SHIPLAKE RESIDENTS - ACTION NEEDED NOW

Proposed Pony Field Housing Development (P26/S1042/O)

A major outline planning application has now been submitted to South Oxfordshire District Council for up to 60 houses on open countryside land off Reading Road and Bolney Lane (known locally as Pony Field), in Lower Shiplake.

This is one of the most significant speculative development proposals Shiplake has faced in recent years and it is extremely important that residents engage with the planning process before the objection deadline of 28 May 2026.

View and comment on the application here:

South Oxfordshire Planning Application P26/S1042/O

Why Residents Are Concerned

The proposed site lies outside the Built-Up Area Boundary for Lower Shiplake and therefore sits, in planning terms, within protected open countryside. The proposal appears to conflict with both the South Oxfordshire Local Plan and the adopted Shiplake Neighbourhood Plan, which was specifically designed to protect the rural setting and character of Lower Shiplake and Shiplake Cross.

Residents are also concerned by the site’s highly sensitive environmental setting, including its location within an SPZ1 Source Protection Zone over a principal aquifer and close to Thames Water potable boreholes. Questions have also been raised regarding drainage, flooding, sewer infrastructure capacity, chalk dissolution features, highway safety and the potential need for extensive engineering works.

Many residents will remember the long-running Thames Farm development saga, where major technical and environmental issues only became fully understood after outline consent had already been granted. A significant concern now is that the Pony Field proposal risks repeating many of the same mistakes by deferring key technical matters until later stages.

Importantly, only recently the Planning Inspectorate dismissed a speculative housing appeal at New Road, Shiplake. In that case, the Inspector gave significant weight to the protections within the Shiplake Neighbourhood Plan and rejected proposals for housing outside the settlement boundary. That decision demonstrates that strong planning arguments and coordinated local engagement can succeed.

There is also growing concern that this application may not be a standalone proposal. Information emerging through South Oxfordshire’s wider land assessment process appears to indicate that nearby adjoining land has also been promoted for potential future development consideration. For many residents, this raises serious concerns about long-term development creep and the gradual urbanisation of the countryside surrounding Lower Shiplake.

What Residents Should Do

Residents are strongly encouraged to submit objections before 28 May 2026 and to focus on genuine planning issues such as:

1. Conflict with the Shiplake Neighbourhood Plan
2. Development in open countryside outside the Built-Up Area Boundary
3. Aquifer and groundwater risks
4. Drainage and flooding concerns
5. Unresolved geotechnical and engineering issues
6. Highway safety and traffic impacts
7. Pressure on sewer and local infrastructure capacity
8. Environmental and landscape harm
9. The absence of adequate supporting information and due diligence

Please use these points as guidance and write objections in your own words wherever possible creating personalised responses reflecting individual concerns and local knowledge. Importantly, comments based purely on loss of views or general dislike of development carry very limited weight in planning terms. Well-reasoned objections grounded in planning policy and technical concerns are far more effective.

Objection Letter link:

Objection Letter Template - PLEASE TAILOR THE LETTER TO YOUR INDIVIDUAL CIRCUMSTANCES

How to Respond

Submit comments online:
Submit Comments on Application P26/S1042/O

Planning Officer: Emma Bowerman
Email: planning.admin@southandvale.gov.uk

Residents wishing to receive updates and guidance can request to join the Pony Field Objection Group WhatsApp via:

ponyfieldobjectiongroup1@outlook.com

This proposal could permanently alter the future character of Lower Shiplake and the surrounding countryside. If the community wishes its concerns to be heard clearly, now is the time to act.

Posted by: Anthony Platt | 21/05/2026 10:55 am