AN OLD landfill site is suitable for housing, an independent study has found.

Oxford City Council wants to build 200 homes on Redbridge Paddock, a field opposite the park and ride on Abingdon Road.

The site will be one of the last large areas of land ripe for development within the city.

It will be the largest housing development in the city after Barton Park, which will have 885 homes when completed.

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Development at Redbridge Paddock will be carried out by the council’s housing company, Oxford City Housing Ltd.

The council said 'redevelopment of former landfill sites and brownfield land is increasingly common in the UK as pressure for land increases'.

And a feasibility study carried out for the council by consultancy firm Arcadis outlines how the challenges of building on the ground could be solved.

Oxford Mail:

The paddock on Google Maps

The study found that the 'made ground' where natural and undisturbed soils have been replaced by man-made materials, at Redbridge Paddock reached up to 6.6 metres deep in some areas.

This has implications for the design of foundations, and piling into the Oxford Clay levels below is likely to be needed for multi-storey apartments.

There are also contaminants present in the soil.

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Alex Hollingsworth, cabinet member for planning and housing delivery, said: “The independent feasibility study by Arcadis shows that Redbridge Paddock can be used for development, which is very welcome as we hope to build more than 200 desperately needed new homes on the site."

“Like all brownfield and former landfill sites Redbridge Paddock presents challenges to ensure safe development, and this is something we have plenty experience of doing in the UK. We need to undertake more detailed assessments to inform specific elements of the development and mitigate the environmental, engineering and design challenges posed at this site.”