Banbury Road, Chipping Norton

• Planning approval for 86 new high-quality homes at Banbury Road, Chipping Norton
• 40% to be affordable, giving more local people the opportunity to own or rent a home in Chipping Norton
• Sustainability measures will see every new home built as timber and gas free.

New homes for people in Chipping Norton are to move ahead on land at Banbury Road. Cala Homes (Cotswolds) has secured planning consent from West Oxfordshire District Council to deliver 86 vital, high-quality homes, 40% of which will be affordable housing. 

Cala’s plans bring variety of choice for first-time buyers, families and downsizers, including a range of two- to five- bedroom open market houses, one- and two-bed apartments and two-, three- and four- bedroom affordable homes. 

Cala is committed to enhancing the existing community and the development will also deliver a range of benefits for Chipping Norton including play areas, wildflower meadow, communal allotments, as well as generous green spaces across the development that exceed local planning requirements Significant contributions are also being made to sports and leisure totalling to over £250,000 as well as contributions to SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities), and over £150,000 to healthcare and public transport in the area. The development will also see the footpath and cycle path extended to link the development to Chipping Norton town and the wider community. Over and above planning obligations, Cala has also made a commitment to establishing a Community Pledge to bring together a bespoke programme of activity designed to address specific community needs. 

Charles Rafferty, Land Director at Cala Cotswold commented:

“The approval of our plans for these 86 homes, with 40% being affordable, is a step towards supporting West Oxfordshire District Council with its target to ensure housing availability and affordability throughout the District. 

“With the most recent housing development in Chipping Norton being delivered in 2021, our new development will mark the first significant addition to local housing supply since then. This further highlights the crucial need for new homes in area, and we are excited to start construction on site to bring this new community to life.

“Our Community Pledge for Chipping Norton further reflects our commitment to the local area. We look forward to rolling out this bespoke programme of activities, created in collaboration with local residents, that will deliver a positive impact on the wider neighbourhood”

Sustainability measures would see every new home built as timber frame and gas free as well as other energy efficiency features, such as air source heat pumps, which are designed to help residents reduce their carbon emissions. The site will deliver a biodiversity net gain of over 10%, meaning the development will result in more or better-quality natural habitat than there was before. Furthermore, as part of Cala’s Urban Wildlife Strategy, which aims to incorporate biodiversity improvement into new developments, every home will have bird nesting features, specialist hedgehog fencing, bat boxes or bat roosting tiles and native tree planting.