Oxfordshire pays its respects this week: to freedom fighter Mandela p5
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Thursday, December 12 - Wednesday, December 18, 2013
FFRREE EE IN INSSIIDE
SOUTH OXFORDSHIRE & THE VALE
Thursday, Decemb er 12 - Wednesday, December 18,
2013 www.oxfordshireguardi an.co.uk
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AIRFIELD HOMES GET GO AHEAD 2,500 houses approved after decade on back burner By James Booker
Independent retailers honoured
FOUR businesses in Wantage and Grove were the proud recipients of the area’s inaugural local business awards on Saturday. TFD Health and Fitness won the Exceptional Customer Service Award, while the Bear won best restaurant.
King Alfred’s Head was named Best Pub, and the Dolphin Gallery scooped best shop front prize. Wantage and District Chamber of Commerce president Gurmukh Randhawa said: “May our local independents continue to prosper!”
jamesb@taylornewspapers.co.uk
PLANS h have finally been granted to build 2,500 homes on Grove airfield. The development, d over 10 years in planning, will also include a shopping centre, two primary schools and a secondary school. The decision was made at a Vale of White Horse District Council (VWHDC) planning committee meeting last week. Cllr Roger Cox, VWHDC cabinet member for planning development said: “This project has been on the drawing board for a decade and forms a major part of the Council’s five-year housing land supply calculations. “Thanks to fresh initiatives in the last two years and the active co-operation of all parties, we have progressed to granting outline permission and I am very pleased.” The homes will be built in three phases, the fi rst of 500, followed
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by two more phases of 1,000 each. The expected delivery rate is approximately 250 homes a year. The plans are part of a project to bring 5,500 new homes to the Wantage and Grove area. Cllr Matthew Barber, leader of the Vale, said: “Grove airfield is an important step towards providing a five year land supply, and once the next planning stages have been completed we look forward to seeing houses being built, which will make a real difference to our housing supply. “It’s been a long time coming, but it was vitally important to make sure that a development on this scale is done properly. “People in Grove and Wantage can rest assured we have been working very hard to make sure their concerns have been taken into account in this process.” Cllr Zoe Patrick, Oxfordshire County Council’s ward member for Wantage and Grove, said it was ‘essential’ to get the proper infrastructure in place along with the housing. “This will be a huge challenge for the whole area as we struggle to cope with the sheer amount • Continued on page 3