Wallingford homeowners fear their back gardens will be infringed after major updates were made to plans for a housing estate.

The Highcroft estate will see 555 homes built to the west of the town on land off Wantage Road.

The outline planning permission – which is when developers seek overall permission for the development - was granted in October 2017.

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A new application has now been launched which regarding the appearance, landscaping, and layout of the agreed houses.

However, the new plans have changed the number of dwellings that border the existing houses on Wantage Road. It was originally seven but has now risen to 16.

Developer Berkeley St Joseph has also removed plans for trees and green space along the same boundary.

Dr Roger Cox and his wife, who live on Wantage Road, said they “strongly object” to what they described as a “substantial increase.”

In a joint statement to the public consultation, the couple said: “This level of housing density and lack of green space is of very poor design and out of character with the whole area.

“In this way the housing density increase proposed runs counter to the spirit and intentions of the South Oxfordshire Local Plan 2011- 2035 and the Wallingford Neighbourhood Plan.

“In addition, this more than doubling of homes will greatly increase the noise and disturbance to many Wantage Road residents during the construction period of several months.”

The couple also questioned what sort of boundary would be developed to separate the existing homes from the new ones.

“The higher the house density the greater the difficulty in constructing a visually acceptable boundary between the two sets of gardens,” they said.

The plan for the Highcroft estate has also raised concerns about how it will impact infrastructure in the town.

Michel Rentel said: “The increase of housing in the area is significantly impacting the local community, with difficulty accessing doctors, dentists and schools.

“The local secondary school is already struggling with capacity and will result in the surrounding communities to have to travel further a field to access education or home school.

“There has been a significant increase in road traffic due to the increase in dwellings.

“A further 555 is only going to compound these issues.”

Sue Cooper proposed that all homes with south-facing roofs should have solar panels installed, or similar provisions.

She said: “This will affect the look of the estate and will send a strong message to passers-by that we are serious about climate change in this district.”