PLANS for thousands of homes at Chalgrove Airfield were discussed secretly more than a year before they were made public, an investigation by the Oxford Mail has found.

Correspondence released under the Freedom of Information Act, with sections blacked out, shows South Oxfordshire District Council first broached the idea as early as March 2015.

It emerged in an email from the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO), the property arm of airfield owner the Ministry of Defence.

In the message dated March 9, an official, apparently from the DIO, wrote: "SODC are working on the next Local Plan... There is an opportunity to promote more of Chalgrove Airfield for redevelopment."

But the official said discussions could not continue due to the 'purdah' ahead of the General Election in May.

"Clearly this will be sensitive for local people and therefore neither MOD nor SODC can consider this with you at the moment", the official added.

Discussions continued in September, when the Homes and Communities Agency said it would develop the site, but the district council did not confirm it was looking at the airfield until June this year.

Chalgrove district councillor David Turner said: "They have betrayed rural communities".

But district council leader John Cotton said: "We have been aware the site might be available for some time, but there was no point in setting hares running until that had been confirmed."