A CONTROVERSIAL plan to extend a depot into a park will finally go ahead after councillors again gave their approval.

Oxford City Council will now fence off part of Cowley Marsh Park for five years to store bins, despite vehement opposition from some residents and fears it could turn an entrance into a ‘Colditz-style corridor’.

The authority has said it plans to return the entirety of the space to the park after that time.

The council’s plans were first approved by east area planning committee on August 2.

But just days later 14 councillors said they wanted the decision reviewed, partly because of public opposition to the green space being gated off to the public.

On Monday night residents filled the public gallery at Oxford Town Hall in as the plans were discussed for a second time, in an effort to stop the development.

But for the second time in less than a month they left the meeting in disgust after the same decision was reached by councillors.

One woman shouted: ‘What about democracy?’ and a man exited the Town Hall’s Old Library with: ‘You couldn’t run a raffle, let alone a council. You’re a disgrace.’

Opponents said they were worried an application would simply be superseded by a new one once the five years comes to an end and that the council would never restore the park land once the expansion had taken place.

One resident opposed to the scheme going ahead told councillors a ‘Colditz-style corridor’ would be made of a popular entrance to the park, between what will be the extended depot ‘s fencing and its tennis courts.

At Monday’s planning review committee, only one councillor, the Green Party’s Craig Simmons, voted against the scheme going ahead. He said it was a clear breach of the council’s own policy to retain green space for residents’ use and there was ‘no reason’ for it to be built on the park land.

The council has previously said the site is the only one available in Oxford fit for expansion, having completed extensive searches for alternatives.

It claims it needs to extend the depot to increase its storage for bins before it delivers them to homes across Oxford. Last year 5,251 new bins were delivered to residents from there.

Earlier this month, the authority told the Oxford Mail a popular wildflower meadow which was mown earlier than normal was due to a change in cutting schedules, rather than anything to do with the proposed development.

Three pollard willow trees were also cut down close by but the council has previously said they were felled for safety reasons. They had ‘been subject to recent limb failure’, according to an authority spokesman.

They will be replaced around the park later this year.

The city council had received a total of 148 official objections to the plan earlier this summer when it was first filed this year.

A car park will also be extended near the depot to provide spaces for footballers using the park’s pitches.