A PROPOSED 1,600-home development will provide better quality properties than that of the average housebuilder, according to a director at Blenheim Estate.

The Duke of Marlborough’s controversial plans to build the homes on land near Blenheim Palace in Woodstock would double the size of the West Oxfordshire town.

The estate’s property director Roger File suggested said that Britain’s biggest landowning families have a stake in ensuring their developments are of the highest quality.

Speaking to The Sunday Times, Mr File said: “We think we are in a unique position to deliver something which is far better quality than your average housebuilder.

“Most housing developers look for the cheapest, easiest way to make as much money as possible. We can’t afford to get it wrong because we have to live with it for the next 900 years.”

Despite the positivity of the estate, many residents and councillors in Woodstock are less than keen on the plans.

Last month, Woodstock Town Council submitted its official response to the consultation on West Oxfordshire District Council’s Local Plan, a document which outlines areas for sustainable development across the district.

The council said that the planned development would ‘degrade’ the town and ‘destroy’ its distinctive character.