The fields off Springfield Road and Rau Court are owned by a private development company which the Parish Council has no jurisdiction over. It was this company which had responded to complaints from local residents about the fact that the land was unkempt and so the clearance was arranged.
The Parish Council has been in touch with Cherwell District Council Enforcement Team and checked about this and their response was that provided no actual development work is going on, there’s nothing that can be done, unless there’s damage to the TPO trees or waste disposal on the land. The company has every right to maintain it – and, unfortunately, there’s no wildlife protection powers which can be used.
At the brief meeting with the land owner last week, the owner explained that the work was supposed to be regular and that he believed it had been done about five years ago. The Parish Council is not sure about that, but is aware that a fence was constructed on the Springfield Road side a while ago to keep people out which didn’t last very long before being broken down.
However, it was explained at the meeting that the village was a Category C village in the adopted Local Plan which allowed for just minor infill and no further development and that these two pieces of land were the only available green space in the village as the MoD owned the park.
The Parish Council has checked and can confirm that no planning applications have been submitted thus far, but it will be monitored very closely.