TWO new parishes have been created due to thousands of homes being built on a former RAF site.

People living in Upper Heyford will now have a 'greater opportunity' for community involvement with after the area was split into two parishes, Cherwell District Council have said.

The new areas will be called Upper Heyford and Heyford Park and they replace the old parish, Upper Heyford after residents had their say in a two-part consultation in January.

The decision comes after the development of the former RAF Upper Heyford site, which is expected to see 1600 new homes be built on the site by 2031.

Yvonne Rees, chief executive for Cherwell District Council said: “A huge part of what we do as a council is ensuring that residents have fair representation. We want to continue to make sure that everyone has their say, and is properly represented.

“With the planned residential development in Upper Heyford, and the increase in population it makes sense to split the existing parish into two and to adjust the number of councillors accordingly.

"This will give residents better access to their local councillors at a grassroots level."

Upper Heyford Parish will retain six councillors and Heyford Park will have seven.

In Weston-on-the-Green, the number of councillors is being increased to eight and in Yarnton to ten.