THE first step towards building the next generation of Banbury’s housing estates is set to be approved tonight.

Persimmon Homes’ bid for 350 homes at land north of the Hardwick estate has been recommended to get the go-ahead by Cherwell District Council.

It comes seven years after the developer’s application for 400 properties on the same site was rejected and upheld on appeal by the Planning Inspectorate.

In the report discussed by committee members at tonight’s meeting, it states that at the time it was noted the site could be used in the future but wasn’t needed then as enough homes were being built.

The council says house-building has fallen and it is missing a Government target to see enough homes built to meet demand for the next five years.

The site – north of Hanwell fields and off Warwick Road – is one of five Banbury sites earmarked for a total 2,050 homes in the council’s draft local plan.

Some 71 letters have been submitted objecting to the proposal, with concerns about the impact on roads, Hanwell village and the countryside. But the planning officers said “any potential impacts of the development can be mitigated” through developer cash for issues like roads and education, known as a section 106 agreement.

They said: “Whilst the consultee and local residents’ comments have raised a number of concerns and issues which require further detail, it is considered that these are not insurmountable.”

Persimmon would need further ‘reserved matters’ permission on finer details, when such issues could be addressed, they said.

The development would provide 105 much-needed affordable homes, their report to councillors added.

But Hanwell Parish Council has said the plan is “premature” and would “breach the clear, defensible urban boundary to the north of Banbury created by Dukes Meadow Drive”. It said the homes would also “seriously erode the strategic physical gap of open countryside between the urban area and Hanwell village”.

Banbury Town Council also said the plan was too early and the council should wait until more than 1,000 homes are built at Bankside, off Oxford Road.

Both councils have submitted objections. Oxfordshire County Council – responsible for roads – has put in a “holding objection” because of design, accessibility and traffic concerns.

The plan has been opposed by the Hanwell Fields Development Action Group, which passed on 97 further objections.

Chairman Malcolm Finch said demand could be met with half the council’s planned 16,750 homes by 2031.

He said: “They are pushing the development before the local plan has been approved. Also, the site is on a boundary that shouldn’t be crossed.”

The other sites in the draft local plan are 950 south of Banbury train station; 600 at Hardwick Farm either side of Southam Road to the north of the town; 400 west of the Bretch Hill estate to the east and 400 more in Bankside. Hanwell would take a total 500 homes.

The committee will meet at 4pm at Bodicote House, White Post Road, Bodicote. The public can attend.