The Planning & Regulation Committee of Oxfordshire Council was scheduled to discuss a planning application for a combined heat and power plant at Ferris Hill Farm, Hook Norton. The committee was also due to consider exempt minutes from a previous meeting.

Planning Application for Combined Heat and Power Plant at Ferris Hill Farm

A significant item on the agenda was a part retrospective planning application for the creation of a development platform, erection of a new building, and the installation and operation of a Combined Heat and Power (CHP) plant, along with associated landscape works, at Ferris Hill Farm, Sibford Road, Hook Norton, Banbury (OX15 5JY).

The report pack indicated that the proposed development would involve burning approximately 10,000-20,000 tonnes of waste per year to generate electricity and heat. The application was part retrospective as the platform for the building had already been constructed. The report highlighted that the proposed CHP building would be located on greenfield agricultural land.

The report pack recommended that planning permission for application MW.0027/24 be refused for several reasons. These included:

• Diversion of Waste from Recycling: The proposal was seen as potentially diverting a substantial proportion of waste currently recycled at the safeguarded Banbury Plant & Skip Hire site into residual waste treatment through incineration. This was considered contrary to policy W2 of the Oxfordshire Minerals and Waste Core Strategy (OMWCS) and the National Planning Policy for Waste, as no robust evidence was provided to demonstrate that this material could not continue to be managed at a higher tier of the waste hierarchy. Furthermore, the proposal was not expected to provide any increase in recycling capacity and would not address the identified shortfall in non-hazardous waste recycling capacity in Oxfordshire. The report stated that as no need for additional residual waste treatment capacity had been demonstrated, the development was contrary to policies W1 and W3 of the OMWCS.
• Use of Greenfield Land: The proposed development would extend waste management operations onto previously undeveloped agricultural land. The applicant had not demonstrated that this would be the most suitable or sustainable option, making the development contrary to policy W5 of the OMWCS.
• Failure to Constitute Sustainable Development: It was not demonstrated that the development would not increase the incineration of waste material capable of being recycled, thus moving waste management down the waste hierarchy. This was not outweighed by the claimed energy recovery benefits. The development was therefore considered to fail to deliver sustainable outcomes and was not sustainable development, contrary to policy C1 of the OMWCS and policies PSD1 and ESD3 of the Cherwell Local Plan 2031.

The report pack also detailed various planning documents and policies relevant to the application, including the Oxfordshire Minerals and Waste Core Strategy, the Cherwell Local Plan 2011-2031, and the National Planning Policy Framework. It outlined consultation responses from various bodies, including Cherwell District Council, Thames Water, the Environment Agency, and the Cotswolds Conservation Board.

Exempt Minutes of Previous Meeting

The committee was also scheduled to consider exempt minutes from the previous meeting held on 23 February 2026. This item was designated as exempt due to the likely disclosure of information that could be subject to legal professional privilege, as described in Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972.