A CAMPAIGN group celebrating 50 years of fighting to protect their ‘village in a city’ pledged to remain ever-vigilant.

The Friends of Old Headington say they have stood in the way of badly-designed buildings and over-development that would ruin the character of the Oxford suburb.

Over the years, the group has stopped unwanted housebuilding, campaigned for the village to become a Conservation Area, and won a bid for traditional street lights.

But the Friends, who meet once a month and distribute their newsletter to 300 homes, say the character of the 1,000-year-old village is still at risk.

They point to new housebuilding and out-of-character plastic window frames and conservatories.

Secretary Stella Welford, of Old High Street, said: “Without the Friends, I think there would have been a lot of unsympathetic building work which would impinge on existing buildings and spoil the view of the streetscape.

“Old Headington almost dates back pre-Oxford, and it is still a very distinct village.

“When I go out my front gate, on one side I have a main road clogged with traffic, and on the other is a village with quiet lanes and old houses.

“But it is becoming more difficult with current planning laws to keep new buildings in sympathy with older buildings.”

Chairman Sarah King added: “We are still going strong, and there is still work to do.”

She said the introduction of ‘permitted development’ rules, which allow limited changes to properties without council planning permission, had caused fresh problems.

She said: “One of our latest problems is PVC-framed windows, which are not very well designed and look completely wrong in old houses.

“There certainly is still a threat to Old Headington at the moment, both from these small changes to the village’s character, and bigger schemes.”

She said a plan for 1,000 homes west of Barton was a major concern as it would affect views.

The Friends of Old Headington formed the year after Span Developments Ltd asked for planning permission to build a dozen houses at Church Hill Farm, Old Headington, in 1959.

Eventually, the newly-formed group bought the land, allowing a smaller development of five houses on what is now William Orchard Close.

In 1971, Old Headington, which was first mentioned in 1004 and features in the Domesday Book, was given Conservation Area status after lobbying by the friends.

This gives it extra protection when planning applications are made to Oxford City Council.

In the early 1980s, they opposed Corpus Christi College plans for Laurel Farm in St Andrew’s Road, and in 2002 led protests against Ruskin College’s plans to sell its Headington campus to a developer and move to the old Unipart site off Woodstock Road.

On Friday the group held a 50th birthday party at the Parish Hall, Dunstan Road, to celebrate their achievements.