South Oxfordshire District Council has apologised for the way it communicated plans to replace the intended site of a wildflower meadow with a grounds maintenance depot.

The application to build the compound in Great Western Park, Didcot, was withdrawn last month in the face of widespread opposition.

This included more than 80 formal objections, 390 petition signatures, and objections from Harwell Parish Council and Didcot Town Council.

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The intended site for the compound– the land west of Sir Frank Williams Way – is across the border in the Vale of White Horse, meaning some homeowners nearby were not initially consulted.

Didcot Town Council was also not initially consulted on the plans. On Friday, March 17, it sent a letter of concern to the district council over the consultation process.

When the district council first withdrew the plans, it blamed “misinformation circulating” about the proposals.

However, at a district council meeting on March 14, councillor Andrea Powell admitted that communication “was not as good as it should have been.”

She said: “The application has now been withdrawn to take on board the feedback received and to represent the proposal in more detail including the complete side.

“It is clear that the communication in this instance was not as good as it should have been and we can only apologise for that.

“Particularly taking into account the high-profile nature of this site, and its importance to the local community.

“While technically accurate, the application did not give a true sense of what was being proposed, and better engagement with the public would have helped to alleviate their perfectly reasonable concerns.

“I am confident we can do better, and I will personally ensure that the points that are being raised are addressed fully when the revised application is ready for submission, and its subsequent consideration by the Vale of White Horse planning committee.”

Cllr Powell’s comments followed criticism from a member of the public – John Salmons – who spoke at the meeting.

Mr Salmons said: “Despite the council’s stated aims regarding openness and transparency, it submitted its planning application without appearing to consult or notify any residents of its decision to pursue this scheme.”

He then asked, “what steps does the councillor (Cllr Powell) propose the council take to regain the trust of the Great Western depot community which has been so badly damaged by this proposal?”

District councillor Ian Snowdon, who has previously criticised the plans, said the district council was right to apologise.

He said: “Their role is to communicate and engage with residents, and not try to slip things through in the hope that people won’t discover what’s going on at their doorstep.

“Even though, by the letter of the law, they didn’t have to communicate because it’s a different district, just out of respect to their own residents, why would you not tell the houses that would overlook the wildflower meadow.

“Residents bought these houses thinking they would look over a wildflower meadow, and now to be told it’s for the greater good to have a compound to store chemicals shows a lack of respect.”