Plans for new homes in Banbury village with no pub or suitable bus service labelled 'absolutely ridiculous'

Great Bourton could soon get 19 additional houses as plans have been lodged by applicant Talbot Homes for the development on land to the north of Main Street.

Those in favour of the proposal say it would “yield some affordable housing provision” and “avoid the negative design impacts of piecemeal development”.

But objectors living in Great Bourton fear there is not enough infrastructure in the village to accommodate it.

A resident in Manor Road said: “I see this as an absolutely ridiculous application for unneeded houses in the village.

“Affordable housing is always needed but these are oversized and I see this as a tucked away haven for those wanting a rural lifestyle without actually having one.

“It is once again building on green fields that support a haven of wildlife life.

“The impact of the building will have a massive effect on the surrounding wildlife which has been in decline on those fields since the building of Garner’s field.

“We do not have a pub as stated as it’s been closed for approximately two years now, and as for the bus route, this is laughable as it runs so infrequently and I can’t imagine anyone that will be able to afford one of these houses would use the bus.”

Another villager added: “Great Bourton has no pub. The one that was here was closed over a year ago.

“Great Bourton has no bus service. It has a bus on one day a week.

“There is no pavement on a large proportion of the way into Banbury.”

But in an applicant paper, the developer insists the infrastructure in the village is adequate to accommodate the new houses.

The developer stated: “The village of Great Bourton has a number of facilities including a church, pub, allotments, play areas and community centre.

“A bus route runs along Main Street with a bus stop within a short walk from the application site.

“Overall, it is considered that the principle of development on the site is acceptable, and the proposed development will help to deliver additional housing within the built-up area of an existing village.”

The development site comprises approximately 0.83 hectares of open field which the applicant says is “used informally for dog agility purposes”.

A total of five out of 19 houses would be ‘affordable’ and the homes would be a mixture of two, three, four and five-bedroom, all having designated space for vehicle parking on private driveways.

Planning permission was already granted in principle for eight to nine houses on a smaller portion of the site in September last year.