HUNDREDS of residents north of the city have met to voice their concerns over proposals for thousands of homes around Kidlington.

Meetings in Begbroke and Kidlington earlier this week attracted around 400 villagers worried about Cherwell District Council’s plan to accommodate Oxford’s unmet housing need by building 4,400 homes in the area.

Kidlington Parish Council chairman David Betts said he expected his own council to challenge the figure of 4,400 and that villagers shared his personal concerns over the plans.

He said: “People in Kidlington, and I think in North Oxford, are really anxious about maintaining the green belt. There is a real concern about the coalescence of Kidlington and Oxford, and also Yarnton and Begbroke.

“I accept we need housing but this has to be dealt with extremely sensibly - and the overall size of this is too big.”

More than 2,000 of the homes could be built on land south of the A34. A further 1,650 homes are earmarked for the west of Kidlington near Begbroke, with the final 550 proposed to the south east of the village.

The consultation has been extended by a week to January 16 after residents argued the plan had not been well advertised and was being consulted on over the Christmas period.

Mr Betts said house prices in the area had risen since the arrival of Oxford Parkway and was concerned these new homes would significantly change the area.

He said: “Most of the employment in Oxford is to the south of the city and yet 4,400 homes are proposed to the north of the city.

“The infrastructure isn’t there to take that number of people to the south of Oxford so it will attract people commuting to London - and we don’t want Kidlington to become that.

“My house has already gone up in value by £100,000 in the last three years - and that’s not good for anyone.”

Kevin Bezant, a member of Kidlington Development Watch, said: “These plans were not advertised at all by Cherwell District Council, despite working on it for three years.

“Our group handed out leaflets in the village every Saturday for five weeks before Christmas just to make people aware of this.

“It’s good to see so many people at these meetings - there is a lot of concern and we need people to comment on the consultation.”

Residents in Cutteslowe have also criticised the plans to develop land between the city and Kidlington saying it could wreck views of Cutteslowe Park and cause traffic chaos.

To comment on the plans email PlanningPolicyConsultation@cherwell-dc.gov.uk