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A Report on a Speaker Event at the Corn Exchange, Witney, in November
The Speakers
• Estelle Bailey MBE, CEO Berks, Bucks, and Oxon Wildlife Trust (BBOWT). Who spoke about the Government’s Planning and Infrastructure Bill, the potential impacts of housing growth, and the opportunities and threats for nature.
• Ash Smith, Windrush Against Sewage Pollution (WASP). Talked about their work and campaigns, and the challenges that large scale housebuilding would pose to our ailing sewage infrastructure.
• Tony Bovey, Planning Oxfordshire’s Environment and Transport Sustainably (POETS). Covered the local authority proposals for unitary local government in Oxfordshire and the proposed Thames Valley Mayoral Strategic Authority.
The evening was opened by Green Party West Oxfordshire District Councillors – Rosie Pearson and Andrew Prosser
Rosie introduced the speakers and Andrew outlined the context for the presentations….
The Government is pushing for one and a half million new houses to be built nationally before the end of the decade. They say that the current planning system is a barrier to this, including many of the legal and regulatory safeguards that protect nature and allow local communities and environmental groups to challenge decisions, yet a around a million homes already have planning permission, but aren’t getting built.
To meet government targets, 18,000 new houses are being consulted on for West Oxfordshire, to be built over the fifteen years once the new local plan is approved. A third as many more houses, as already in place.
To help drive economic growth and plan infrastructure, the Government is also devolving key powers from central and local government to elected, regional mayors.
These powers will include transport and infrastructure planning and the ability to override local environmental planning and decisions. Two layers of local government, County and Districts, are being merged into unitary authorities to simplify local government.
There is likely to be a new Strategic Mayoral Authority that covers the Thames Valley region, including the counties of Oxfordshire and Berkshire, and possibly Swindon and Buckinghamshire too.
A new unitary authority will cover the whole of the County, or a smaller area combining Oxford City, Cherwell and West Oxfordshire, or just West Oxfordshire and the part of Cherwell that includes Banbury and Bicester.
Andrew then questioned what this would all mean for our communities and natural environment and our ability to influence decisions that impact us locally: saying, “we need more homes, but is it the right approach?
Andrew then handed over to:
Estelle Bailey, CEO Berks, Bucks and Oxon Wildlife Trust (BBOWT)
Estelle explained that we do not have to choose between homes and habitats, and that we can and must design a future where both thrive together. She explained that the decisions we make in the next few years, particularly about land, planning and nature, will shape how we live for generations. That we cannot support thriving communities if the places we build make people less healthy, less connected, and less resilient.
Estelle then spoke about the Planning and Infrastructure Bill, and how it risks weakening or removing protections that exist for a reason — to safeguard the natural systems that keep us healthy, safe and resilient. She asked whether we are going to build faster at the expense of nature, or whether we build smarter, using nature as infrastructure and designing places where people and wildlife can thrive.
The Planning & Infrastructure Bill, as currently framed, risks allowing developers to buy their way out of nature protection — replacing safeguards with levies and vague promises of compensation elsewhere.
Estelle finished by reminding us that we are the first generation to fully understand the scale of the nature and climate crisis, and perhaps the last with the chance to turn it around. She said that we need to build places that make us proud, that make us healthier, that are rich with life.
Next up was…
Ash Smith, Windrush Against Sewage Pollution (WASP)
As he updated on WASP’s work, impact and campaigns, Ash explained that this includes representations at the High Court, and highlighting the challenges that large scale housebuilding would pose to our ailing sewage infrastructure. Water infrastructure has not kept pace with development growth over decades. There has never been a year since privatisation when shareholders contributed more cash than they took out.
Ash also spoke about the charade from regulators, including the Environment Agency, who originally claimed that water quality had improved and that water companies had to meet tough standards, until this was challenged using data analysis from WASP’s Professor Peter Hammond. Government department Defra also admitted in 2021 that water infrastructure had not kept pace with development growth over decades.
He also explained how sewage became a voting issue in the last General Election campaign and how locally, West Oxfordshire District Council had committed to planning intervention, by placing “Grampian conditions” on developments, after being prepped by WASP.
Ash also expressed his disappointment that most NGOs were failing to speak out strongly enough against further pollution.
And finally:
Tony Bovey, Planning Oxfordshire’s Environment and Transport Sustainably (POETS)
Tony talked in detail about the local authority proposals for unitary local government in Oxfordshire, including the pros and cons of the various options: A single unitary for Oxfordshire, his personally favoured option, a two-unitary option covering West Berkshire as well, and a three-unitary option, including a Greater Oxford and Northern Oxfordshire and Southern Unitary Authorities.
Tony also explained and showed that modelling of travel patterns was a good guide to the importance and affinity of different geographic areas to residents and talked about the main travel-to- work flows in and around Oxford.
More about the Speakers:
• Estelle has had a 25-year career with The Wildlife Trusts movement and 11 years as Chief Executive of Berks, Bucks, and Oxon Wildlife Trust. A life-long conservationist, Estelle began her career at one of the smallest Wildlife Trusts, Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trust in Wales. BBOWT is now one of the largest Wildlife Trusts in the UK.
• Ash is founder of Windrush Against Sewage Pollution (WASP) specialising in investigation into water companies and regulators since 2018. He is a retired Police Detective Superintendent with a lifelong love for the natural world. Ash and his colleagues have been at the forefront nationally of exposing pollution and campaigning for change.
• Tony is Former Director of Planning and Asset Management at Mouchel, having previously worked for central and local government, including Oxfordshire, and private consultancy.