Preferred Spatial Options Consultation and Land Availability
Assessment
Thank you to everyone who has responded to the consultation. Whatever your
views, positive or negative, it is important that West Oxfordshire District
Council (WODC) understands the views and concerns of us, the people
who live here.
The response of your parish council is included below.
Councillor Vacancy
With Steve stepping down, we have a vacancy on the council. If you are
interested in what it entails or would like to apply, please contact our
clerk, Cherie, at parishclerk@tackleyvillage.co.uk. The deadline for applications is
28 February.
Section 106 Money
We had a meeting with the district council’s Section 106 team in December
to go through our ideas on how to allocate the funds.
As they have indicated before, they were happy for £108,000 from
15/01999/OUT ‘offsite sports contribution towards the enhancement of
community facilities within the parish of Tackley’ to go towards the village
hall extension. This was excellent news, and the village hall has since put
in an application for planning permission.
While the £9,000 from 15/01999/OUT ‘Public Arts contribution’ can be used
for projects regarding the Roman mosaic found under the Roman Place
development, their current view is that we cannot use it to pay for the
restoration and display of a section of it.
They did not agree for £72,000 15/00561/OUT ‘leisure and communities
services contribution towards sports and recreation facilities and play
facilities’ to go into a ‘pot’ from which residents could apply for small
grants for projects that meet the criteria, although we plan to use some of
it to replace the roundabout in the playground.
An alternative use for this money could be to build an accessible toilet
building where the teen shelter and table tennis table are (these would be
moved elsewhere). The toilet could be available for use during the day so
that anyone could access our sports and recreation facilities. A storage
room could be included to house tennis nets and other sports equipment, and
a section of the mosaic could be hung on an outside wall on permanent
display. This is currently just an option, and at the moment we do not know
how much it might cost.
So, please accept our apologies for the delay in putting out a final vote
on what to use these funds for. We will try to get it in the April
newsletter.
Waste Recycling Centres: New Booking System
You must now book in advance before visiting Oxfordshire County Council’s
household waste recycling centres. For more information, visit
tackley.link/109 or search
‘oxfordshire hwrc’.
Public Rights of Way
We are very lucky in Tackley to have so many public rights of way through
our local countryside. Many different loops can be taken, accessing
different terrains and views of the surrounding landscapes, as well as
Tackley Heath which has various paths kept clear throughout the year and is
accessible from Fox Hill. To see the routes, visit
publicrightsofway.oxfordshire.gov.uk.
Please refrain from using field margins and grassy areas in fields. They
may just look like scrub; but they are set aside for wildlife, seeded with
wildflowers to help pollinators, and provide refuge and nesting areas.
With spring on its way, ground nesting birds are often invisible until
you’re right on top of them — and it’s even possible to walk on a nest
without noticing. A dog can easily bound through nest sites, destroying
chicks and eggs.
Public rights of way are clearly marked. If you see a well-trodden path but
there isn’t a sign, please don’t use it. Just because you’ve seen other
people use it does not mean you should!
If you’re new to the village and love walking, check out Tackley Walking
Group to learn more about local routes as well as those further afield.
Visit tackley.link/walking for details.
If you see any problems with rights of way, such as a tree fallen across a
path, please let us know and we can contact the landowner.
Tackley Parish Council – Formal Representation on WODC Local Plan
2043
Objection to Proposed Non-Strategic Allocation: Area U, Rousham
Road, Tackley
Date: 12 December 2025
Tackley Parish Council welcomes the opportunity to comment on the Preferred
Spatial Options Consultation (October 2025). Following parish-wide
engagement and review of WODC evidence, the Parish Council submits this
formal representation objecting to the proposed allocation of approximately
70 dwellings at Area U (also referred to as TACK003 in the HELAA
technical site assessment).
Our objection is detailed below, but in brief the proposal to include
Area U is:
Not justified.
Not effective or deliverable as a site.
Not consistent with national or regional policy.
Not positively prepared in any way to meet the needs of Tackley.
Our objection is grounded in the four Tests of Soundness (NPPF para 35) and
supported by evidence gathered through Parish Council public engagement (Oct
and Nov 2025), and the Tackley Housing Needs Survey (April 2025) undertaken
by Community First Oxfordshire.
1. NOT JUSTIFIED – The allocation is not supported by proportionate
evidence
1.1 Housing need in Tackley is modest and small-scale, not 70
dwellings
The Tackley Housing Needs Survey 2025 identifies only 13 households in
genuine affordable housing need, and crucially:
Need is gradually spread across 3–5 years, not immediate.
Need is predominantly for 1–2 bedroom affordable and accessible
homes.
Residents supported only a “small number of homes” for those with local
connections (57% support).
No evidence supports a large mixed-tenure estate.
A 70-unit allocation is wholly disproportionate to the evidenced need.
1.2 Tackley has already absorbed major recent growth
The two most recent housing developments in Tackley (26 homes at Street
Farm completed 2018 and 70 homes at Land East of Nethercote Road completed
2019) have delivered a combined 96 new dwellings within the last
7 years. The 70-dwelling Nethercote Road scheme alone increased the
village’s housing stock by approximately 18% in a single development, an
unprecedented expansion for a rural settlement of this size.
Allocating a further 70 homes within the same plan cycle would:
More than double that expansion.
Represent growth far beyond rural policy expectations.
Conflict with the adopted Local Plan 2031 approach requiring
proportionate rural growth.
1.3 Misclassification as a Large Village
Tackley’s designation as a Tier 3 “Large Village” is not supported by
transparent criteria. The settlement hierarchy appears to have relied
heavily on an arbitrary population threshold of 1,000, despite Tackley only
exceeding this figure because of the recent Nethercote Road expansion
(c. 26% growth since 2018). Before that, Tackley fell below the
threshold. Tackley has very limited services – an hourly train service
accessed through residential streets, a small primary school combining year
groups, and no shop other than a volunteer-run store – indicating it
functions as a small rural village, not a growth location.
1.4 Flawed use of HELAA sieving questions
HELAA Appendix 1 highlights that Tackley sits within or adjacent to
priority biodiversity areas, including habitats identified in the
Oxfordshire Wildlife and Landscape Study (OWLS) such as ancient semi-natural
woodland, species-rich hedgerows, unimproved grassland, reedswamp and
habitat-rich watercourses. Although sieving questions exclude sites only if
they fall “wholly” within protected areas, biodiversity conservation depends
on habitat linkages and ecological networks, not isolated site boundaries. A
narrow application of sieving tests therefore risks undermining the
ecological integrity of the wider landscape and contradicts national nature
recovery principles.
Overall, the evidence base used to justify Area U is incomplete,
inconsistently applied, and materially inaccurate. As such, the allocation
fails the NPPF test of being justified, and cannot lawfully or soundly be
taken forward into the Local Plan.
2. NOT EFFECTIVE – Area U is not realistically deliverable due to
unresolved infrastructure failures
2.1 Wastewater treatment works are non-compliant
WODC’s own evidence confirms:
Sewage treatment works breach permit limits.
Dry-weather discharges already occur.
No committed, funded upgrade exists.
Without confirmed infrastructure, the site cannot be delivered within the
plan period.
2.2 Drainage and flood risk constraints remain unmitigated
Existing surface water problems would be exacerbated by major development,
increasing pollution and localised flood risk. Tackley has a well
documented, frequent and destructive village flood challenge that is
unresolved. Area U specifically is one of the “sink” areas that
protects the village from incoming run off from the surrounding higher
lands. A bund was recently constructed specifically in recognition of this
point.
2.3 Transport, access, and safety constraints
Traffic associated with:
Station access and parking.
School peak times.
Across these areas the proposal creates safety issues for pedestrians and
cyclists. It is unclear even how these challenges could be addressed given
the roads cannot be widened and parking cannot be created in the built up
areas.
Because no deliverable infrastructure solutions are identified, the
allocation fails the soundness test of effectiveness.
3. NOT CONSISTENT WITH NATIONAL POLICY – Conflicts with NPPF principles
on sustainable development, pollution, and rural housing
3.1 Pollution and wastewater (NPPF 153–158)
Allocating housing where the wastewater system is breaching permits is
contrary to national policy requiring plans to prevent unacceptable water
pollution and plan positively for infrastructure.
3.2 Rural housing policy (NPPF 79–80)
National policy requires rural housing to be:
Proportionate.
Responsive to local needs.
Environmentally sustainable.
A 70-unit estate in a constrained Tier 3 village contradicts these
principles.
3.3 Flood risk and climate resilience (NPPF 159–169)
A site with unresolved drainage issues cannot be allocated without robust
evidence of mitigated risk; none is provided.
3.4 The proposed development conflicts with emerging Nature Recovery
Strategy Priorities
Tackley lies within or immediately adjacent to an identified Nature
Recovery Zone, and the newly published Oxfordshire Local Nature Recovery
Strategy (LNRS) sets clear expectations for protecting and enhancing
habitats in such areas. The allocation of Area U for housing is
therefore inconsistent with national policy requiring plans to secure nature
recovery and biodiversity net gain in line with LNRS priorities.
In contrast, the parish has the opportunity to bring forward a
community-led biodiversity enhancement project for this land, potentially
designating it as local green space and delivering multiple LNRS objectives,
including:
Creation of a pond or scrape for carbon sequestration.
Improved public access to nature and community wellbeing.
Habitat for curlew, farmland birds, amphibians (including newts),
invertebrates, and wider species recovery.
Corridor habitat for migrating deer.
This community-led alternative aligns directly with the LNRS criteria and
national policy on nature recovery, whereas a large housing allocation does
not. Tackley Parish Council is already exploring support pathways through
Wild Oxfordshire and the Trust for Oxfordshire’s Environment, whose grant
programmes encourage precisely the type of biodiversity initiative suitable
for this land.
4. NOT POSITIVELY PREPARED – The strategy ignores more sustainable,
better-served locations
The spatial strategy aims to direct growth to:
Larger, better-connected settlements.
Areas with demonstrated infrastructure capacity.
Locations supporting sustainable transport.
Tackley does not meet these criteria. Selecting Area U contradicts the
Council’s own spatial principles and undermines the positive preparation
test.
5. COMMUNITY CONSULTATION CONFIRMS STRONG OPPOSITION TO LARGE-SCALE
GROWTH
The Parish Council’s engagement and the Housing Needs Survey show
residents:
Support only small-scale, locally-targeted homes.
Strongly oppose major expansion.
Prioritise resolving infrastructure failures before any growth.
Public sentiment aligns with the evidence: Area U is not an
appropriate or supported site.
6. REQUESTED MODIFICATION TO THE LOCAL PLAN
To make the Local Plan sound, Tackley Parish Council requests:
Removal of Area U (Rousham Road) from the Local Plan
2043.
If any growth is planned in Tackley, it should:
Be small-scale,
Directly linked to genuine local housing need,
Supported by evidence of deliverable infrastructure, and
Delivered through infill or a small rural exception site, not a large
estate.
CONCLUSION
The inclusion of Tackley Area U is unsound and is:
Not justified,
Not effective,
Not consistent with national policy, and
Not positively prepared.
The Parish Council therefore formally objects to its inclusion.
Shortly before Christmas, which seems ages ago already, I was part of an
interesting discussion about when people put up their Christmas decorations.
Some enjoy getting into the celebrations by putting up the decorations on
1 December, or earlier, while others wait with increasing anticipation
and excitement until Christmas Eve when they make it a special whole-family
activity. In contrast, there was much more consensus about taking the
decorations down by Twelfth Night.
If you visited Steeple Aston Church in January you would have seen the crib
still out, because in church the Christmas season officially ends with
Candlemas at the beginning of February, when we remember Jesus as a tiny
baby being taken to the temple in Jerusalem to be consecrated to the Lord.
There, Simeon and Anna recognise Jesus as the one through whom God would
redeem the world. In a beautiful intergenerational moment, taking baby Jesus
in his arms, Simeon says the words we know as the Nunc dimittis:
“Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss[d] your servant
in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in
the sight of all nations: a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the
glory of your people Israel.”
At the end of 2025, we sadly lost several village members, tributes for
some of whom have been included in recent editions of our newsletter.
Although death comes to us all – it is the one certainty of life – it is not
necessarily easy or welcome. Simeon had been promised, “by the Holy Spirit
that he would not die until until he had seen the Lord’s Messiah”. As he
holds Jesus in his arms, he knows his life is complete; and he is at peace,
and ready to die. He knows God’s love and purpose for the world, and his own
small part in that larger story.
This gift of peace, whether we are facing the death of a loved one or own
mortality, is a wonderful and beautiful gift. Over Christmas I watched a
couple of romcoms telling the story of giving a loved one peace and life
again following someone’s passing. As we move through February – with the
days lengthening, and hopefully warmer weather – we are reminded of the
turning of the seasons; that there is a cyclical nature to life: birth,
growth, death and new birth. We also see this reflected in the life of the
church, as we move from Christmas to Lent and head towards Easter and the
celebration of Jesus’ resurrection.
My prayer for you is that you would know God’s peace, like Simeon, as we
face death, and can be at peace knowing that life continues.
We would like to say a huge thank-you to everyone who donated and supported
our A Warmer Future project through Westhive.
We are delighted to share that the project was awarded £15,000 from
Westhive, and thanks to additional community fundraising the total came to
an incredible £18,746.
This funding is already being put to work to improve the heating and
insulation of the village hall. If you haven’t already noticed, new infrared
heaters have been installed — a big step forward in making the space warmer,
more comfortable and more energy-efficient for everyone who uses it.
Thank you again for helping make this happen.
Garage Sale: Get Involved!
Our first fundraising event of the year is the garage sale, happening on
Saturday, 10 May, and we’d love as many households as possible to take
part.
This will be a village-wide event, with homes hosting stalls from their
garages, driveways or front gardens, as well as tables available inside the
village hall.
A map of Tackley will be produced showing all households taking part. To be
included on the map will cost £5 (see booking link below).
For those who do not have room to host a stall at home, table spaces will
be available inside the village hall for £20. Please note that the number
will be limited due to space.
There will be refreshments available at the hall, including afternoon teas,
with a special thank-you to the Gardiner Arms for sponsoring this part of
the event.
A raffle will also be held, with raffle tickets on sale nearer the
time.
If you’ll be hosting a stall at your own property, please remember to add
your address so we can include you on the map.
Spaces will be limited, particularly inside the hall, so we encourage
anyone interested to book early.
Whether you’re having a clear-out, fundraising for a cause, or just fancy
being part of a great village day, this is a brilliant way to get involved.
Thank you all for your support!
Village Memorial Hall Turns 50
Did you know that the village hall was built in 1976? That means 2026 marks
its 50th birthday, and we’ll be celebrating with a special summer event to
mark the occasion. More details will be coming soon, so keep an eye out in
future newsletters.
Pop-Up Pub
Thank you to everyone who came along, supported, volunteered, and helped
make Christmas and New Year so special. From everyone at TVMH, we hope you
have a fantastic year!
Plans are underway for the Pop-Up Pub’s return and for events later this
year. We’ll be sharing more information soon, including dates and
opportunities to get involved.
Join us from Friday, 3 April from 5:30 pm. We’re looking forward
to another great year, hopefully with more amazing weather and many good
nights to come.
The Tackley Golf Society season will begin in February (Heythrop Park) and
March (Hadden Hill).
We would welcome any residents of Tackley, and their guests, to come and
join us for an enjoyable round of golf.
An official handicap is not necessary, and the average handicap of players
is around 23/24, so everyone has a chance of winning!
We visit local courses around the county, playing 18 holes after bacon
rolls and coffee.
February: Heythrop Park
March: Hadden Hill
April: Drayton Park
May: Studley Wood
June: away trip on 5 June: one night, two rounds, dinner and B&B at
the Abbey Hotel, Redditch
July: Kirtlington
August: Cherwell Edge
September: To be added
October: Buckingham
November: Oxford
Joining an event is very easy once you have been added to the list of
players on the golf society website. To be added, please email Jim Kavanagh
at jkavan87@gmail.com. Once access
to the site is given, you simply review the events and sign up.
Finally, a senior member of the society, Dave Robson, sadly passed away in
2025. Dave was the prime mover and founder of Tackley Golf Society
many years ago, and was a keen supporter of the society. When it was first
started, at the season end he would organise a black tie event that was
usually held at one of the local hotels he had been the architect for! He
also contributed one of our trophies, The Founders Cup, which will be
renamed in his honour.
Our meeting on Monday, 23 February, immediately after the AGM, will be
a celebration of the collecting habit — and of 50 years of the Tackley Local
History Group. Examples from a range of collections will be on show. A
special feature will be a slideshow of photographs of the village, some
dating back more than a century.
Items from the collection of Simon Somerscales will feature at
the February meeting. This is his photograph of one of them: a bottle more
than 300 years old.
Would you like to contribute? Whether it’s train tickets, teacups, stamps,
postcards, or anything else within reason, we would like to know what you
collect. Especially if it reflects local history, there may well be a place
for it on the day. Email
tackleyhistory@gmail.com or
contact any member of the committee.
Roman Villa Display
By the time this newsletter appears in your mailbox, or soon after, a new
display will also appear in the lobby of Tackley Village Hall. Designed by
Chris Matthews, this large and colourful poster tells the story of the
discovery of the Roman villa in our midst. It will be a window onto that
dynamic era in our local history, the time when Tackley was a Romano–British
settlement. Make sure you take a look at the new display when it is open,
encouraging your children or grandchildren to come along too.
One of the mosaic floors that emerged from underneath Street Farm’s fields
has been given to the village community. Where and how should it go on
display? The history group is on the case, and invites you to share your
ideas. We owe it to the children raised in the village now and in the future
to hand this legacy on to them, and with it a richer understanding of our
local history. And they need to see the real thing.
Tackley WI enjoyed an interesting and varied programme of meetings in 2025.
We are looking forward to our programme for 2026, which includes talks and
activities covering a wide variety of topics, and practical crafts.
On Tuesday, 3 February our guest speaker, Jackie Allen, will
demonstrate how to pack the ultimate capsule suitcase, solving our holiday
packing dilemmas. It promises to be a fun and informative evening. There
will also be fashion items and accessories for sale.
All women are warmly invited to come along and enjoy our evening meetings.
Visitors £5, including refreshments.
Tuesday, 3 March will be our members’ annual meeting, followed by a
talk by Sue Smith, the Oxfordshire WI Climate Ambassador. Tackley WI members
are keen to learn more on what we can each do to reduce our climate impact,
supporting the WI’s climate change initiatives.
Tackley WI has a friendly and welcoming membership. Most months we hold a
coffee morning for our members, which provides an additional social
opportunity to meet and chat. We have wide and varied interests, and our
ages range from 30s to 90s.
Tackley WI meets on the first Tuesday of the month (excluding January) at
7:30 for 7:45 pm at Tackley Village Memorial Hall.
We have two open meetings scheduled for later in the year, where men are
also invited to attend. These will be clearly publicised nearer the
time.
We start 2026 with our AGM on Tuesday, 17 February, in the village
hall as usual, at 7:45 for 8 pm. There will be a quiz with cheese and
wine.
On Tuesday, 17 March we have a return visit from speaker Tim Walker, a
very interesting and entertaining man. His talk is titled Blades of
Glory. We also have Steeple Aston Garden Club visiting, so it would
be lovely to see as many as possible of you attend.
Although the weather hasn’t been great, and it’s too early for tidying up,
the one thing I have done is to cut the large leaves off hellebores to show
off the blooms. They are totally hardy.
Artificial Light at Night: Please Help Save Local
Wildlife
Huge amounts of time and money are currently being spent to help improve
biodiversity in Oxfordshire.
One way we can all help is to ensure that we are not creating problems for
nocturnal wildlife by using too much light at night. It is well documented
that artificial light at night is directly causing the deaths of millions of
migratory birds each year, and is also severely impacting nocturnal wildlife
including protected species like bats, owls and hedgehogs. Every single
streetlight or outside light at night can kill well over a hundred insects.
This has contributed to the huge reduction in insect numbers, meaning less
food for insect-eaters like bats and birds.
Too much light at night also affects the circadian rhythms of birds,
mammals and humans. There is increasing evidence that lights at night,
especially the bright white LED variety, will not only affect sleep cycles
but also increase the risk of obesity, diabetes and cancer in humans.
For safety reasons, we can’t turn off every single light at night. However,
we can choose to use the appropriate amount of light in the right place and
at the right time. If you do have outside lights, please shield them so they
only shine downwards, not straight up into the sky or into the windows of
neighbouring properties. If you have motion-triggered security lights, they
should be set to only trigger if something human-sized walks onto your
property — not a cat, badger or hedgehog.
We are very grateful to the people who live near us for making the changes
they have to improve their security light settings. However, our all-sky and
meteor cameras are detecting increasing numbers of incredibly bright lights
shining upwards and lighting up vast areas of sky over several parts of
Tackley. Please double-check your outside light settings, and give our
wildlife a fighting chance. It will also help preserve our dark sky so that
a new generation of astronomers can continue to enjoy our beautiful night
sky, and observe the Milky Way, meteor showers and aurora.
For more information about the importance of dark skies, from the Campaign
to Protect Rural England, please visit
tackley.link/110.
Macmillan Coffee and Crafts
Dawn Chambers
A belated but enormous thank-you to everyone who contributed to the
Macmillan event on 15 November 2025: the crafters, the bakers, the
raffle ticket sellers and those who donated prizes, the many loyal helpers,
the customers, and the coffee drinkers. Also a special thank-you to those
who could not attend but still donated. Between us we raised the amazing sum
of £1,450. Your kind support is helping to change the lives of people
affected by cancer. Thank you again.
Joan Ackrill
Joan’s Family
Joan’s family would like to thank everyone who attended the service to
celebrate her life, donated so generously, and sent cards, messages and
shared memories of her (and Bill) from their 65 years in Tackley. She will
be missed beyond measure, but the support from everyone has been a great
comfort to us. A total of £832 was donated to the Royal Agricultural
Benevolent Institution (RABI) in her memory.
