A developer has won an appeal to build 175 new homes in an Oxfordshire village.

The large-scale housing development in Sutton Courtenay was given the green light by the Government on Wednesday (December 6).

Planning inspector William Cooper ruled in favour of company Roebuck Land and Planning following an inquiry.

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It comes after Vale of White Horse District Council rejected the plans in November 2022, with the developers taking the decision to appeal in May.

At the time, the council's planning committee decided the houses would impact the safety of road users on Frilsham Street and said the application didn’t show how the smell from a nearby composting facility would be mitigated for residents.

Hundreds of villagers also lodged objections. 

The council's refusal came despite the recommendation of planning officers to approve the new homes.

After holding a six-day inquiry in September, Mr Cooper decided to overrule the local planning authority’s decision.

In his report, he said traffic would be mitigated by several factors.

He argued there was not enough on street parking near the development to create an obstruction in the road and claimed that road users would exhibit “reasonable levels of road safety sense and consideration” while driving.

Addressing council concerns about the smell from the nearby Sutton Courtenay Composting Facility, he said that ‘expert sniff test odour surveys’ had found “no more than negligible or slightly adverse” smells at the site.

The appeal decision comes months after levelling up secretary Michael Gove told the district council it would be put on “special measures” if it did not improve its planning performance.