THE government has submitted plans to build 3,000 homes on an Oxfordshire airfield.

The Homes and Communities Agency, which funds new affordable housing in England, has drawn up plans to build the estate at Chalgrove, South Oxfordshire.

The plan also includes a secondary school, two primary schools and 'up to five hectares of employment land'.

The agency submitted its designs to South Oxfordshire District Council this week in a special type of planning application known as a 'scoping opinion application'.

This submission outlines the development plan in order to find out whether an Environmental Impact Assessment would need to be carried out for planning permission to be granted.

Given the 254-hectare site is already developed as an airfield, is it possible the council will decide the environmental impact would not be significant enough to merit a new impact assessment.

If the council makes that conclusion, it will make the rest of the application process easier, making the site more attractive to a prospective housing developer.

The HCA first revealed it was hoping to help build 3,000 homes on the site last year.

The development would see a runway used by Martin Baker, current tenants of the airfield, moved at a cost of £12m and the B480 re-routed through the new development, with speed limits cut from 50mph to 20mph.

The district council has included the plan in its Local Plan for development.

Members of public can see the new application at southoxon.gov.uk using reference number P17/S3565/SCO