Objectors to plans for 3,200 homes on the western edge of Didcot are expected to clash with a Government inspector over arrangements to hold a month-long local inquiry at Crowmarsh, near Wallingford, rather than Didcot.

At a pre-inquiry meeting on Tuesday (September 7) - to be held in public at Didcot Civic Hall at 10.30am - inspector Nigel Payne will set out the arrangements for the inquiry, which will look at policies for the Didcot West development contained in the draft local development plans for south Oxfordshire and the Vale of White Horse district.

All but two days of the inquiry will be held at South Oxfordshire District Council's offices at Crowmarsh, despite protests from lobby groups opposed to the Didcot West development including Don't Dump on Didcot, Campaign for a Sustainable Didcot and Keep Harwell Rural.

Mr Payne and programme officer Tom Currie say they have been unable to find a suitable venue in the town.

The inquiry will be held from Tuesday, November 23, to Thursday, December 16. The two days at which hearings will be held in Didcot include an evening session.

Mr Currie said: "The inspector and I did investigate the Civic Hall, but it was not available for the whole length of the time the inquiry is expected to take." Another problem was finding an office for the inspector, he added.

But Michael and Marilyn Bartlett, of Don't Dump on Didcot, said: "Most people - including members of the public who might not be objectors - will find it inconvenient, difficult or impossible to attend the inquiry at Crowmarsh.

"You can't get there by train and the bus service from Didcot is difficult."