BASE HEADER

Yes

ID sylw: 107295

Derbyniwyd: 07/03/2025

Ymatebydd: Cotswolds National Landscape Board

Oxhill
Summary of Oxhill sites
Oxhill is located approximately 2km from the boundary of the CNL. As such, it lies within the CNL 3km buffer zone, within which consideration should be given to potential impacts on the natural beauty of the CNL (for example, potential impacts on views from the CNL).
The Preferred Options document identifies three sites for further consideration:
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RefID 29: Land adjacent to Hares Breath, Whatcote Road, Oxhill (2.11ha).
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RefID 663: Land off Green Lane, Oxhill (23.05ha), which includes the area covered by:
o
RefID 754: Green Lane, Oxhill (3.18ha)
RefID 663 is, therefore, by far the largest site and is the site that is most likely to impact on views from the CNL.
Assessment
RefID 663 comes within approximately 2.1km of the CNL boundary and within approximately 3km of elevated views from public rights of way (PROW), within the CNL, on the slopes of Windmill Hill. Windmill Hill is located within Landscape Character Type (LCT) 6 - Ironstone Hills and Valleys.198 More specifically, it is located within Landscape Character Area 6A - Ironstone Hills and Valleys (Whichford Hills and Valleys). One of the key features / characteristics of LCT 6 is the ‘dramatic sweeping views over wide areas of the landscape’. Therefore, a key consideration will be the extent to which the sites at Oxhill, particularly RefID 663.
The settlement boundary of Oxhill covers approximately 20ha. Ref ID 663 and RefID 29 would increase this area by 24.16ha. In other words, the area of built development would be more than doubled. As such, development on these sites could result in Oxhill becoming more prominent in views from the CNL.
However, the PROW on Windmill Hill are orientated in a south-west to north-east direction, whereas Oxhill is to the north-west of Windmill Hill. As such, the Oxhill area is not likely to be a primary focal point for users of these PROW. Also, the top of Windmill Hill is encircled by trees, limiting the views that can be experienced across the wider landscape.
Conclusions
We recommend that further assessments should be undertaken to assess the potential visual impact of RefID 663 on views from the CNL.