THERE are concerns over the site for potentially thousands of new homes after the fields became inundated by floodwater over the weekend.

Land off Grenoble Road, Oxford, has been earmarked for between 1,700 and 3,000 new homes in a controversial housing plan.

But some of the fields where the new homes could be built as a result of the South Oxfordshire Local Plan were left underwater over the weekend, as Oxfordshire bore witness to flooding for the third weekend this year.

A local householder who did not want to be named, took pictures of water on the fields and expressed fears over whether they would be suitable for new houses.

The resident said: “I took a lockdown walk past the fields opposite the Kassam, going up towards the farm on the right – and they were absolutely flooded.

"It really is perplexing how, in this day and age, we can give permission to build on land that gets absolutely saturated and as a consequence, we then moan about flooding. It beggars belief.”

They added “What legacy are we really going to leave if we keep doing this and where are we really going to draw the line?”

A South Oxfordshire District Council spokesman said a strategic flood risk assessment had been carried out as part of plans for Grenoble Road, and added that a future flood assessment alongside a planning application ‘would ensure housing is not built where it currently floods without appropriate mitigation’.

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“You can see the details of the Strategic Flood Risk Assessment on our website.”

The South Oxfordshire plan allows for 30,000 homes across the district, but the majority of them have either already been built or have planning permission.

Under the plan 13,500 new homes would be built, including the ones at Grenoble Road, which is earmarked as a ‘strategic site’ that will help to meet the housing needs of people living in Oxford.

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