Homeowners on a new build estate claim they have been ‘gagged’ from objecting to another housing development because of a clause in their buyer contracts.
Crest Nicholson built 191 houses in the Highlands Park development in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, in 2020 and has now submitted plans to South Oxfordshire District Council for permission to build 131 more nearby.
But residents who bought homes in the first phase say they have been banned from objecting to the second development.
A guide price on a two-bedroom property on the estate is currently £495,000, while a three-bedroom home is on the market for £620,000 and a four-bed for £850,000, according to listings on Zoopla.
Residents say they were shocked to discover a clause in their buyer contracts with Crest Nicholson prohibiting them from expressing objections to neighbouring planning applications.
The clause stipulates that ‘the buyer agrees not to object or cause any objection to be made to any planning application made by the seller in respect of any neighbouring or adjoining land which relates to the development or other residential development, and in particular not to lodge an objection or objections with the local planning authority or relevant government department or object or be represented at any public enquiry called in connection with such planning application’.
Community facilities promised in the first development, such as a community centre and football pitches, will also be relocated, as part of the new planning application.
Residents say they want to object, but are afraid of the consequences. But one says he will not be ‘silenced’ by the firm.
Homeowners on a new build estate claim they have been ‘gagged’ from objecting to plans for more than 100 new homes in a neighbouring field by developer Crest Nicholson
Residents who bought homes in the first phase say they have been banned from objecting to the second development
A guide price on a two-bedroom property on the estate, which was built in 2020, is currently £495,000, while a three-bedroom home is on the market for £620,000 and a four-bed for £850,000, according to listings on Zoopla
He said: ‘They can do what they want. You’re entitled to object.
‘You can put anything into a contract. It doesn’t make it legal or defendable.’
He says while he would not object to the new homes in the plans, he has expressed an objection to the changing football pitch plans.
The resident said other neighbours were scared of lodging objections.
He added: ‘To the people that have objected, I’m not aware of anyone that’s received any feedback from Crest – positive or negative, which is a shame, you would hope that they would contact the residents and say: “You’re one of the stakeholders here.” That would be really great.
‘I see it as a gagging order. That’s the whole purpose of putting it in there. It’s to gag you.
‘Whether that’s legal or not is undecided, but it’s 100 per cent a gagging order.
‘It gives them total freedom to do what they want.
Residents say they were shocked to discover a clause in their buyer contracts with Crest Nicholson prohibiting them from expressing objections to neighbouring planning applications
Residents say they want to object, but are afraid of the consequences of breaking the clause
One resident said he wondered whether it was legal to include such a clause in the contract
‘It’s horrendous. People are afraid. It’s intimidation.’
He added that most people might have agreed to the contract after skim-reading it, adding that his solicitor, who was recommended by the company, did not mention the clause.
It was only in January that he saw the clause after being told by a neighbour.
He said: ‘I don’t think they’re going to sue all of us for objecting, but at the same time there are lots of people who want to object that just won’t.’
An anonymous resident said: ‘It’s a bit of a weird clause to put in.’
Were he allowed to object, he said he felt he ‘probably’ would.
Another resident said he initially wondered whether it was possible to include such a clause in the contract.
He said: ‘I would have thought legally and particularly in the climate we’re living in, it’s not the way we want to live our lives.
One resident objecting to the plans said a new development on the nearby green space would ‘exacerbate the loss of wildlife’
Residents have spoken out about ‘loving’ the countryside close to their development
‘If you believe that people are going to be either unduly politicised or awkward for the sake of it, then good won’t necessarily come from it.
‘But it seems to me that certainly in a democracy, we give people a voice.
‘I think there was an element of gagging, otherwise why would you put it in there? It’s pretty stark, actually: if you wanted to work with the community, you certainly wouldn’t write agreements in that form.
‘It’s a very aggressive and black-and-white way of doing things.’
He said he had written about a number of aspects of the development complaining about the football pitch and facilities and the community centre as he felt the changes had been done ‘in haste’.
The developers have applied to relocate the community centre to another part of the site, and for additional facilities to accompany the sports pitches, such as toilets and car parking spaces.
Another resident said she and her husband would have objected if they were ‘allowed to’.
She said: ‘We’ve relocated for work. We wouldn’t be able to buy in an area like Henley if there had not been a new housing estate.
A neighbour who is renting a house in an estate next to the Crest Nicholson development said they would ‘never’ buy it because of the planned second phase
A decision on the planning application was due by April 25 but has still not been made
Scores of objections have been submitted to the local authority by residents. in the area
‘But we personally love the countryside which we live in and have watched the slower selling of the houses onsite currently – everything else got snapped up really quickly – and we don’t want any further development here.
‘There have been a big number of developments around the town which we think fulfill the housing requirement and there is such a lovely amount of biodiversity – we have deer grazing every evening, all these beautiful wildflowers – and it does feel a shame but that’s hypocritical for me to say because I live in a new-build house. So we’re very torn.
‘It is freedom of speech that we don’t have anymore.
‘I would like to exercise my rights.’
A neighbour who lives in an estate next to the Crest Nicholson development said: ‘We’re just renting and we would never buy this house because of that.’
The plan submitted to South Oxfordshire District Council, the housing authority, is for 131 homes in its ‘northern field’ – comprising a mix of one- and two-bed apartments, one-bed maisonettes, and two-, three-, four- and five-bed houses – and outline permission for land for up to 20 residential dwellings to be provided and owned by the Henley Community Land Trust.
A decision was due by April 25, according to the planning portal, but has still not been made.
Scores of objections have been submitted to the local authority by residents.
A Crest Nicholson spokesperson said the clause ‘was included in our contracts previously’
The first housing estate was originally built in 2020 – with residents airing concerns that plans have been put forward for a second nearby
One wrote: ‘Henley has more than enough appropriate grey and brownfield field sites available for housing without having to destroy a valuable natural green site.
‘It is a mistake to convert this type of natural land into housing, to do so would produce irreversible negative environmental impact and increase the local flooding, pollute the river and destroy the aquifer, exacerbate the loss of wildlife, cause soil degradation and add greenhouse gas to the atmosphere.
‘Each year the field gains more pollinators and native plants, trees and grasses, which sustain a large variety of animals, insects, birds and invertebrates.
‘It provides a run for badgers and a safe place for ground nesting birds and dormice, a feeding ground for nocturnal animals, a breeding ground for moths and small mammals and a larder of airborne insects for owls, skylarks, bats and swifts.
‘It connects the surrounding green areas allowing wild species to roam, feed, find mates and raise their next generation.
‘Britain is already the most nature depleted country in in the world, loss of habitat is the main cause.
‘Blatantly this site, if developed, would be responsible for doing just that.’
A spokeswoman for Crest Nicholson said: ‘This clause has been included in our contracts previously.
‘As a member of the New Homes Quality Code, we regularly review the provisions in our agreements and are currently reviewing our documentation in line with upcoming changes to the Code issued by the New Homes Quality Board.’
A spokesperson for South Oxfordshire District Council said: ‘This isn’t a matter we would comment on. The residents would need to seek their own legal advice on this issue.’
