A CAMPAIGNER fears Bicester will be “destroyed” as a fourth planning application is submitted to build giant warehouses on the outskirts of the town.

Planning consultants Framptons will unveil proposals for a 750,000 sq ft distribution park on farmland off the A41 Aylesbury Road, at an exhibition at the Littlebury Hotel tomorrow from 3pm to 7pm.

It comes after plans to build “giant” warehouses, a business park and 1,500 homes at Wretchwick Way were revealed.

Also in the pipeline is a 570,000sq ft business park at Howes Lane and another at almost 520,000 sq ft off Skimmingdish Lane.

In a separate move residents have now set up a community website ‘savebicester.co.uk’ in a bid to raise awareness of all the developments around the town and urge people to have their say.

James Glaisher, of Aylesbury Road, Bicester, whose home backs on to the Wretchwick Way/Akeman Park site, said: “We feel the whole way the local plan was amended is not in the consciousness of residents in Bicester. The more people who object will hopefully get through to the council to reconsider its plans.”

Cherwell’s local plan sets out where development in the district can take place.

John Broad, acting chairman of the Bicester branch of the CPRE, said because the sites were all allocated in Cherwell District Council’s local plan people “can’t stop it”. He said the revised local plan was “presented as a fait accompli” and councillors were “over a barrel”.

Mr Broad is opposed to warehousing at the Akeman Park. He said it was the wrong location, employs few people and would “exacerbate” traffic problems already in the town.

He said: “They are going to destroy the whole town because of this warehousing. What an entrance to our town, massive warehousing on every route.”

Mr Broad reckons the most people can do to oppose the plans is fight the height of the buildings.

Independent councillor Les Sibley said Bicester had got the “short straw” in terms of the local plan.

He said: “We are under attack by these storage and distribution developers. There’s a perfectly good site for these warehouses at Graven Hill, it’s a brownfield site that has served the military for over 70 years, and Cherwell council should be doing more to promote that site.”

A Cherwell District Council spokesman said: “The plan includes strategic development sites to meet identified needs for new homes, jobs, retailing, transport infrastructure, leisure, recreation and community uses.

“The detailed layout and design of developments and the precise mix of employment uses, will be considered through the consideration of individual applications for planning permission having regard to Local Plan policies.”