ANGRY residents say they are fighting to protect their village's identity and surrounding wildlife from a planned 1,000 home development.

People living in North Drive, Harwell are rallying to remove the proposed 'innovation village' from Vale of White Horse District Council's latest draft local plan part two, the blueprint for development in the district, on the land near the Harwell Campus.

The residents say there are too many houses currently being suggested in the plan, which could swamp the village.

They also argue red kites, bats, woodpeckers, newts, butterflies and bees could all be at the mercy of developers as their natural habitat in Harwell has been listed as a 'strategic' housing site in the plans.

David Farrell, who lives in North Drive and works at the Rutherford Appleton Library on the campus, called the plans a 'disgrace.'

The 54-year-old said:"What we fear as existing house owners is the prospect of losing our sense of community, and the quiet nature of the estate to unsympathetic buildings.

"Houses will be built on top of each other in order to achieve the proposed numbers.

"We are also worried that the existing landscaping will be destroyed and the mature avenue of trees, woods and heath areas will disappear along with the wildlife that is abundant in the area to be destroyed.

"Especially at a time when bees, birds, butterflies and moths are known to be in a steep decline and we are blessed with many varieties of each – likewise, Red Kites, owls and bats, as well as local populations of pied woodpeckers, green woodpeckers, newts, hares, fallow deer and muntjac deer."

Mr Farrell is also sceptical the people living in the new houses their homes will actually work on the campus.

He added: "There are very few people who live at North Drive that work on the Harwell Campus, five per cent maybe.

"The proposed developments at the campus may increase the number of jobs in the area, but many of those will opt to travel in.

"There has to be a huge change to this arterial route before any future new developments take place – there is absolutely no guarantee that the proposed housing here will be accommodating the larger percentage of workers on the Harwell campus itself.

"There is no guarantee of people using public transport."

Although the consultation has closed for this draft, another one will be held later this year on an updated Local Plan.

In order to have the site removed, the residents have come together and are urging people to oppose the development in the next consultation.

Business development manager Mike Chapman, who is also lives on one of the 73 homes currently in North Drive, said the new properties would also cause 'severe stress' to the district's roadworks.

The father-of-two added: "Commuters are already queuing for more than 30 minutes, travelling from the direction of Harwell and Steventon Villages; a journey of one mile.

"No new proposals have been made to improve the road networks, to a town which is already bursting at the seams with vehicles.

"I have seen better roads in developing countries."

The district council's plan, which was made publicly available in March, sets out preferred sites for 2,200 homes across the district that it has agreed to deliver to ease Oxford's housing crisis, which include the Harwell site.

Spokesman for the council Andy Roberts said: "People’s views are very important to us, which is why we have recently consulted on the local plan for the Vale of White Horse.

"Officers are currently reviewing the thousands of comments received.

"People will have another chance to comment on the Vale Local Plan when we publish an updated version later this year."

The 144-page document also sets aside land in anticipation of future schemes that could be delivered to improve roads and transport, including a rail station in Grove, park and ride sites at Lodge Hill and Cumnor, and a bypass south of Marcham to divert traffic away from the village.

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