REVISED plans to build homes at Yarnton Nurseries have prompted concerns from some residents.

A planning application has been submitted by Yarnton Nurseries LLP to Cherwell District Council for 14 homes at the Sandy Lane business.

Plans were put forward in 2012 for 43 homes but these were withdrawn, as were plans for 12 homes last December.

The council said this was due to concerns from its planners that there was not the right “mix” of affordable homes.

It proposed four out of 12 homes would be affordable, but the new plans propose five out of 14 with access from Sandy Lane.

The application states: “Due to the enclosed nature of the site and the existing on-site buildings, the proposed development would not have a greater impact on the openness of the Green Belt.’”

The council can reject the plan on Green Belt grounds but the application says it has legal “special circumstances”. The nursery is a “relatively major local employer” and the plans will secure about 150 jobs, the application says.

It would also provide “much needed housing in Cherwell District where there is an established... shortfall, including the provision of a number of affordable units”.

It adds: “The proposals would not result in unrestricted sprawl of the built-up area.”

Oxford Green Belt Network was among those which opposed the original plan, saying it was “encroachment into the countryside contrary to one of the basic purposes of Green Belts”.

Like the previous plan, Yarnton Parish Council has raised no objections but four residents have written against the scheme.

Sandy Lane’s Giacomo Castagnino wrote: “The proposed development will necessarily be at risk of diminished road safety as a consequence of HGV traffic to and from Yarnton Nurseries sharing common access with the residents of the proposed housing.

“Yarnton Nurseries enjoys a flourishing business which necessitates frequent deliveries of stock, and which generates significant customer traffic.”

Another Sandy Lane resident, who was not named, said: “The proposed development lies wholly within the Green Belt and will cause yet more erosion of this valuable asset.”

They said the “narrow and twisty” lane is “not suitable”, even for lorry deliveries.