"Enough is enough” Woodstock residents have declared after Blenheim submitted another planning application for a third large housing estate in the town.

Members of the Campaign to Protect Old Woodstock said that the proposals exceed the number of new homes outlined in West Oxfordshire District Council’s local plan and that the infrastructure of the town will not be able to cope.

Blenheim is already constructing 300 houses at Park View and has submitted plans for 250 homes on Banbury Road. Now it has submitted a third application for 180 homes at Hill Rise in Old Woodstock.

The group said the local plan recommended only 120 houses to be built on the site and the consultation process only considered that number.

They argue that the total of 730 homes in total on the three developments – which will be built concurrently - is 130 more than the 600 recommended in the local plan.

A spokesperson said: “Woodstock is a very small town. Our infrastructure simply can’t take this amount of building all at once. These three developments will mean increasing the population by 41 per cent.

“The schools cannot cope with additional capacity and our surgery is already at bursting point. The plans will mean 2,276 patients for each GP and the current surgery site is not suited to expansion.”

Campaigners are also concerned about the increase in local traffic on the busy A44 and the danger to cyclists and pedestrians at pinch points and on narrow pavements.

There are also concerns about the loss of a recreation area and wildlife habitats in fields behind Hill Rise.

Andrew Rein, treasurer and founding member of the campaign, said: "If you strip away from Blenheim's application all the gloss and spin of their glossy brochures you are left with an application for planning permission that is seriously flawed.”

But Dominic Hare, CEO of Blenheim, said: “Hill Rise is possibly the most ambitious new homes development yet contemplated in this country. In a location already allocated in the local plan, instead of building “normal”, we are seeking consent to build 180 PassivHaus-certified eco-Homes (close to no heating required), in a community planned to de-emphasise motor vehicles and emphasis bicycles, pedestrians and green spaces.

“Fifty per cent of all of these homes – with no compromises – will be delivered under Blenheim/WODC’s unique truly affordable housing model, offering local people the chance to either rent at 40 per cent discounts to market rent or to part-buy.

"That these two elements go together in one application is a bold statement of intent. We are building tomorrow’s legacy today, ensuring that we do the least harm possible to the environment and that much of the benefit will go to local people otherwise excluded from the housing market.”