The affordable housing would be better delivered nearby on Iffley Mead: The proposed provision of 32 affordable homes can be met nearby at the Iffley Mead allocated site by increasing the amount of affordable housing built there and reducing the proportion of housing built for profit. This site can support denser housing as it lies outside the Conservation Area. This is a clear, proximal and more sustainably sited alternative for the proposed housing provision, with much lower environmental impact on the meadows and quiet route. The question of such alternatives has not even been considered in the application, despite the established policy requirement to avoid environmental harm where possible.
The suggestion that a higher proportion of affordable housing could be met at Iffley Mead is not a suggestion that the numbers of houses proposed at Iffley Mead ought to be increased. It is a suggestion that the proportion of those houses given over to what the Council calls ‘affordable’ tenure types (ie shared ownership and social rent) might be increased from the current figure of 50%. This would require the City Council and the County Council to work together for the common good, including protecting the biodiversity and public benefits of keeping the Horse Fields and Memorial Field undeveloped. As the City Council have felt able to propose 100% affordable at the Horse Fields there would appear to be no basis for suggestions that greater than 50% at Iffley Mead is ‘unviable’. We are looking to the City and County to adopt a joined up approach to land use planning in accordance with their obligations under law and planning to seek the least environmentally damaging options for delivery of housing.