SOME people may wonder what all of the fuss is about in Woodstock The need for homes is being felt everywhere, and why should one neighbourhood be protected from the oncoming diggers over anywhere else?

But there is good reason why the outcry over plans to build some 1,500 homes by Blenheim Palace should be of interest to others in the county.

The entire situation is indicative of the planning crisis we are facing. Proud villagers pitted against ambitious developers pitted against hand-wringing local authorities who wonder just where on earth everyone is going to go. That, combined with the historic importance of Blenheim Palace and the further issues that come with a grand and notable past, echoes a battle being played out across Oxfordshire.

There’s people in South and Vale worried about their green belt, people in Bicester feeling surrounded by developments, and those in the city seeing all brownfield land snapped up for extortionately-priced homes that no local could afford.

Everywhere you look the same concerns and heated discussions are flying across dinner tables and conference rooms.

The character of a place provides a foundation for a community to identify itself and feel some pride in their neighbourhood. Protecting heritage assets must be considered, but so must the desperate housing need.