The Old Piggery Church Road Northmoor Witney Oxfordshire OX29 5SX Data via plota.co.uk

26/01165/TCA - Works to a tree in a Conservation Area Approved

Proposal

T1: Willow: Photo 2605B. Reduce overall height by reducing/removing the two biggest central branches, either back to suitable unions, as marked, or back to original pollard point. Percentage of tree removed: approx less than 5%. T2/3: Pair of Crab-apples: Photos 2605C and 2605D. Reduce overall height - cut back epicormic growth to previous pruning point. Also, a very small crown raise, removing maybe 1-2 of the lowest branches, to allow better visibility for cars turning out of the drive onto the main road. Percentage of tree removed: approx 5-10%. This is clearly a repeat of work which has been done regularly, to keep these ornamental trees down to a reasonable height, as they are adjacent to the road. T4: Cherry: Photo 2605E. Reduce overall height and spread by selective removal of upper limbs, and by reducing limb currently encroaching on adjacent Pear tree. Percentage of tree removed: approx 5-10%. T5: Small Pear: Photo 2605F. Remove/reduce minimum of branches to rebalance it, once encroaching Cherry has been reduced. Percentage of tree removed: minimal, approx less than 5%. T6: Cytisus battandieri: Photo 2605G: remove/shorten the lowest main branch, to remove weight from the road side: and then to reduce the overall height by shortening the indeterminate leader to a suitable union. Percentage of tree removed: approx around 10-15% Data via plota.co.uk

View original council record ↗Last checked

Application progress

✓
Received
12 May 2026
✓
Approved
26 May 2026

Approved on 26 May 2026 · Last checked 5 Jul 2026

Site constraints 4

Northmoor Conservation Area conservation area
Demolition needs planning permission and permitted development is restricted.
The council must give weight to preserving or enhancing the area's character and appearance. Not every council has published its boundaries as open data.
Council document ↗
Agricultural land, grade 3a
Best and most versatile land (grades 1, 2 and 3a). Source: the Predictive Agricultural Land Classification Map (Defra and Natural England, 2025; the Welsh Government's Predictive ALC Map 2 in Wales), a model rather than a site survey. Natural England's Provisional ALC map (1:250,000, 1970s), which most planning maps still show, had this area as grade 2. The predicted grade is Defra's current estimate; only a site survey settles it.
Where development of farmland is needed, policy prefers poorer land over the best and most versatile (grades 1, 2 and 3a). Three sources: Natural England's post-1988 field surveys, which are definitive where they exist; the Defra predictive map for England (2025) and the Welsh Government predictive map, modelled from the soil map with 3a and 3b split; and the 1970s provisional map, which planners and other services still show, coarser and with grade 3 undivided. Where the provisional and predicted grades disagree, treat the predicted grade as the current estimate and expect an application to carry its own survey.
Also on the record
6 listed buildings within 150 m of the postcode pin; Flood defence about 20 m from the postcode pin (natural high ground, designed for a 1 in 2 year flood).
Not affected
Outside flood zones 2 and 3 · Not green belt · No scheduled monument at the site

Checked on 6 October 2026. The pin for this application is the centre of its postcode rather than the building, so distances to nearby designations are measured from the postcode and can be out by the width of the postcode area. Historic England, the Environment Agency, Natural England and council datasets, Open Government Licence. A boundary can run through a site and the council holds the definitive record: confirm with the council before relying on this.

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Important details

Application type
Works to a tree in a Conservation Area
Postcode
OX29 5SX
Received
12 May 2026
Validated
12 May 2026
Ward
Standlake, Aston and Stanton Harcourt
Parish
Northmoor
Case officer
Show
Decision
Raise no objection
Decision date
26 May 2026
Applicant
Show

How this decision compares

Decided in 14 days from validation, 12 days faster than West Oxfordshire's median of 26 for tree and landscaping works. Approved, as 100% of tree and landscaping works here are.

98%decided within 8 weeks
100%approved
325decided in the last year

Plota live figures for tree and landscaping works decided by West Oxfordshire in the last twelve months, from validation. West Oxfordshire decision record →

Consultation & key dates

Alt. reference
PP-14923932
Planning Portal ref
PP-14923932
Env. assessment
No
West Oxfordshire
Planning Authority Score
7.1/10
Good
#60 of 296 councils
Relevant to this application:
Other decisions

West Oxfordshire is faster than most councils at deciding householder applications, ranking #81 out of 296. Householder applications are slightly more likely to be approved here (97%) than the national average (90%).

Faster than most councils
for householder decisions
These figures are council-wide context, not a prediction for this application. View full council performance
West Oxfordshire decision statistics
Based on MHCLG data, the year to March 2026
95%
Overall approval rate
Above avg (87%) #33 of 296
97%
Householder approved
Above avg (90%) #46 of 296
75%
Decided in 8 weeks
Above avg (63%) #81 of 296
38%
Extended time limit
Below avg (41%) #135 of 296
83%
Minor dwellings approved
105 decided (1-9 homes)
72%
Major dwellings approved
18 decided (10+ homes)
95%
Change of use approved
37 decided
1,125
Total decisions
59 refused in the year to March 2026