News
This page contains the latest news and short summaries of important planning developments.
August 2026
4th - Cherwell DC confirm that the Holm Oak within the paddock (the large, stand-alone tree visible from the public footpath through the paddock) is now subject to a Tree Preservation Order (TPO). This means that this tree is given additional protection and work can only be carried out on it with Cherwell DC’s permission.
5th - Stratton Audley Residents Group (Green Barn Paddock) is established to provide a central, coordinated voice in relation to applications and appeals on this site. This is launched alongside the new greenbarnpaddock.co.uk website.
May 2026
1st - Final residents comments submitted to Cherwell DC. 59 individual comments were submitted with 48 of those objecting to the proposals. Of the letters of support, 2 came from the landowner, 1 from an employee of Fortis, 3 from nannys employed by the landowner, and at least 1 from a personal friend of the landowner.
29th - The planning application is refused and decision notice issued. The application was refused on 4 grounds: 1. the principle of development in this location and an inefficient use of the site; 2. detrimental impact on existing residential amenity; 3. impact on the protected oak tree within the paddock; and 4. a lack of ecology surveys and failure to demonstrate biodiversity net gain.
April 2026
1st - Fortis attend alongside Oriel Homes to present their proposals at the Stratton Audley Parish Council meeting. The presentation saw a strong turn out from the village with around 60-80 residents in attendance. Oriel Homes were introduced as the company who would build the homes if planning permission were granted (Oriel Homes and Fortis are both owned by Benjamin Mansfield). The presenters contradicted the landowners previous comments by alluding that they would pursue an appeal if the application wasn’t approved at local (Cherwell DC) level. Transcripts of the key questions, answers, and corrections can be found in the ‘Archive: Parish Meeting’ section on this website.
March 2026
1st - The first of the neighbouring residents were informed by the landowner that they, alongside Fortis, had put together a planning application for 5 homes on the paddock and the application had already been submitted and was pending payment of the application fees. They were also told that if the application was likely to be refused, it would be withdrawn. Finally, neighbours were advised that no decision had been made as to who would develop the scheme if planning were granted.
2nd - The planning application was received by Cherwell DC. This is the point where the planning application has been paid for by the applicant and moves from the Planning Portal and on to Cherwell for validation and consideration.
17th - The planning application was validated by Cherwell DC with planning reference 26/00539/OUT. This is where the admin team have reviewed the submission and consider enough information has been submitted for review by the planning team.
18th - Immediate neighbours were notified of the planning application by Cherwell DC and invited to comment on the submission.
26th - Save Green Barn Paddock website launched to provide a helpful guide for residents to understand the planning application and key themes they may wish to consider.
31st - In advance of the Parish Council presentation, the first detailed technical assessment of the application went live on both the Cherwell DC and Save Green Barn Paddock websites.
January/February 2026
From the application submission documents, on-site surveys were carried out in early January on behalf of the landowner and developer. The dates within these documents highlight that surveys were conducted on days where the landowner knew that we (as paying tenants of the paddock) would all be at work and unaware of what was occurring.
Autumn/Winter 2025
We understand bids were returned and reviewed with Fortis Property Consulting selected as the preferred partner. We believe that work commenced on the planning proposals towards the end of the year.
Spring/Summer 2025
We understand the landowner was made aware of the potential development value of the paddock via a speculative developer. Following this, Breckon & Breckon were appointed to act on the landowners behalf to market the paddock with potential development partners.