Green Kidlington
Kidlington is surrounded by Green Belt and benefits from its open natural spaces, especially St Mary’s Fields, the water meadows and planted woodlands to the north and Stratfield Brake to the south, the paths following the route of the Oxford Canal, and the parks and recreation grounds owned by the Council. See also our pages on Green Spaces, Small Greens and Trees,
Read about planned new housing developments in and around Kidlington.
Climate Emergency
In November 2019, Kidlington Parish Council, along with a great many other councils in the country, declared a climate emergency. This commits the Council to adopting policies that take into account the impact of human activity on the biodiversity in our green spaces, parks and wild areas, and to being vigilant about mitigating threats caused by extreme weather conditions.
The Council therefore supports the proposed Climate and Ecological Emergency Bill.
Projects and Activities
See details of the Cherwell Collective's foodbank and educational work and the Thursday Lunch Club at 12 pm in Exeter Hall
See also our pages on Wellbeing, Traffic and Streets, Aircraft Noise, and our current plans to make the large open space at Lyne Road Green a more attractive, biodiverse and secure setting. There will be a day of planting hedging on the Green on Saturday 30 October 2021.
For the longer term, we have worked with Cherwell District Council on a Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan to create traffic-free routes for cyclists and walkers combined with new traffic-calming measures. Alongside this, we are developing a scheme for a Green Ring around the village: a network of interconnected green spaces linked by paths and cycle tracks. We strongly support the proposal by Kidlington Development Watch to designate part of this ring as Local Green Spaces.
Proposed Botley West Solar Farm
The Parish Council acknowledges that there is a need for alternative renewable energy to avoid the use of fossil fuels; however we are opposed to the proposals by BWSF on the scale proposed and in the location identified by the proposers. By 2050 the area around Oxford will be heavily developed largely in existing green belt. The BWSF will cover further parts of the green belt in the same area, which will change the landscape substantially, decreasing the attractiveness of the areas to live and work in, and have significant impact on the tourist industry.
See the detailed arguments against the proposal.
Flooding at St Mary's Fields: photo by Frederick Dove