Cherwell will change its planned curbs on Wroxton motocross after the operators said they were unlawful. The Executive decides on Monday 5 October.
Cherwell District Council is set to rewrite the planning curbs it promised for the Wroxton motocross track. The landowners and operators have challenged them as unlawful.
In June the council’s Executive voted to bring in new controls over larger events at the track, which sits off the A422 Stratford Road about three miles west of Banbury. The council has been responding to residents’ concerns about it since 2019.
A report going to the Executive on Monday 5 October says some changes are now needed. It asks councillors to hand officers the power to amend the controls, then consult on them, without bringing each change back to a meeting. The report is on the agenda for the 5 October meeting.
What the council agreed in June
Under national planning rules, land can be used for motor racing for up to 14 days a year without planning permission. That is how the track has operated since an enforcement notice was complied with in 2024.
On 16 June the Executive agreed to make what is called an Article 4 Direction. It would take away part of that automatic permission, so larger events would need a planning application first. The council’s June report set out the case:
- In 2025 the 14 race days were used as seven practice days and four championship events, three of them over two days.
- One event fell on Remembrance Sunday, and activity during the minute of silence drew a high volume of complaints.
- The biggest event, the British Masters, advertises nine race classes with up to 40 riders each.
- The council’s own noise officers found no grounds to act on noise under current guidelines, though they called the picture finely balanced.
The council chose not to ban racing outright. It went for a narrower direction aimed at larger events, because a full ban was judged more likely to be overturned by the Secretary of State.
The council’s announcement in June quoted Councillor Chris Brant, the portfolio holder for planning: “This is not a routine planning measure; it is a substantial intervention and a clear recognition of the concerns that residents have been raising for many years.”
What the operators say is wrong with it
Two letters sent on behalf of the landowners and operators are published with Monday’s report. The first, dated 16 June, from Artland Limited, was sent on the day of the June meeting. Its main points:
- The plan to make events depend on the council approving an Event Management Plan has no basis in law. There is no deadline for the council to decide and no right of appeal.
- The 120-rider threshold above which controls would apply is arbitrary. No noise or traffic study shows why 121 riders is harmful and 120 is not.
- The operators were given fewer than five working days’ notice of the June meeting.
The second letter, dated 7 September, is from planning lawyers Khift Ltd. It argues that an Article 4 Direction can only remove permitted development rights. It cannot add conditions, such as limits on dates or on how events are run. Conditions, it says, can only be attached to a planning permission. The letter cites a 1978 court case, Thanet District Council v Ninedrive.
The same letter asks the council to withdraw the enforcement notice on the site (ref 19/00316/ENF), saying all the work it required has been done.
What the council now proposes
The 5 October report says officers have reviewed the legal and evidence points. They consider it appropriate to change the terms agreed in June “in respect of the requirement for an Event Management Plan” before the direction is made.
It does not say what will replace that requirement. It asks the Executive to let the Assistant Director for Planning decide the final wording, with the portfolio holder and the council’s monitoring officer. Officers could also make further changes after the consultation.
The report does not respond to the request to withdraw the enforcement notice. It warns of “a potential risk of legal challenge” and says any defence would come from existing budgets.
What it means for you
Nothing changes at the track this year. The direction is “non-immediate”. Once it is made, at least 12 months must pass before it takes effect. That gap means the council does not have to pay the operators compensation.
You will get a say. Once the wording is settled, the direction goes out to a statutory consultation and the Secretary of State is told. The council’s notice will say how to comment. The Secretary of State can cancel or change the direction.
The Executive meets at 4.30pm on Monday 5 October at 39 Castle Quay, Banbury. The item covers the Wroxton, Hornton and Shenington with Alkerton parishes. It is a key decision and can be called in.
Wroxton residents can follow the council’s other planning decisions on our Banbury planning news page.
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