PEOPLE living in and around Witney have urged the district council to ensure West Oxfordshire’s roads are sorted before new homes are built.

Residents were responding to the revised Local Plan – a document which outlines areas for development across the district over the next 15 years.

The resounding cry was that new houses must be built – but infrastructure and services must be in place to support them.

Jeanne Chattoe, who runs Renaissance vintage clothing store in Wesley Walk, emphasised the need for improvements to roads and health care before building new homes.

She said: “The road infrastructure here is absolutely disgraceful. I wouldn’t necessarily oppose new homes as long as they create a better road system – and a better health system.

“They’re closing Deer Park Medical Centre and I don’t know where they imagine everybody is going to go to see a doctor.”

The revised draft Local Plan, which is currently out for consultation, proposes a total of 15,950 homes to be built in the district over the next 15 years.

The plan outlines key sites for development, including 2,200 homes at a proposed garden village to the north of Eynsham, along with an urban extension to the west of the village, which would add a further 1,000 new homes.

Other proposals include increasing the number of homes to be built in north Witney from 1,000 to 1,400.

Henry Shue, 76, of Cogges, said: “I think in general Witney is getting more than its share, but the town is bustling and there are a lot of new businesses so maybe that’s a result of the new residents.

“The UK does have a ridiculous shortage of housing and I think it’s scandalous how few houses there are – but my main concern would be developers building on green spaces.”

Pauline Buckland, 76, of Barns Lane in Burford, echoed Ms Chattoe’s points about infrastructure.

She said: “The number of homes seems pretty reasonable to me, but they just do the houses and don’t do the infrastructure very well.

“The NHS in this area is diabolical as it is, never mind with all these new houses. In Burford we have to book three weeks in advance to see a doctor.”

Ms Buckland said she was concerned about the proposals to develop 50 homes on the Woodford Way car park in Witney.

She said: “That’s not right. If they do that, people won’t be able to come into Witney and park. Then things will go downhill.”

Mum of three Mary Methley, 48, of Long Hanborough, said: “People have got to live somewhere but they need to do the infrastructure first and ensure there are places in schools where the new homes are going to be built. If they don’t do that it’s not going to work and problems are just going to escalate.”

Roger Thomas, 74, lives with his wife in Ripley Avenue, Minster Lovell. He suggested implementing the plan in smaller steps.

He said: “I think if you take every village in West Oxfordshire and build a dozen houses, you’ll get a lot of houses but without a lot of problems.

“It’s sometimes tough to get your head around, and I think smaller developments instead of larger ones would make everybody happy, because otherwise it’s going to ruin a lot of the villages.”

West Oxfordshire District Council Leader James Mills said the plan was vital to ensure growth of the area and urged people to take part in the consultation.

He said: “This is an opportunity for the public to have their say on the future development of the district and is incredibly important.

“Their suggestions feeds back directly to the council and we will examine them to see if there are any areas that need addressing.”

Public exhibitions on the Local Plan will be held in St Leonard’s Church Hall, Eynsham, on December 12, and in Woodstock Community Centre on December 14.