FAMILIES living on a small 1930s estate have vowed to fight plans to build 400 homes on fields just yards from their houses.

Hundreds of people live in the 72 houses of North Drive, Harwell, originally built as housing for the nearby former RAF Harwell airbase.

Shortly before Christmas, residents learned the land by their houses had been lined up for 400 new homes in The Vale of White Horse District Council’s revised Core Strategy, which determines where new estates will be built by 2026.

Consultation on the plans ends on Friday, January 29.

The site, owned by the UK Atomic Energy Authority, includes the contaminated former sewage works north of the Harwell Innovation and Science Campus, boarded-up houses built for RAF officers on South Drive, and fields either side of Icknield Way.

Susannah Croucher, 27, who chairs the North Drive Residents’ Committee, said: “For many people, this open space is one the reasons they moved here.

“There are at least 30 kids who use it as their playground, and a lot of people up here have dogs and use those fields every day.

“If they take it away, a lot of us will not want to live here any more.”

She added: “I know there is a massive need for houses, and I am not objecting just because it is two metres from my house, but this is open countryside which is very well used.”

The district council’s analysis of potential housing sites concluded the nearby science campus had many of the facilities usually found in large villages, as well as the capacity to create up to 6,500 new jobs.

Last night, the council refused to comment on the plans for Harwell, although it will be presenting its proposals in the Freeman Hall, Harwell, on Thursday from 3.30pm to 7.30pm.

Harwell Science and Innovation Campus spokesman Jo Reid said: “While the campus is predominantly a strategic employment site, combining it with residential development will enhance its vibrancy and make it a more sustainable place for people to work and live.”

The plans include a road from the campus to the A417.

The North Drive Residents’ Committee has written to householders urging them to object to the proposals. Householders will discuss how to fight the plans at 6pm on Sunday in the Rose and Crown pub, Chilton.

Mrs Croucher said: “From all the residents we’ve spoken to, every single person up here is going to fight this as hard as we possibly can.”