New houses could be built on the Green Belt south of Oxford as early as 2013, it emerged yesterday.

In May, the Government gave the go-ahead for 4,000 new homes to be built south of Grenoble Road as part of its South East Plan, a blueprint for development in the region over the next 20 years, to help meet future housing demands in the county.

The scheme is backed by Oxford City Council, but vehemently opposed by both South Oxfordshire District Council and the Campaign to Protect Rural England.

And yesterday protesters called for building work to be postponed indefinitely.

They waved banners outside Oxford Town Hall prior to speaking at a public review of the city council’s housebuilding plans, which is being conducted by a Government planning inspector.

Hugh Jaeger, chairman of the Oxford branch of Bus Users UK, said the city council should concentrate on building homes in the city to avoid having to build in the Green Belt.

He said: “Oxford needs more homes because we have too many people who can get a job in the city, but can’t get a home, so they have to commute – and commuting is unsustainable.

“The reason why the city council is aiming at the Green Belt is they are not taking enough land for housing within the city limits.

“Oxford is already a big enough retail centre.

“The idea of competing with Swindon, Reading and Milton Keynes is mad.

“We must make better use of brownfield sites in the city. Environmentally, we don’t have an alternative.”

Michael Tyre, spokesman for the Oxfordshire branch of the CPRE, added: “We are against the urban extension.

“The planning inspector won’t be able to go against the South East Plan, but we are going to ask him to delay it as long as possible. We don’t think it’s necessary.

“Our view is it (Oxford) should be aiming for quality not quantity and leave the other towns to pick up the quantity.”

At yesterday’s inquiry, planning inspector David Fenton urged the city council and SODC to work together to ensure new homes south of Grenoble Road were properly integrated with the city’s infrastructure.

He then asked David Jackson, who was speaking for landowners Thames Water and Magdalen College, when “the first bricks could be laid?”.

Mr Jackson said that subject to the relevant planning documents being in place there was no reason why construction couldn’t start as early as “circa 2013”.