Press coverage of SPADE's Campaign

The press coverage of the campaign began with the article in the Oxford times on Friday 26 September 2003 that first broke the news of the Wilcox / penbridge "eco village" development proposals. This article led to the public meeting at which the SPADE action group was formed. It can be read online at the Oxford Times website. Also on the Oxford Times website is the follow up article published on the following Monday, which can be read here

The first action of SPADE was to organise a campaign of mass response to the draft structure plan and this was reported on the front page of the Courier as shown below:

SPADE next made the front pages of the press on Friday December 19th with the following article:

Anger voiced at

600-acre plan

THE farmer behind plans to build thousands of homes near Abingdon has been told to spell out the full extent of his ambitions.
Residents in Sunningwell said that landowner Ted Wilcox had spoken of a 150 acre development, to be built between the village and the A34.
But they were appalled to see the proposal submitted to Oxfordshire County Council covered 600 acres - stretching from Bayworth to Bayworth Manor and running along side the A34 down to Long Furlong.
Sunningwell Parish Council and the SPADE action group (Sunningwell

Parishioners Against Damage to the Enviroment ) have pledged to step up their opposition to the proposed Penbridge settlement, with a public meeting to be held on Wednesday, January 7.
The chairman of Sunningwell Parish Council, Geoffrey Manning said: "When I met with Mr Wilcox he spoke of 150 acres and repeated this at the public meeting. What is now being proposed is four times as big."
John Ashton, the planning consultant acting for the Wilcox family, said the submitted plan allowed for " flexibility and discussion".