On Friday, respondents and consultees involved in the Albion and Tritax warehousing applications were notified of both developers appealing against Cherwell District Council’s (CDC) recent planning refusal. This means that the government’s Planning Inspectorate (PINS) will now launch an inquiry into how the decisions were made and rule whether it was justified or otherwise.

If you have not seen these notifications, you can read CDC’s letters about the appeals by Albion and Tritax by clicking on the links.

A planning inquiry has some semblance to a court case: the planning inspector tests the evidence on a development in order to reach a planning decision.  It involves cross examining evidence by legal representatives; the parties in the case can make representations and provide new evidence in support of their respective position. Evidence can also be provided by expert witnesses. The submission(s) you have previously made on the applications are already part of the inquiry.

What you can do

Albion and Tritax may have supplied new evidence in support of their application that you may wish to comment on. Here is a link to do so: 

You will be asked for the reference numbers, which are:

• Tritax: 22/01340/OUT
• Albion: 21/03268/OUT

Alternatively you can send your comments to:

The Planning Inspectorate, c/o QUADIENT, 69 Buckingham Avenue, Slough, SL1 4PN

The deadline for sending additional comments to the Planning Inspectorate is five weeks from the date of the appeal, which is dated 16^th April for both applications. That’s correct, it took CDC more than a week to email respondents the notice of appeal.

Deadline for comments to PINS: 21^st May 2026

Participate as a group: Rule 6

Any group or organisation who want to be an active part of the inquiry should apply for so-called Rule 6 status. This allows the group to make representations during the Inquiry. You can find guidance at the following link:

Don’t delay this, but take action immediately to avoid missing the opportunity. It is unclear what deadline applies to applying for Rule 6 Status, and it may be safe to assume it is the same as for sending in comments, 21st May 2026.

See also “Guide to taking part in planning appeals”.

Inquiries like these can take days or weeks, and a decision will be announced some time after. As the process begins, timelines will hopefully become clearer.

The appeal decision will be published on the Planning Inspectorate’s website once it is issued.

Of course NORA will be following the Inquiry closely and will keep posting news as it happens. If you would like to subscribe to our intermittent news updates about developments in North Oxfordshire, you can do so here: