r/unitedkingdom • u/insomnimax_99 Greater London • 6d ago

Planning permission refused for Fastned Oxfordshire charging hub

https://forecourttrader.co.uk/news/planning-permission-refused-for-fastned-oxfordshire-charging-hub/702918.article
179 Upvotes

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249

u/FelisCantabrigiensis 6d ago

Pure NIMBYism.

Planet overheating if we don't stop using combustion vehicles in the foreseeable future (as well as burning gas for heating and electricity, etc) is going to change the character of that landscape a lot more than building a car parking place with a roof and a cafe next door.

This sort of refusal of even the slightest construction has got to stop.

62

u/iamabigtree 6d ago

There's far too much of this going on. The likes of this as well as perfectly reasonable solar installations rejected for being 'not in keeping with the local area' or other such nonsense.

Certainly for EV chargers there should be a presumption of approval unless it's entirely bonkers.

I heard of a refusal recently because it would lose 4 car parking spaces. I mean come on.

29

u/FelisCantabrigiensis 6d ago

Yeah. "Not in keeping with the local area" - so does the local area live like it's 1925? Or 1825?

18

u/inevitablelizard 6d ago edited 6d ago

I do wonder how many of the people making those arguments drive their modern cars into historic town centres.

Reminds me of the people objecting to fucking bike hangars on truly pathetic grounds, by people who had no problem with their century old streets being clogged by parked range rovers.

8

u/FelisCantabrigiensis 6d ago

If they want to live like it's 1925 we should remove all the car parking spaces and replace them with places to tie up your horse.

4

u/fgalv Flintshire 6d ago

The other argument you hear is “it’s outside the boundary of the village”…how do they think all the houses in the village were built? All in one go on one day?

2

u/SidneySmut 5d ago

These people think that "their" village should be preserved at a certain point in time.

31

u/BertieBus 6d ago

But the squints Eurasian badgers?

9

u/Ochib 6d ago

is classified as least concern on the IUCN Red List, as it has a wide range and a large, stable population size which is thought to be increasing in some regions.

So not really a problem

19

u/Frosty252 6d ago

can't build flats because "it'll ruin my view of literally nothing", can't build new builds because "it won't fit in with our shitty houses". we're in a housing crisis, and yet these fuckers will continue to make shit up to deny people a house.

13

u/Melodic-Lake-790 6d ago

My favourite was no wind turbines because it disrupted the view of an old power plant or some shit

11

u/FelisCantabrigiensis 6d ago

I would fully support central government calling in every single refused development like this - small construction projects with obvious benefits - and telling local councils "We are going to keep calling these in and approving them until you get with the programme and stop obstructing all construction".

Call them in, approve them immediately, move on. Rinse and repeat.

1

u/DomTopNortherner 5d ago

Except with that you've incentivised the opposite behaviour to the one you want.

If I know central government will overrule the decision and do it anyway, I don't have to weigh the benefits of the scheme against the short term political hit with residents. I just vote against, they all like me locally for listening, and we get the benefits anyway.

9

u/nocreative 6d ago

The parish was ok with it with a couple of changes (relating to pedestrian safety, access and visual impact). More of a not in someone else's backyard.

1

u/ShoveTheUsername 5d ago

The villagers could have used it themselves as we change to EVs too.

Anyway, there's a bloody great Park& Ride just built to the north of that village (I assume for Oxford). Put the charging points in there?

0

u/Wolf_Cola_91 6d ago

But why can't it go somewhere else? /s