PLANS to build on land north of Oxford, which could see a gap between the city and villages to the north closed have begun to advance.

A housebuilding plan approved earlier this month will see 4,400 homes built on different sites in Green Belt land north of Oxford to help meet the needs of the city's growing population.

One of Oxford University's colleges, Merton College, has started to advance its plans to build on a site to the west of Yarnton, known as 'PR9' where as many as 540 homes could be erected in the near future.

The college, which owns the land, has boasted that the new housing estate it is planning to build will also include 'green open space, community woodland, a Local Nature Reserve, and land for new playing fields for William Fletcher School'.

ALSO READ: Yob glassed reveller outside pub before throwing a recycling bin at another man

Merton is now preparing a planning application for the 540 homes on the site, but before this goes in, it is asking people who already live nearby for their opinions on the development in a public consultation.

John Gloag, estates bursar at Merton College, said: “Following months of consultation the Cherwell Local Plan has now been adopted. The time is right to move forward with a planning application for site PR9.

“Our proposals align with Cherwell’s Local Plan allocation and will deliver much-needed new homes as part of the county-wide strategy to accommodate Oxford’s unmet housing need."

He added: “As a long-term owner of land, we take our stewardship responsibilities very seriously.

"We want to hear and understand the views of the community before submitting a planning application and would urge all those interested to visit the website, review the information and submit feedback.”

The consultation, a kind of survey, can be found on a website run by the college called pr9-consultation.co.uk

A design image of the new homes shows them in a series of small neighbourhoods surrounded by clusters of trees, alongside the A44 as it runs northwest of the village.

As the Local Plan was passed earlier this month, opposition politicians on Cherwell District Council expressed their worries about the number of the new homes being built on Green Belt land, which is usually untouched countryside.

ALSO READ: Oxfordshire’s most memorable lockdown moments

There were also concerns from Green councillor Ian Middleton earlier this year that some of the 4,400 homes being built to help meet Oxford's unmet housing need in Cherwell would be reserved for university staff and students working at the Begbroke Science Park, and would not be available to people unaffiliated with the University.

But changes to the Local Plan were approved, with the majority of the council's ruling Conservative group voting in favour of them.

The Cherwell District Council Local Plan was originally adopted in 2015, but needed to be updated because a parcel of land reserved for new commuter belt houses near Woodstock was found to be unsuitable.

Out of the 4,400 homes which will be built to help Oxford's growing population, half will be affordable homes.

These 2,200 homes will either be sold at cheaper than usual prices, or rented out as discount rates.