Welcome to Binfield Heath, a civil parish near Henley-on-Thames in South Oxfordshire. It encompasses Binfield Heath village and the hamlet of Crowsley
PARISH NEWS
To read the latest Binfield Heath newsletter from Marina Hart please click here:
The village newsletter is published by Marina Hart, who would like to hear from anyone with news or information likely to be of interest to local residents, on marina.hart9@outlook.com Contributions are welcomed from people living in the parish and beyond. You can send emails and attachments in Word or as pdfs. Please give your name and contact details. We reserve the right not to publish unsuitable or irrelevant material. We hope you enjoy reading the newsletters and find them useful. For an emailed version please contact Marina.
Woodwax Field and Woodwax Stables
The Parish Council is aware that Woodwax Field is being offered for sale by an auction house and is advertised on several of the usual platforms including Rightmove and Zoopla. The sales technique appears to use ‘land lotting’ , whereby the land is broken into small parcels suggesting that they could be building plots. Potential purchasers who do not make adequate checks can be fooled in to buying the land at an inflated price well beyond its actual value.
Local residents are particularly concerned because the sales details are misleading and wrong in many respects and the Parish Council is in the process of raising the problem with Trading Standards and applying for Article 4 protection from development. In the meantime, the Parish Council would like to correct the errors in the adverts so that locals and potential buyers are in possession of the real facts.
Woodwax Field is in a part of the parish of Binfield Heath designated ‘Open Countryside’ by the Neighbourhood Plan. Both the Local and Neighbourhood Plans oppose any building on land designated ‘Open Countryside’ unless it is for agricultural purposes as defined in the National Planning Policy Framework.
One part of Woodwax Field has planning permission for equestrian purposes and a stable for PERSONAL use only. COMMERCIAL and ANY OTHER DEVELOPMENT is specifically PROHIBITED. A public footpath runs through this plot and the field behind it and the owner will need to maintain and keep it open at all times.
Woodwax Field forms a valuable open space and lies adjacent to the ancient Woodwax Wood, where there are many wildlife species. Barn owls can often be seen from the footpath. It forms part of the setting for the Grade 2 listed buildings nearby.
Green Pond, which has also been advertised for sale, lies within a protected Local Green Space, designated within the Neighbourhood Plan. The trees which frame it are to be subject to a tree protection order (TPO).
Any request for development in the Pond triangle or Woodwax Field (apart from the Stable plot) will be strongly opposed by local residents and the Parish Council, with the backing of our MP, and is very unlikely to succeed.
Anyone who hears of any interest being shown in the Green Pond triangle or Woodwax field is asked to let the Parish Council know so that we can keep up to date.
SHOP PROGRESS
Villagers will have seen the changes taking place at the shop, with new windows just put in. The long shed at the back had to be removed owing to asbestos. Refurbishment and rebuilding continue at pace. Remedial work on the residential accommodation continues.
Message from the Post Office:
For further information please visit our Consultation Hub via the link below:
Consultation Hub – Binfield Heath RG9 4DU
Progress at The Forge
Those passing The Forge may have noticed the rapid addition of roof trusses. The front and rear sections are now joined together by the middle section shown below.
Reclaimed tiles have been delivered and bat-friendly felt is due shortly, ready for tiling over the next month or so. Once the roof is sound, the contractors’ attention will turn to interior tasks - plumbing, wiring, erecting partitions and laying the floor screed.
Regarding future use, although most of the requests we have received are for clubs and classes that will take place in the central, largest part of the building, we are pleased that there is interest also in co-working, for which a room will be reserved at the rear. The Forge will be an ideal place to engage with other workers or simply book a room to work quietly, away from the distractions of home life.
To learn more about using the Forge for work or play, please contact via binfieldheathforge@gmail.com
For our latest news and a diagram showing the building's new lay-out, please see the notice board at the front of the site.
The Forge Team
Binfield Heath Parish Council will meet on Monday April 27 at 7pm in the Palmer Room, Dunsden
All local people are invited to meet the council and bring up any matters of interest or concern. If you have anything you would like to raise with the council you can do that in the public question time. You can contact the clerk on clerk@binfieldheath.org.uk
New Councillor
The Parish Council is delighted to welcome Mrs Lucy Watkinson as our new councillor.
Henley Arts Trail in Binfield Heath
On the 2, 3 and 4 May, the Henley Arts
Trail celebrates its 20th year with over
300 artists showing their work across
36 venues. The Bottle and Glass are
the host venue this year for “earth”, a
local group of potters who are showing
a range of handcrafted functional and
decorative ceramic pieces. There are
also five other venues within easy
reach in Shiplake Cross and Shiplake,
including Shiplake College and
Shiplake Meadows. Pick up a map and
leaflet at the Bottle and Glass to plan
your visit and have a great day out supporting
local artists and makers.
Stay up to date
From this website you can keep up with events in the village with links to more information if you need it. This the fastest way to find out what's going on in your parish and backs up the latest newsletter which you can find on its own page. Here are some links to your day-to-day questions.
Which bin is it this week?
Green or grey? How to get a brown bin… what goes in which? This year’s full calendar can be found on the Parish Council page of this website. More information can be found on SODC’s website on https://www.southoxon.gov.uk/south-oxfordshire-district-council/recycling-rubbish-and-waste/when-is-your-collection-day/waste-collections-calendar/
Potholes and broken signs
These are both an increasing problem. If you are aware of a pothole locally contact fixmystreet.com and give the area and if possible the address and postcode. It's the fastest way to get results. Similarly, if road names or speed signs are damaged, also report them to fixmystreet.com
Roadside rubbish
Fly-tipped rubbish continues to be a problem from time to time. It has to be collected by District Council contractors at considerable extra cost to the taxpayer. If you see fly-tipping - or the results of it - report it online to admin.southoxford@biffa.co.uk
Planning applications
Comment on planning applications direct with SODC at the click of a button, without having to know the application number. Go to the Planning page of this website.
News mail-outs
Receive occasional news mail-outs from the Parish Council on matters that affect you . If you change your email address just sign up again with the new one. If you no longer wish to hear news from us in this form please let us know and we will delete your email details. Visit the village Facebook page to connect with friends and neighbours and join in the chat. Go to the newsletter page for the latest edition of the parish news from Marina Hart.
Contact us
For all enquiries regarding Binfield Heath Parish Council or related subjects please contact clerk@binfieldheath.org.uk