More than 400 villagers have signed an open letter to Cherwell District Council urging it to defend its refusal of three huge warehouse sites on land near the M40 between Banbury and Bicester.

The letter from the Stoke Lyne Action Team has been signed by 429 Stoke Lyne and nearby village residents at the time of writing.

Residents are calling on the council’s planning team to speak up at a public inquiry into the proposals, which began on September 22.

The letter states: “We are asking you to speak against the warehouses and stand by the reasons for refusal laid out by the planning committee in January 2026.

The proposed development would provide around 6.1 million sq ft of floorspace, with the tallest buildings reaching around 75ft.

placeholder image — The proposed development would provide around 6.1 million sq ft of floorspace, with the tallest buildings reaching around 75ft.

“You gave clear planning reasons. Your refusal protected our countryside, our roads, our communities and our homes. And it told us the system still worked. We were listened to.

“Then, in May, the Council leadership walked away from defending your refusal. No transparency for us, total surrender to the developers. The residents of Stoke Lyne and the surrounding villages will have to defend our countryside at the inquiry alone. Stand with us.

“Now, your refusal is on trial. Turn your back as well, and the developers will tell the Inspector that even the decisionmakers have given up. Our protest will be belittled and cast aside. Or, stand with us and show that the January decision was made on substantive planning merits and should be upheld.”

Three appeals submitted by developers Tritax Symmetry Ardley and Albion Land are being heard together at the inquiry, which opened on Tuesday, September 22.

Residents in Stoke Lyne and nearby villages say they have been left to make the case against the proposals themselves after the council decided not to defend its refusal at the inquiry.

Together, the proposals would make up to 570,000 sq m of warehousing and logistics floorspace across land between the A43 and M40 Junction 10.

The applications also include office spaces, an energy centre, HGV parking, new site access, internal roads and other infrastructure.

Some of the proposed buildings could reach 23 metres (75ft) in height, while the combined logistics floorspace is equivalent to around 80 football pitches.

The developers' planning documents estimate the site could create around 5,400 permanent jobs once it is operational.

However, local residents have raised concerns about the impact the developments, which they say includes up to “13 XXL” warehouses would have on the character of the village and surrounding countryside.

Nick Barnes, chairman of Stoke Lyne Parish Council, said earlier this year: “Securing jobs in an isolated area five miles from Bicester is no justification, especially as the low-wage and low-skilled and do not align with the high skilled jobs plan Oxford-Cambridge arc.

“Securing a few junction improvements and a cycle lane that hardly anyone will use is no justification. This will generate thousands of new car journeys.

“A bit of landscaping that will take at least 15 years to mature is not going to hide these massive structures. These are flawed applications, wrong jobs in the wrong locations.”

Cherwell District Council initially considered the applications separately before refusing the three schemes on January 21, 2026.

The council subsequently confirmed it would not present evidence defending its reasons for refusal at the appeals, saying it had taken independent legal and professional advice.

A council spokesperson said: “After taking independent professional planning advice, the council concluded there was insufficient evidence to robustly defend the reasons for refusal at appeal and that doing so carried a significant risk of costs being awarded against the council and local taxpayers.

“The appeals will now be determined independently by the Planning Inspectorate, which will consider all evidence submitted by the parties involved before reaching a decision.”

The council’s decision has been heavily criticised by local residents, Stoke Lyne Parish Council and the neighbouring Tusmore Estate, who are among those opposing the proposals at the inquiry.

Stoke Lyne Parish Council has raised around £50,000 through crowdfunding to fund legal representation at the inquiry, according to the campaign group.

Mr Barnes added: “The council refused these warehouses because they were flawed applications. Nothing about those applications has changed. The council's refusals stand. Yet the council has now walked away from its duty to defend its own decisions, with no explanation.

“Residents have a right to know why, and who took this decision. More than that, they have a right to expect their council to stand behind the decisions it made on their behalf.”

Tusmore Estate, a historic 3,000-acre private country estate around two and a half miles from the proposed development site, has also opposed the plans, saying they would undermine decades of conservation work, including the planting of one million trees.

Estate manager William Jones said: “The Tusmore Estate will continue to stand with our neighbours at Stoke Lyne Parish Council and the campaigners of the Stoke Lyne Action Team.

“These warehouses were refused on sound planning grounds, and we will make that case at the appeal.

“The proposals would undo two decades of extensive conservation work. Lorries, traffic, noise and emissions would turn tranquil countryside into an industrial estate.”

The campaign has also received backing from former Cabinet minister and author Jonathan Aitken.

He said: “Thank goodness that small village communities like Stoke Lyne and Piddington are fighting to save England’s green and pleasant land from mega warehouse developers.

“In the Stoke Lyne saga, it is shameful that the Cherwell Council has run away from their own Planning Committee’s vote to reject the Tritax scheme, whose skyscraper-sized warehouses - 75 feet tall - will wreck the surrounding countryside.”

The inquiry is scheduled to run until October 29, with hearings taking place in both Banbury and Bicester.

Cherwell District Council has been approached for further comment.