DRINKERS have called for a pub to open in Barton as hundreds more houses are due to come to the area.

About 5,000 people live on the estate but it has not had a pub since The Fox in Edgecombe Road shut down and was replaced with housing about 10 years ago.

Work could start later this year on the Barton West development which will see 885 more homes built next to the estate and people could start to move in during 2015.

Tony Goulding, pubs officers for the Oxford branch of the Campaign for Real Ale, yesterday said the estate needed a pub.

He added: “I think it ought to have one. It’s a community like anywhere else.

“The estates have as much right as anybody else to have a pub.”

And he said with the new development coming it was time to start thinking about opening one, adding: “There will be a lot more people.”

Mr Goulding also said drunken behaviour was usually caused by people drinking cheap supermarket booze rather than in pubs.

He added: “Let’s see if they use it, if they don’t then they will lose it.”

Van Coulter, city council member for the estate, also said he would like to see a pub on the estate and said the extra houses could mean there was the demand.

Mr Coulter added: “It would be a good place for people in the community to socialise.

“The difficulty is we are seeing lots of pubs closing. But I really regret that there is not a pub within my ward.”

The Prince’s Castle in Barton Village Road closed in the late 1990s and was converted into two apartments.

Sue Holden, secretary of the Barton Neighbourhood Centre, said she was not sure if a pub could survive in Barton.

She added: “Pubs are closing rather than opening. I am not sure how successful a pub would be.”

The Barton West development is being headed by Oxford City Council. It will include a new primary school, a park, retail space, a community sports pavilion, children’s play areas, communal gardens, allotments, and an adult sports pitch.

Council spokeswoman Louisa Dean said: “We are interested to hear about what the community would like to see at Barton.”

She added: “At present there are no plans for a pub, but we consider a community resource for meetings, social use and sport is an important part of the community infrastructure which is why we are planning the community hub.”