Heavy plant company AJ Machinery Ltd is continuing to fight for planning permission for new housing on its land at North Moreton, near Wallingford.

The company, which reconditions JCBs and has a large market overseas, wants outline planning permission for four houses so it can sell the plot and move to larger premises.

South Oxfordshire District Council has refused permission on the grounds that it would amount to an unacceptable extension of the village into an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and loss of land for light industrial use.

AJ Machinery recently withdrew its appeal against that decision.

The company's planning consultant, Neil Boddington, said new procedural rules meant that its appeal statements had arrived at the planning inspector's office a couple of days late and were automatically returned to sender.

Mr Boddington said: "We decided to withdraw that appeal in case the hearing had been prejudiced, but we have already re-submitted it."

He added that six houses stood on the land until 1972, and four new houses would be a good thing for the village, replacing the "eyesore" of the plant yard.