume of traffic?"

Anne Parry, who lives in Burford Road, said: "The buildings at Jacobs Mill are already imposing and, with rows of other houses opposite, I feel it's going to enclose the road and dramatically affect the street scene. It just seems too much."

In their joint development plan, Persimmon and David Wilson Homes say the homes at the former woolhouse site will be built from natural stone. They acknowledge that the development is of "reasonably high density", but said they felt this was appropriate because of the site's close proximity to amenities and the town centre.

The site is due to have a mix of one- and two-bedroom apartments and two-, three-, four- and five-bedroom houses, with landscaped areas, footpaths, cycleways, and public open spaces.

Building will be from two- to three-storeys high. Forty-eight of the homes will be affordable, which has been welcomed by some.

Lisa Clarkson, a 26-year-old single mother-of-one who lives with her mother in Witney, said: "I know there are a lot of housing association houses being built at Madley Park, and some at smaller developments, but there is still a need for more social housing."

In their development plans, David Wilson Homes and Persimmon Homes said: "Materials will reflect those traditionally found in the area, but with a modern approach, helping to preserve and enhance the character of the Witney Conservation Area."

Public consultation has already been launched and comments should be made to the district council, in writing, by August 11.

The planning application will be considered by councillors at a later date. Consultation is also being carried out for the Marriotts plans, and a decision on those will be made after September.

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