Oxspring Fields

Full and in-depth information relating to the proposed development on the eastern edge of Oxspring, facilitating aspirations of the Parish Council and its Neighbourhood Plan Group

Welcome. This website provides details of the rare opportunity and exciting prospect to provide and further enhance facilities for the residents of Oxspring and the wider community, to be brought about by a housing development entitled ‘Oxspring Fields’ currently proposed on the eastern edge of the village.

The benefits that will be delivered include:

• The construction of 150 new homes of which, significantly, 30% will be affordable homes for local people.
• Funding of £500,000 (FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND POUNDS) towards a Community Centre/Sports Pavilion, to be constructed at the existing sports field in Oxspring.
• Delivery of a new Country Park to the East of the Proposed Housing development.
• Access to the ‘Oxspring Rocher Valley’ enabling the creation of Riverside Walks and the potential to create Footpaths, Picnic Areas and a Local Parish Fishing Club.
• A Visitor Centre/Tourism Hub which will provide local jobs.
• Provision of Three new access points to the Trans Pennine Trail from the existing Primary School, Sports Field and Proposed Visitor Centre/Tourism Hub.
• Delivery of the Funding and the land required for a Strategic Public Transport Interchange in Penistone.*

This website also provides detailed information on the individual aspects of the proposed development and includes a number of documents giving the background history of the proposed site including;

• Technical professional assessments and reports that have been undertaken; and
• Correspondence between the Developer, Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council, Oxspring Parish Council and its Neighbourhood Plan Group.

* This facility will be delivered in conjunction with a draft housing site allocation South of Halifax Road in Penistone.

Developer

Yorkshire Land Limited (YLL) is a privately owned company that has successfully developed land in and around Penistone and the Western Rural Area for almost thirty years and, in doing so, has gained significant knowledge of the district. The Company has a track record of delivery and has brought tens of millions of pounds of investment into the area.

In Oxspring; YLL has been instrumental in the delivery of the Millstones, Brookfield, Longley Ings and Wood Cottages housing developments, and the Marrtree Business Park, all of which have brought positive changes and improvements and have provided many with an opportunity to reside within the Parish.

The Company’s focus is to ensure that, alongside this proposed ‘Oxspring Fields’ development, the community receive benefits that will further enhance the local environment and achieve both the current and long awaited amenity aspirations of the local Parish Council and the Neighbourhood Plan.

Project Inception

YLL were approached, in November 2013, to discuss the site as a potential alternative development to the then proposed housing site allocation ‘LD10’ (land to the north and south of Roughbirchworth Lane, Oxspring) which measures 5.1 ha in size and was allocated for 111 low density homes (though the site could accommodate in excess of 150 general market homes) which would be served via new access points off of Roughbirchworth lane. Site ‘LD10’ now has a new BMBC Local Plan Reference ‘SAF18’ and is shown to be designated as ‘Safeguarded Land.’ Thus, the land is safeguarded and could provide future housing development.

YLL believe that the development of site ‘SAF18’ has the potential to create negative impacts for the village and the local environment, in respect of landscape, traffic (utilising Roughbirchworth Lane), drainage, settlement form, the coalescence of Oxspring with Roughbirchworth and the amenity of existing residents residing in this part of the village.

The proposed ‘Oxspring Fields’ development site is located on the eastern edge of Oxspring, close to the heart and historic centre of the village and is contained on all sides by strong, logical and enduring boundaries. These are formed by the B6462 ‘Sheffield Road’ to the North, the Trans Pennine Trail to the South, the former industrial works to the East and the village sports ground to the West.

The proposed development would therefore have no impact on the wider Green Belt. All traffic from the development, including construction traffic, can access the strategic highway network without travelling through the village and all drainage connections will be to the East of the development, away from the village.

In addition to being the most appropriate site to deliver future homes to serve the village, from an environmental point of view, the proposed ‘Oxspring Fields’ development will deliver a significant level of social and economic benefits to the local community and can, realistically, achieve many of the aspirations portrayed by Oxspring Parish Council and its Neighbourhood Plan Group.

Initial Development Proposals

In providing clear details of this initial master plan, identifying each of the proposed aspects of the proposed development, we trust you will find this website informative and we hope that it will inspire enthusiasm towards supporting this once in a life time opportunity. We invite you to give your views/comments in the ‘Comments’ box which can be located by clicking on the link in the menu above.

We look forward to hearing from you.