The Case / Chronology
Chronology
Seventeen years of promises, floods, inquiries and appeals — every entry drawn from the published evidence. This is the central proof of the case: read against Section II of the case document, the 2009 "fund in full" promise and its 2026 status are the two ends of the same sentence.
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22 June 2026
Consortium lodges reviewed application
A reviewed application for 1,250 homes rests on Active Travel in place of the West End Link. NWAG's objection is submitted to the WODC Planning Portal; NWAG posts its comments in August 2026. APP 2026
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December 2025
NWAG responds to the 2043 Local Plan consultation
Response to questions 11 & 12: the NWSDA is not viable on audited costs of £91.3m — £73,000 per dwelling — and "should be removed from the 2043 Local Plan". LP2043 2025
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2024
Appeal dismissed — and the Consortium is revealed as fragmented
A2 Dominion's appeal for Parcel 3 (23/00025/APPEAL) heard that there is "no Equalisation Agreement" between the five developers of Parcels 1 & 2. The Inspector dismisses the appeal: the SDA must be masterplanned as one. NWAG objects to application 24/00482/OUT (April 2024). APP 2024
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May 2024
£91.3m — the viability number
WODC's CIL Viability Assessment (NWAG update), using 2024 BCIS data, puts required strategic infrastructure at £91.3m — a £73,000 build-cost levy per house, before any town or parish CIL request. CIL 2024
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2023
The 2041 Plan takes shape — NWAG responds three times
EIA scoping (May), a letter to the WODC Principal Planner (25 July) and the Local Plan 2041 submission (October). LP2041 2023
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February 2021
Petition reaches 1,775
Past the 1,500-signature threshold at which WODC has to formally reconsider the development. News post
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December 2020
Fifty-four properties flooded
Internal flooding at Mill House Care Home, Riverside Gardens and Riverside House; evacuations required. The Section 19 investigation follows. S19 2022
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2020 · 2019
Chairman in the press; Taylor Wimpey tries again
Stuart Harrison makes the landscape case in the Witney Gazette, Oxford Times and Oxford Mail (May 2020). Taylor Wimpey's renewed Parcel 2 application — after 2017 and 2019 attempts to move forward singularly — is opposed by NWAG.
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September 2018
2031 Local Plan adopted — WIT2 and WEL2 enshrined
The Inspector's report is unambiguous: "development would require the construction of the West End link… the road will be required for the full development." WODC adopts the plan with up to 1,400 homes at North Witney.
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2017
Public inquiry — NWAG attends every day
July 2017, two weeks at WODC's offices. NWAG responds to the Sustainability Appraisal consultation in December. In March, "Questions that need answering" challenge Cllr Toby Morris's account of the inspector's role.
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2014
NWAG formed; first submission; 1,000 signatures
WODC publishes the Draft 2031 Local Plan; NWAG forms and submits (September 2014), raising a petition of over 1,000 signatures presented to WODC, the Prime Minister and the Government Inspector. OCC's TRA1 modelling shows traffic more than doubling. December 2013–January 2014: flooding in West End, Bridge Street and Riverside Gardens. TRA1 2014
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2012
The Consortium's commitments, in writing
Meridian's Statement of Commitment to WODC (March) and highways delivery trajectory (September); the Consortium's Developer Framework Document (December). WODC-commissioned Kirkham Landscape Report finds "high landscape sensitivity" and a landscape "worth preserving". KIRKHAM 2012
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2009
"Fund in full" — the original premise
The North Witney Consortium's leaflet and submission to WODC promises to "fund in full" the West End Link, affordable housing, frequent bus services, links to Hanborough station, a new primary school, community centre and doctors' surgery. PROMISE 2009
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July 2007
240 properties flooded — "the biggest threat to life"
The Environment Agency's flood review records the Hailey Road Drain overflowing, "an alarming flow travelling overland down the Hailey Road at very high speed", and manhole covers lifting. EA 2007