Frequently Asked Questions
It is a strategically unconstrained location:
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Unlike much of the District, this site is outside the Oxford Green Belt, the Cotswold Area of National Landscape, and the Blenheim World Heritage Site, avoiding key environmental and heritage restrictions.
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The site is in Flood Zone 1 (lowest risk), with manageable surface water concerns and a strong approach to managing flood risk through careful design.
The proposals align with national and local policy:
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The National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) encourages building homes around stations
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The site supports West Oxfordshire District Council’s aspirations for sustainable growth, focusing development in accessible locations and protecting more sensitive areas from pressure.
The site provides good access to employment and services:
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•Walking distance to Hanborough Business Park and easy access to Oxfordshire’s Knowledge Spine, science parks, and employment hubs in Oxford, Botley, Cowley, and Abingdon.
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The village offers a range of services—schools, medical facilities, shops, and community amenities—within walking or cycling distance, supporting a 20-minute neighbourhood concept.
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There would be investment into local infrastructure via the Council’s Community Infrastructure Levy, including toward education and healthcare provision as required to accommodate the development. The educational and healthcare authorities will decide whether to use funds to expand existing provision or use contributions towards the delivery of new.
The proposals would provide economic and social benefits:
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Supports Local Economy: Easy access to employment, both locally and regionally, and new residents will help sustain and enhance local services and businesses.
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Community Integration: The development is designed to complement recent growth patterns in Long Hanborough, ensuring logical, sustainable, and well-integrated expansion. It will provide a full mix of housing types and tenures to meet the needs of different groups (young people, older people, people with disabilities).
Why is growth proposed at Long Hanborough when there has already been recent development?
There is excellent transport connectivity:
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Long Hanborough is one of the few settlements in West Oxfordshire with a railway station, offering direct connections to Oxford (10 minutes), Didcot, Reading, and London. This makes it accessible for commuters and supports sustainable travel. The authorities are proposing improvements to the railway station to deliver a bus interchange and mobility hub and to improve rail frequency.
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The area is served by regular bus routes, with stops within a 5-minute walk, and future improvements will further enhance connectivity.
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The proposed enhancements at Hanborough Station are for the creation of a multi-modal mobility hub, supporting low-carbon travel with facilities like cycle parking, EV charging, and improved bus interchange.
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Sustainable travel should be maximised and encouraged.
Is this site environmentally suitable?
The site is currently of low ecological value (mainly arable fields and species-poor grassland), so development offers the opportunity to deliver at least a 10% biodiversity net gain. This will be achieved by:
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Creating new habitats (species-rich grassland, woodland, scrub)
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Retaining and enhancing existing hedgerows, mature trees, and ponds
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Establishing a 30m buffer to Pinsley Wood (ancient woodland), with new planting and habitat creation
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Protecting habitats on site as well as achieving a 10% Biodiversity Net Gain through development compared to the current situation.
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Development presents an significant opportunity for new tree and hedge planting to take place that could lead to a net increase the number of trees on site and species diversity compared the existing arboricultural resource. This in turn could deliver significant arboricultural, amenity and ecological benefits.
The plan includes extensive green spaces and water features to support wildlife, manage surface water, and provide recreational opportunities for residents.
The site is in Flood Zone 1 (lowest risk), and surface water management will be integrated into the landscape design. The development avoids the Green Belt, Cotswold Area of National Landscape, and designated heritage assets, minimising environmental and cultural impacts.
It will also provide opportunities for and encourage uptake of sustainable travel, including train, bus, cycling and walking opportunities on the doorstep providing genuine, and through improvements, attractive alternatives to car use supporting low-carbon lifestyles.
Homes will be designed to reduce energy demand by 75-80% compared to 2013 baselines, using air source heat pumps, solar photovoltaics, low-energy appliances, and improved building fabric and insulation.
Community allotments, play areas, and walking routes will be integrated into the green infrastructure, promoting both environmental and social well-being.
How will local infrastructure, such as schools, doctors, sewage facilities and amenities, cope?
As with all developments, through the planning application process the investment required into schools and healthcare facilities is determined with the relevant authorities. There would be investment via the Council’s Community Infrastructure Levy into education and healthcare provision, amongst other things, as required to accommodate the development.
The education authority would decide how to invest funds to expand schools if needed and the NHS and Integrated Care Board (ICB) would determine how to use contributions to expand existing facilities or whether to use contributions towards providing new.
New residents will help to support existing local shops and amenities helping to sustain the local economy.
The assessment will also include the anticipated utility requirements for the proposed development and evidence that the required infrastructure is deliverable without adversely impacting the local utility networks. This will include provision for electricity, potable water & gigabit-ready broadband infrastructure. A new adoptable foul pumping station would be delivered, and as Thames Water has a legal responsibility to provide adequate sewerage services, the grant of any planning permission would enable them to prepare and subsequently carry out any required upgrade works to the public sewerage network.
