South Oxfordshire councillors to review controversial Local Plan

The council voted to accept the plan, which would involve building homes on Oxford's Green Belt and at Chalgrove Airfield, last December.

But at the time, just four councillors were not Conservative members.

On May 2, their party lost control of the council. Later this week, the Liberal Democrats and Greens will take control.

Benson's Lib Dem councillor Sue Cooper, who is likely to be named council leader later this week, said: "After these dramatic local election results, it’s only right that new councillors from all parties get the chance to look in detail at what is proposed in the Local Plan, so they can make a reasoned decision as to whether changes are necessary and what the consequences might be.”

If the Local Plan is delayed, it will impact on the county's involvement in the Government's Housing and Growth Deal.

Benson's other district councillor, the Green Party’s Andrea Powell, said: “It was clear during the election campaign that over-development in our district is a major issue, but we must also take care to protect our area from the speculative development that happened under the previous council. This is the responsible way to proceed.”