RESIDENTS have vowed to fight plans to build 1,000 homes that would strip them of their independence.

More than 400 people in Witney and Hailey have signed a petition opposing the potential Witney North development, which is included in the West Oxfordshire District Council draft Local Plan.

They said it would make surrounding villages “rat runs” for traffic, increase the risk of flooding and could see Hailey become a suburb of Witney.

The site was originally highlighted in the 2011 Local Plan but not recommended by the district council.

North Witney Action Group chairman Stuart Harrison, 67, said: “We feel let down by the district council because we supported its position not to include the site last time and it has now done a U-turn.”

The New Yatt Road resident added: “It has taken this potential course of action that could destroy the town that we love.”

The draft local plan, published in July, has proposed 9,450 homes to be built in the district by 2029 – fewer than the 11,880 recommended by the strategic housing market assessment (SHMA).

Some 3,350 homes would be built in Witney, with land between Hailey Road and New Yatt Road – next to The King’s School – accommodating 800 homes and a plot south of New Yatt Road including a further 200.

Other recommended sites in the plan, undergoing public consultation, are in the east, north east and south of the town.

About 75 people attended a special Hailey Parish Council meeting to discuss the Witney North development last Monday, with district councillors Warwick Robinson and Simon Hoare also present.

Harry Waters, 49, who owns Downhill Farm next to the proposed site, said: “It is difficult to see how this development, which requires a considerable bridge in the flood plain, will not cause further misery not just for those in Hailey and the immediate area but also those in much of central Witney.”

Hailey Parish Council chairman Graham Knaggs said villages like Hailey, New Yatt, North Leigh, Long Hanborough, Church Hanborough and Bladon would have to cope with a “huge increase” in traffic.

One of the suggested solutions by the district council is to create a West End link road, connecting Woodford Way and West End with a new River Windrush crossing.

But Mr Knaggs said this scheme is now outdated as it would only add to town centre congestion.

He added: “The ultimate threat is about losing our independence because we could get sucked in and become a suburb of Witney.

“Hailey would lose its character as a village.”

District council leader Barry Norton, also chairman of North Leigh Parish Council, said: “It was a reserve site in the last Local Plan so it’s been considered before.”

The draft local plan is being consulted on until Friday, September 19.

Residents can have their say by visiting westoxon.gov.uk/ draftlocalplan Do you want alerts delivered straight to your phone via our WhatsApp service? Text NEWS or SPORT or NEWS AND SPORT, depending on which services you want, and your full name to 07767 417704. Save our number into your phone's contacts as Oxford Mail WhatsApp and ensure you have WhatsApp installed.