RESIDENTS fear land north of Wallingford put forward as a potential site for 750 new homes could be used as a gravel pit for several years before any building work begins.

Oxfordshire County Council has told protesters from the No To Site A campaign that 1.4m tonnes of sand and gravel under fields north of Wilding Road would take seven years to extract, and “considerably longer” to infill.

The council has confirmed the minerals could be excavated before or during house-building, if the site is eventually approved for housing by South Oxfordshire District Council.

Consultation on whether it should become one of the council’s preferred options for 750 new homes, which must be built in the town by 2026, continue until Wednesday, February 24.

Mike Rose, one of the founders of No To Site A, said: “Oxfordshire County Council has made it quite plain they will not lose the gravel.

“There’s a real fear that building houses on this site would require the extraction of these minerals. The site is currently way down the list for gravel extraction, but if 750 houses go in, then it’s going to prompt them to start trying to excavating it.”

Two years ago, the county council consulted on which sites around Wallingford should be excavated for mineral deposits. At the time, Wallingford Town Council opposed any extraction around the town and residents near Site A signed a petition against the idea.

Wallingford county councillor Lynda Atkins, who is undecided where new houses should be built, said: “There had previously been a feeling that if the gravel is dug out at some stage in the future, it may stop the housing.

“This new prospect would probably be the worst case scenario for people living nearby.”

South Oxfordshire District Council launched more consultation on housing after commissioning Kidlington urban planners Studio Real to look again at where the homes could be built.

The process had previously reached an impasse, when the shortlisting of sites at Winterbrook and south of Wantage Road triggered widespread anger from nearby residents.

When Studio Real was asked to decide which of the sites was suitable for housing, they instead suggested the previously-rejected Site A.

Ms Atkins added: “The process has been incredibly badly managed from start to finish.”

County council spokesman Owen Morton said: “South Oxfordshire District Council is now consulting on the proposal and we will be assessing the implications of development of this site from a number of policy angles, including minerals, before coming to a formal view.”