A TIDAL wave of objection met a team of land promoters proposing a 3,000 home development off the A40.

Representatives from Gladman, which is promoting its Barnard Gate Garden Village between Witney and Eynsham, visited villagers in South Leigh to discuss the plans and hear any concerns.

During a heated meeting, people from the village – who believe the development will ‘obliterate’ South Leigh, merge Witney and Eynsham and reduce the A40 into further traffic hell - listed their various concerns with the site.

The plans by Gladman are for up to 3,000 homes and include proposals for a science or business park, two new primary schools, a medical centre and pharmacy, play areas and improvements to the A40.

The site near South Leigh is offered as an alternative to the Government and West Oxfordshire District Council-backed garden village proposal near Eynsham.

Gladman is promoting the site, which is likely to then be sold off to several developers. Gladman, however, has said that it may seek to retain the role of ‘master builder’ overseeing the development and ensuring key parts of the plan, such as the delivery of services, are kept intact.

The tense meeting in South Leigh Village Hall last week saw the Gladman representatives quizzed on a number of issues around the site.

Villagers put it to Gladman that a developer building on the site will simply overload it with high-density housing and reap the benefits while leaving out the services being offered at this stage – thus disqualifying it from being classified as a garden village.

Gladman said having a ‘master builder’ and ensuring the outline plans get it right in terms of housing ratio and services would prevent this from happening.

Villagers also raised concerns that the development would only compound the ‘misery’ many commuters face on the A40 at peak times by adding to the daily traffic.

On the matter of the A40, planning and development director at Gladman, Chris Still, said: “We appreciate the A40 is a highly congested road and we haven’t approached this thinking anything else.

“We have a highways consultant liaising with the highways authority to assist not only on movements from our development but on how the network can cope.”

He mentioned improvements planned by the county council and those offered in the garden village plans: including new roundabouts on the major road.

Despite the efforts of the representatives, villagers remained sceptical about the plans.

Amanda Howard, 49, of South Leigh Against Gladman, said the development would ‘obliterate South Leigh’ and ‘urbanise Witney and Eynsham, merging these two rural towns so they become one elongated conurbation’.

She added: “South Leigh and Barnard Gate will be consumed. Witney and Eynsham will be urbanised.”

The meeting concluded as council chairwoman Nicky Brooks led a show of hands on the proposal, asking for a response from those who supported the development. No hand were raised in a room of about 90 people.

Mr Still said an application would be submitted in the next few months.