Disquiet over plans for thousands of homes in Wantage (From Oxford Mail)

Disquiet over plans for thousands of homes in Wantage

5:21pm Wednesday 27th January 2010 in

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PROPOSALS for thousands of new homes in Wantage and Grove were met with disquiet by residents during consultation.

They packed into Charlton Village Hall to voice their concern at plans to build 4,900 homes by 2026. They include 2,500 at the former airfield west of Grove, 1,500 by Charlton and 400 in Harwell.

Derek Riding, 64, of Charlton Village Road, Charlton, said: “I want to know why they think Wantage can cope with all these homes when there are no plans to improve the infrastructure.”

Francis Walsh, of Parsonage Close, Charlton, said: “My wife and I have been very upset about the lack of detail so far.

“We have no time-frame or cost. I think it’s naive in the extreme to expect there to be local jobs for these people.”

Council planner Nick Burroughs said: “There are a number of major challenges we face in making sure that the housing developments required in the Vale by the South East Plan are located and developed appropriately.

“We will now spend time considering the responses received during the consultation, which will help finalise the draft plan to be published in June.”