MUCH is written in the Oxford Mail, especially in the comments section, about the so-called need for 30,000 houses to be built locally, to which end Cherwell DC (who govern my bit of turf) have suggested 4,400 to be built around Kidlington town and the villages of Begbroke and Yarnton.

I strongly disagree with this proposal and would urge others to do the same because it is mostly in areas at risk of flooding.

A quick search on the Environment Agency website reveals this to be the case. If more are built locally, this risk will only increase. Drainage ditches in Yarnton are constantly having to be cleared by relays of tankers, sometimes working overnight.

So my question is this: how many more flood relief channels will need to be built if this development goes ahead? The Northern Gateway will be sited in fields which are flooded most of the year. Where will the ‘run-off’ go?

Oxford; there’s a clue in the name.

STEWART MITCHELL

Bernard Close, Yarnton