A HISTORIC site where Royalists and Parliamentarians battled over 370 years ago is about to see another skirmish – this time over housing.

The Battlefields Trust says the Chalgrove Battlefield of 1643 is under threat due to plans for 3,500 homes on a neighbouring airfield.

One third of the site could be affected by the proposal from South Oxfordshire District Council, the group has warned.

Battlefields Trust research and threats coordinator Simon Marsh said the site was of "national importance".

He added: "There might still be archaeological remains there that can tell us more about what happened at the battle and there is also still quite a lot you can read from the landscape.

"What we have to remember is this site is part of our heritage, it is one of 46 listed by Historic England, and the more places like it that we destroy the more we lose of our heritage."

The Battle of Chalgrove was a skirmish during the English Civil War between the Royalist troops of Prince Rupert and Parliamentarians including John Hampden, who was mortally wounded and later taken to Thame.

According to Historic England, the "mortal wounding of Hampden, the differing tactics of the two sides and the characteristic boldness of Prince Rupert add up to something more than a typical skirmish".

It has said better public access to the site, which lies between Warpsgrove Lane and Chalgrove Airfield, "would be desirable".

The threat to the site comes as the district council looks for a "strategic site" to help meet the housing need of Oxford, which has asked it for help.

But the plan to build 3,500 homes at Chalgrove Airfield has sparked outrage from villagers and surrounding parishes, with district councillor David Turner and others claiming it will "destroy" their way of life.

Mr Turner has said it would "take our population from about 2,900 to something like 14,000".

Residents have called on South Oxfordshire District Council to instead build at Grenoble Road, a site on the southern boundary of Oxford that was discounted because it lies within Green Belt land.

An online petition has been started which argues development should not take place at Chalgrove Airfield.

A spokesman for South Oxfordshire District Council said: "We hope all organisations and individuals with specific comments or concerns about any aspect of the preferred options document or the sustainability appraisal will provide a response to the consultation, so we can make sure their concerns are considered."

The deadline for comments is 4.30pm on Friday, August 19, he added.