Marriotts decision still in the early stages (From Witney Gazette)

Marriotts decision still in the early stages

9:00am Wednesday 6th September 2006 in Witney

COUNCILLORS are being recommended by planning officers to put off making a decision over Witney's Marriotts Close until developers have addressed concerns and made any necessary changes to the plans.

The Marriotts Close planning application, which includes proposals for 13 new shops, 185 new homes, a cinema, five-storey car park and public open space off Welch Way, will go before West Oxfordshire district councillors for the first time next week.

Planning officer, Phil Shaw, said he wanted to make it clear that plans were still in the early stages, and councillors would not be considering or making a decision over the outline application at the development control committee meeting on Thursday, September 14.

The committee would instead be encouraged to look at feedback given to the council during the public consultation period, which ended last month, and help come up with a response to give to developers about concerns and issues that need addressing before the outline application is considered.

Mr Shaw said: "The meeting is not being held for the application to be considered - it's likely to be some time before that happens. It is to pull together responses from all the technical bodies and individual responses, and try to boil down issues that need addressing.

"If there are things that need to change, we will contact the developer and put these forward."

"The meeting is not being held for the application to be considered — it's likely to be some time before that happens. It is to pull together responses from all the technical bodies and individual responses, and try to boil down issues that need addressing."

Planning officer Phil Shaw

The council has received more than 40 letters from residents, each of which have been added to the Marriotts Close section of its website.

The majority raise concerns about the plans - with 19 comments about the height of the proposed car park and apartment blocks in Welch Way, 17 about 'overdevelopment', 16 about the lack of green open space, and 12 about impact on traffic in the town centre.

A range of other concerns were raised, including the effect the development would have on existing shops in the town, loss of an historic burgage plot on the Marriotts land to the five-screen cinema, and the development not being in keeping with Witney's character.

Developers, Lincoln-based Simons Developments, have carried out separate public consultation, including comment leaflets and a public exhibition, but Mr Shaw said the council was yet to receive any feedback from this.

Geoffrey Knutt, of the campaign group Action to Improve Marriotts, which called for an acre of open green space on the development, said the group felt the application was moving forward at 'unnecessary haste'.

He said: "We thought it would be October at least before the plans went before any committee. We've asked for a meeting with the council's Marriotts Close working party for months, but still this hasn't happened, and Simons still haven't given any information about what issues have been raised through their public consultation.

"There's been an offer of green space and open space, but no green open space. The car park is totally out of character - we've asked for details of the height, and no one has given us the information - there's the issue of pollution in Mill Street and Bridge Street, the list is endless."

The development control committee is due to meet on Thursday next week, at 10.30am, at the council's Wood Green offices.

Details of feedback received by the council during public consultation can be viewed at www.westoxon.gov.uk/furtherinfo/ConsultationResponse.cfm, or the council offices