Vale councillors approved up to 75,000 sq m of business space on the old Didcot A site and 14 homes in Drayton. Lorry routes and building hours are now set.
The Vale’s planning committee has approved both of the big applications on its 16 September agenda. One is up to 75,000 square metres of business and warehouse space on the former Didcot A power station site, about three miles south of Abingdon. The other is 14 homes at 1 The Green, Drayton, about two miles south-west of the town.
Both were recommended for approval by officers. Both drew objections from the local parish council. The printed minutes, published on 23 September, record each motion as carried. They do not give the vote counts.
Seven councillors attended the meeting in Abbey House and two sent apologies. It closed at 8.51pm.
Didcot A: approved, with a lorry route condition
The Signia Park application, P25/V1947/O, covers about 22 hectares. As we reported before the meeting, it drops the 400 homes, shops and hotel approved on the site in 2019. What was approved is:
- full permission for a link road, part of the HIF1 road scheme
- outline permission for up to 75,000 square metres of industrial, storage and distribution space, with access the only detail fixed now
- land kept free for the Didcot Science Bridge
Sutton Courtenay Parish Council spoke against it, through Councillor Rita Atkinson. The applicant’s agent, Tim Rainbird, spoke in support. Ward member Councillor Peter Stevens also spoke.
Most of the debate was about traffic. The minutes say the traffic management condition “would ensure that construction and site traffic used the main trunk roads, preventing vehicles from travelling through the village of Sutton Courtenay”. That was the parish council’s main demand.
Two other questions were put off rather than settled. The minutes say the provision of solar panels and “the final height parameters” will be decided at the reserved matters stage. The application proposed buildings up to 25 metres high. Members were satisfied that noise mitigation, secured by condition, would control any impact.
Councillor Scott Houghton proposed approval and Councillor Robert Maddison seconded it.
The officer recommendation was to grant permission once a section 106 legal agreement is signed. That agreement includes payments for bus shelters on Milton Road and for travel plan monitoring. A small part of the site is in South Oxfordshire, under its own reference, P25/S2937/O. The Vale’s minutes do not cover that part.
Drayton: approved, with tighter working hours
The Drayton application, P25/V2033/FUL, replaces a bungalow, garage and workshop with 14 houses. Five are affordable, four of them for social rent. It had drawn 23 letters of objection and an objection from Drayton Parish Council, as set out in our preview.
At the meeting, the planning officer changed the conditions. Construction deliveries, under an amended condition 21, are now limited to two windows. A new condition also limits building and demolition work. The applicant agreed to both.
| Activity | When it is allowed |
|---|---|
| Construction deliveries | 7.30am to 9.30am, and 4pm to 6pm |
| Building and demolition, weekdays | 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday |
| Building and demolition, Saturdays | 8am to 1pm |
| Sundays and public holidays | No building or demolition work |
One objector and the applicant’s agent, James Iles, spoke. So did ward member Councillor Andy Cooke, who had objected in October 2025 over a geotechnical assessment of the land.
Members debated the contamination conditions. They concluded the conditions “would adequately safeguard against any risk of harm”. They noted that condition 4 must be met before any work starts. Councillor Jenny Hannaby proposed approval and Councillor Robert Maddison seconded it.
The minutes’ resolution gives the reference as P25/S2033/FUL. The application heading in the same minutes, and the agenda, give it as P25/V2033/FUL, the Vale reference.
The third application
The committee also approved a loft conversion, rear extension and garden annexe at 4 Raleigh Park Road, North Hinksey, on the western edge of Oxford. Botley and North Hinksey Parish Council spoke on it. Members noted the annexe must stay part of the house. Using it as a separate home would need a new application.
What it means for you
In Sutton Courtenay, the trunk-road condition is now part of the permission. If construction lorries do use the village, raise it with the Vale’s planning enforcement team and quote P25/V1947/O.
On the Didcot A buildings themselves, this is not the last say. Their layout, look and height come back as reserved matters applications. Those are public, and you can comment on them when they are lodged. We will cover them when they are.
In Drayton, the hours in the table above are the ones to hold the builder to. Condition 4 means the contamination work comes first.
Decisions like these are about to reach the committee less often. From 31 October a new national scheme of delegation leaves most applications to officers. We explained the Vale’s new referral rules last week. For other live applications, see our Abingdon planning news page.
Sources
- Vale of White Horse Planning Committee, 16 September 2026: printed minutes, for the decisions, the speakers, the amended and added conditions and the debate.
- Planning Committee, 16 September 2026: agenda and officer reports, for the application details and the section 106 recommendations.
All checked 27 September 2026.
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