CONSTRUCTION will start on a new housing estate next month despite it receiving 55 objections from residents and a petition signed by 119 villagers against it.

Housebuilder Living Space Housing will build 40 homes in the village of Milcombe, near Banbury in partnership with Paradigm Housing Group.

Located on a 3.5-acre site on Oak Farm Drive, the development will provide a minimum of 10 homes for affordable rent and four homes for shared ownership and it is working with Cherwell District Council to provide more affordable houses.

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But the plan was faced with opposition when it was put to the council in 2015.

Villagers had concerns that there were ‘inadequate’ sewerage facilities, a lack of education and health facilities nearby, poor access to the site and that it would ‘exacerbate’ traffic flows through the village.

Milcombe resident Andrew Wintle said at the time: “This will be an unsightly development on a previously unspoilt plot of land. This is a ridiculous idea, driven solely by greed.

“Why ever would people want to move here, live in a tiny box and have to travel large distances to get the services they require. Where are all the children in these houses going to go to school?”

People also objected due to a lack of parking, construction issues, poor land drainage, poor public transport connections and the ‘large’ scale of the development.

Village pub the Horse & Groom Inn expressed concerns too saying there was a risk that the activity of the pub could be compromised because of the possibility of complaints from future residents of the estate leading to a licensing review.

The development will consist of two-, three-, four- and five-bedroom houses that will have air source heat pumps installed to provide sustainable heating technology.

The properties are mixture of houses, bungalows and apartments.

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Rebecca King, head of land and new business at Paradigm Housing, said: “We are always looking for opportunities to provide new homes in areas that lack affordable housing, such as in this historic and picturesque part of North Oxfordshire.

“We are especially pleased that the homes will be installed with air source heat pumps, which will deliver sustainable heating solutions for our future residents.”

The first homes will be ready for people to move in to before the end of 2021.

Steve Davies, managing director of Living Space Housing, said: “This is our first development in Oxfordshire, our first collaboration with Paradigm Housing, and the first scheme where we’ve taken the proactive decision to introduce air source heat pumps.”

Paradigm Housing Group provides more than 15,000 affordable homes for rent, shared ownership and sale across the UK.

It aims to build more than 500 new homes each year.