TRADERS say business will boom if proposals to build 540 houses on land between Summertown and Marton get the go ahead.

Oxford City Council has listed 20 acres of land between Marston Ferry Road and Lonsdale Road, close to the Cherwell floodplain, as a preferred option for development While residents have reacted angrily to the plans, Summertown traders say the influx of people to the area would be fantastic for business.

Jane Young, manager of Vanilla women's clothes shop, in South Parade, Summertown, said: "From a business point of view it will be unbelievable, although I think they have to make sure that the design is in keeping with the rest of the area.

"We have to provide housing; it's a necessity. We need housing in every city. We have to keep developing. Business here is good at the moment, but I think it will boom if these new houses are built."

Herve Gatineau, who runs Gatineau delicatessen in Banbury Road also welcomed the proposal. He said: "There is no doubt about it, it would be very good for business, although I can understand that some people living locally might disagree with it."

Jane Adams, manager at the Shepherd & Woodward children's wear store, said trade came from all parts of the county, but thought the new homes would be good for the area.

She said: "There are bound to be lots of families moving into the area with children, so that has got to be good for business here. From a business point of view I'm very much in favour, but I might have a different opinion if I lived in the area."

The land is owned by Summerfields School, Wadham College and St John's College. And the site, which includes playing fields, is included in the Oxford Core Strategy document setting out where new housing should be located in the city.

The city council set out possible locations at Pear Tree and Southfield Golf Course and in Barton. But only the site behind Summerfields School in Summertown is put forward as a preferred site for housing.

The document says the the land would have the advantage of being close to shopping and facilities in Summertown. A consultation is now underway.

A hundred residents attended a public meeting at Portland Road Church Hall on Wednesday.

Lib Dem city councillor Jean Fooks who chaired the meeting said: "People feel they have not been properly consulted. The Cherwell Valley is a protected green space and much valued.

"It appears that some of the land is in the flood plain and there is great concern about access, particularly for people living in Lonsdale Road and at the nearby Cherwell School."

Michael Rouse, of Lonsdale Road, told the meeting: "We don't believe we should agree to take so many people full stop.

"The centre of Oxford is already too small to serve the population if you add 500 houses here where do these people go to school and the doctors? It just hasn't been thought through."

Gillian Williams, of Lonsdale Road, said: "We are going to lose a lot of diversity there are at least three wooded areas there. My husband and I counted 27 different varieties of birds in the garden so what would happen if 500 families moved in."