Report
Interventions to address WING’s Challenges
The way forward that WING intends to adopt is set out in Appendix 5. For each of the challenges that we have presented, WING has considered the series of actions needed and the organisations and decision makers involved. Where there are potential synergies, such as with the WEL for traffic, air pollution, and flood management, WING believes these should be fully investigated. An integrated solution could save time and money and provide the best overall scheme.
By listing the interventions in this way, we believe that we have set an agenda for liaison with stakeholders.
Liaison actions and timeline
WING will contact the key Stakeholders in Appendix 5 to discuss the resolution of our challenges. We will make this liaison positive and constructive to assist in finding the best solutions for the whole area around Witney. There are two key decisions that will affect the timing of any development.
- Will flood control be a fundamental element of North Witney development?
- Will planning permission for North Witney housing be withheld for any proposal that fails to commit to construction of the infrastructure improvements that are included in the Local Plan?
On Point 1, to decide if the WEL could be constructed as an earth dam (that could retain flood water in the flood plain upstream of Witney), a series of steps will be needed.
- The EA would have to agree to this approach in principle.
- The EA would have to provide an updated hydraulic model of the flow in the Windrush that could be used for analysis of options.
- The findings in the Level 2 Strategic Flood Risk Assessment that was carried out for WODC by Wallingford HydroSolutions Ltd in March 2015 would have to be expanded to include the options for an earth/dam solution and to confirm whether this proposed solution would provide adequate protection from flooding.
- The EA would have to confirm their approval for the adoption of this approach.
- A full environmental impact assessment would be needed.
- Ground investigation would be required to confirm if the earthworks material to build an earth dam could be sourced from the flood plain.
- Detailed design and costing for the earth dam option would be required.
Only when these steps have been completed could OCC decide on proceeding with the construction of the WEL as an embankment/dam. The timing of this decision will delay OCC’s next decision on choice of option for the Bridge Street area of Witney. Current options assume the existence of the WEL, but final design and construction cannot commence until the form of construction of the WEL is fixed.
On Point 2, withholding planning approval for an application that does not fully deliver the infrastructure improvements that are specified in the Local Plan would require decisions on whether:
- infrastructure improvements will be undertaken by OCC as major schemes with funding contributions from the SDA developer, or
- the developer is to be required to undertake the construction.
The resolution of these major decisions will take considerable time to complete and could delay the start of housing construction by several years.