New town to help provide Oxford housing would cause 'traffic chaos'

In a blow to plans for 3,500 homes at Chalgrove Airfield, transport chiefs say there are "serious questions" about how the thousands of people expected to live there would get to work in the city.

Despite being located miles away from Oxford, the airfield has been suggested instead of land nearby – off Grenoble Road – after South Oxfordshire District Council ruled out building on the Green Belt.

The Government's Homes and Communities Agency, which has backed the Chalgrove site, is set to take ownership of the former Second World War base from the Ministry of Defence.

But in a response to the plan – seen by the Oxford Mail – bosses at Oxfordshire County Council warned it was "flawed" and risked creating misery for commuters.

They said: "The decision favouring Chalgrove Airfield, largely due to the fact that it is outside Green Belt, has to be weighed against the highly likely severe transport implications.

"The amount of traffic generated from 3,500 dwellings would most likely increase journey times to Oxford and other settlements significantly."

It also claimed the cost of new roads and public transport links, which could include new roads to the M40 junctions 6 and 7, would be "extremely high".

"It is unlikely the level of funding required could be obtained through developer contributions, which leads to serious questions about where the funding to make this site viable would come from", the county council added.

District council leader John Cotton said he accepted concerns about the location but insisted the issue was being looked at "closely".

He added: "The county council is taking a narrow view. This development is not just to meet the need of Oxford – any houses we plan across the district will help to do that.

"If you have families buying a home, you might have one partner working in the city but another might typically work in Reading or High Wycombe.

"Clearly transportation is the biggest issue and we are discussing it closely with the HCA."

But one senior Oxfordshire planning official, who asked to remain anonymous, warned the cost of improving links to Chalgrove could mean "the taxpayer will foot the bill".

The official added: "Whether that is a good use of money is a very good question."

It comes as the airfield proposal faces growing opposition, with a petition against it reaching almost 1,000 signatures and nearby villages forming the Haseley Brook Action Group to object.

The petition calls for other sites such as land at Grenoble Road, south of Greater Leys in Oxford, and land near the Culham science campus to be considered instead, even though they are within the Green Belt.

Proposals for housing at Grenoble Road have been supported by Oxford City Council for more than a decade, but South Oxfordshire District Council, whose boundaries include the area, has always vetoed the option.

But in its comments on the airfield plan, the county council said the decision to rule it out was "not based on sound evidence".

It said a county-wide review of the Green Belt – due next month – needed to be considered first, adding: "The Green Belt boundary could be changed."

But Mr Cotton said Green Belt was given "the highest protection" and that exceptional circumstances were needed to build on it.

He added: "Wherever we build substantial numbers of housing there is always going to be an impact on neighbouring villages.

"If we built at Grenoble Road, what about Sandford, Nuneham Courtenay and Toot Baldon?

"We do not believe the exceptional circumstances required to build on it exist there."

Steve Harrod, the Conservative district councillor for Haseley Brook, claimed the airfield was only being considered as a "short term solution to the problem of having a five-year land supply", something councils must have to prevent speculative housing developments.

He said: "It will have long-term implications for generations to come."

A two-month public consultation on South Oxfordshire District Council's plan closed on Friday.