Planning Application Details

Taken together, the proposals at Lys Farm would be contrary to general and employment policies, in particular policies G1, E3, E4 and E5 of the Oxfordshire Structure Plan, policies G3, E3, E5 and E6 of the South Oxfordshire Local Plan and Government advice in PPG 4 - Industrial and Commercial Development and Small Firms. The site lies in an isolated location outside the confines of any settlement. The proposal is for a total of 9264 sq. metres of office, storage and light industrial floorspace which would conflict with the general strategy of the Development Plan to restrain the overall level of development outside the four main towns and this is not a location to which employment is directed.

That the proposals would be contrary to policies G2, G5, EN1 and EN4 of the Oxfordshire Structure Plan, policies G1, G2, G7, G8, C1, C2, C10 and R7 of the South Oxfordshire Local Plan and Government advice in PPG 7 - The Countryside: Environmental Quality and Economic and Social Development. The site lies in an isolated, rural location within the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and accessed by the Ridgeway public right of way. The existing buildings are very substantial in scale and the cumulative effect of the uses proposed would seriously impact upon and detract from the visual amenities of the area, cause harm to people's enjoyment of the countryside and detract from the quality of life enjoyed by the occupiers of adjacent residential properties.

That the proposals would be contrary to policy E6 of the Oxfordshire Structure Plan, policy C11 of the South Oxfordshire Local Plan and Government advice in PPG 7 - The Countryside: Environmental Quality and Economic and Social Development. The existing buildings are very substantial in size and scale and generally in poor condition. It is considered that they are of a form, bulk and design that is not in keeping with their rural surroundings and are therefore inappropriate for the proposed alternative uses.

That the proposals would be contrary to policy T18 of the Oxfordshire Structure Plan, policies G10 and T14 of the South Oxfordshire Local Plan and Government advice in PPG 13 - Transport. The site lies in an isolated, unsustainable location with no public transport available to serve it. It is therefore unlikely that people will travel to and from the site other than by private vehicle. In addition, the adjacent highway network is substandard and the likely level of traffic, including heavy goods vehicles, would contribute to and exacerbate the traffic and environmental problems currently being experienced on the local road network.

That the proposals would be contrary to policy R7 of the South Oxfordshire Local Plan. The only useable access to the site is along part of the Ridgeway National Trail, the aim of which is to provide high quality walking, cycling and horse riding experiences to the public. The level of traffic that would be likely to pass along the Ridgeway, including heavy goods vehicles, would be likely to compromise the safety and pleasure of recreational users contrary to the aims of the National Trails. The permissive route which follows the field edge is not a definitive right of way and, as such, cannot be considered as a safety measure for users of the Ridgeway.