Bloxham voted 753 to 125 for its new neighbourhood plan: 125 homes at Painters Farm, land for the school, a burial ground. Cherwell adopts it in October.

Bloxham has voted for its new neighbourhood plan by 753 votes to 125. The plan sets out where the village, about four miles south west of Banbury, will grow until 2042.

Cherwell District Council’s Executive is asked on Monday 5 October to recommend that the full council formally adopts it. The full council next meets on 19 October.

The referendum was held on 27 August. According to the declaration of the result:

  • 3,002 people were entitled to vote.
  • 881 ballot papers were issued, a turnout of 29.35%.
  • 753 voted yes and 125 voted no. Three papers were rejected.

More than half had to vote yes for the plan to pass. The council’s report puts the yes share at 85%.

What the plan does

This is Bloxham’s second neighbourhood plan. The first was adopted in December 2016. Bloxham Parish Council submitted the revised version in October 2025, and an independent examiner cleared it for a referendum in May.

Once adopted, Cherwell must use it when deciding planning applications in the parish. The final version has 15 policies. The biggest changes are these:

  • A settlement boundary is drawn around the village for the first time. New building inside it is supported in principle. Outside it, only uses that need a countryside location are.
  • About 340 new homes are provided for on four sites outside that boundary. Three already have planning permission.
  • Painters Farm, land east of Tadmarton Road, is allocated for about 125 homes.
  • Larger housing schemes should be 30% one and two-bedroom homes, 60% three-bedroom and 10% four-bedroom or more.
  • Bungalows: where practical, at least 10% of homes on a scheme should be bungalows designed for older or disabled people.
  • Three Local Green Spaces are kept: Jubilee Park, the David Tyrrell Recreation Ground and the Slade Nature Reserve. That status gives them the same protection from building as Green Belt.
Bar chart of the four housing sites in the Bloxham Modified Neighbourhood Plan: South of Hartshill Close 130 homes, East of Tadmarton Road (Painters Farm) 125 homes, West of Tadmarton Road 55 homes, North of Ells Lane 30 homes. Painters Farm is the only newly allocated site; the other three already have planning permission.
Where Bloxham's new homes are planned. Chart by Banbury Online
Share this chartFacebookWhatsAppX

Painters Farm: what the village gets in return

The plan says Painters Farm should be a mixed scheme, not just housing. Policy BL2 supports it only if it provides:

  • land next to the primary school for extra school parking and possible future expansion of the school
  • land for a new burial ground
  • the barn on the western edge of the site, kept for conversion to a community building once its farm use ends
  • a public open space on Hobb Hill, with a viewing platform, a picnic area and a new woodland belt
  • a drainage scheme designed to reduce surface water flooding near the site, not just to cope with the new homes

Vehicles would get in from Tadmarton Road. Pedestrians could also use footpaths onto Courtington Lane. The plan says the landowner has confirmed they are willing to meet all of these requirements and that a scheme meeting them would be viable.

A planning application is still needed. The plan sets the principles; it does not grant permission.

Why more homes than Cherwell asked for

Cherwell gave the parish an indicative figure of 75 homes to plan for. The plan provides for about 340. The parish council says it went further on purpose, to secure flood protection and school land that only a large scheme could pay for.

It also says it will consider a review if Cherwell’s new Local Plan, once adopted, sets Bloxham a different housing figure.

What it means for you

If you live in Bloxham, the plan will carry full legal weight in planning decisions for the parish. It covers how big new homes should be, where building can go, design in the conservation area, parking and the protected green spaces.

If you are watching Painters Farm, the next step is a planning application. When one is lodged it will be open to comment, and it will be judged against Policy BL2. We track the biggest applications on our Banbury planning news page.

First Homes: if a developer offers these discounted homes in Bloxham, the plan sets the discount at at least 40% below market value, against the usual 30%.

The Executive meets at 4.30pm on Monday 5 October at 39 Castle Quay, Banbury, and the agenda is online.