Highlands Farm Planning Amendments on Sport Pitches Still Not “Addressing Issues”

Amended plans for the relocation of the play area, car parking provision and toilets/storage building associated with use of the sports pitches at Highlands Park were again recommended refusal by Henley Town Council Planning Committee this week.

In April the Committee recommended refusal of this planning application due to “the unacceptable loss of the village green and the repositioning of the Local Equipped Area for Play (LEAP), which would negatively impact nearby residents. The proposed location of the LEAP, adjacent to drainage infrastructure, raises safety concerns and the design is deemed unsuitable. The existing road network is insufficient to support the expected usage of the sports pitches, leading to concerns regarding traffic and parking. Additionally, clarification is needed regarding the future use of the pitches before any approval can be considered.”

The Planning Committee this week said, that the applicant had not been sufficiently addressed the issues around drainage and the impact on the Highways network with regard to traffic movements ingress and egress to the site.

Oxfordshire County Council also recommended refusal on the grounds that means of access to the site (sport pitches), is shown at a width of 4.0m on the submitted drawings, which will not allow opposing vehicles to pass at the same time. Additionally, there are no facilities provided for pedestrians adjacent to the access. As a result, when taking account of the bend along the access road, the access is required to be increased in width to 4.5m, with a 2.0m wide footway provided along one side.

Highlands Park resident Mr Bradley spoke at the Planning Meeting against the application. He said he had spoken to the South Oxfordshire District Council Planning Officer and noted the comments from Oxfordshire County Council Highways on the planned entrance to the site and noted that the matter of parking had not been sufficiently addressed.  Given the previous committee refusal he asked that the committee should meet with the applicant and to try and resolve the outstanding matters and return to the original plan.

County Councillor Stefan Gawrysiak urged the committee to restate their opposition citing the comments on 29th April 2025.

In January 2022, Crest Nicholson were given permission to vary the number of houses in the central and south-western parts of the site with 113 dwellings; a net increase of 28 on the original plans.  In the planning application for Phase 2 submitted in January 2025 for 131 residential units, the community hall from Phase 1 has also been relocated from next to the sports pitches. This application is due to be decided by 29 August 2025.