GREEN space across Oxfordshire will be left vulnerable to developers due to a lack of council planning blueprints, campaigners claim.

The Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) says four out of five Oxfordshire districts will not have “local plans” in place when new Government planning regulations kick in.

Local plans act as a blueprint for development, guiding what and how land can be developed.

Helen Marshall, director of the Oxfordshire branch of CPRE, said: “When the reforms hit, any area without a local plan will be more or less up for grabs as opportunistic developers make use of the default ‘yes to development’, which will apply when no plan exists.

“This silence of the plans risks a real horror story for Oxfordshire’s unprotected green spaces.”

The CPRE is now urging local councils to get their plans in place as a matter of urgency, while at the same time ensuring that there is enough time to consult with their local communities.

Oxford City Council is currently consulting on its sites and housing development plan, so it is unlikely have a local plan in place before April next year.

South Oxfordshire District Council hopes to have its core strategy in place before the new guidance comes into force, while Vale of White Horse District Council is now reviewing aspects of its core strategy and anticipates adopting it in 2013. Leader Matt-hew Barber said: “Our proactive approach will ensure the future needs of the district are met, while controlling development.”

Colin Cook, Oxford City Council’s executive member for city development, said: “The changes the government are proposing are unwelcome and unhelpful. Because we have got a sound and up-to-date local development framework we can weather the impact of what the government is preparing.”

A spokesman for Department of Communities and Local Government said: “This is nonsense. The planning reforms will give local communities more power to protect their countryside. Ministers have been clear that there will be transitional arrangements in places, but councils without a local plan should recognise the importance to their community of getting such work under way.”