Villagers have warned their primary school will be overwhelmed if 80 new homes are approved.

Concerned residents of Steventon claim there is already a lack of places at St Michaels Primary School and say plans for new homes to the north-west of the village would only add to the problem.

An outline planning application by Gladman Developments for the homes is under consideration by Vale of White Horse District Council, the planning authority.

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Around 70 objections were made to the plans during the public consultation stage.

Steventon Parish Council said: “The proposal would generate a need for school places, which are unlikely to be able to be accommodated at the village school.”

It added: “Children who might otherwise have been able to attend St Michael's Primary School would be displaced to other schools.”

Rona Quigley added: “We have a coming influx of children attaining school age from six different new housing schemes in Steventon.

“This year we have children living in the village who have not been given a place at the village school as there is no space for them. In the past some children have had to go to St Blaise at Milton Heights but it is now serving a new and growing development by Redrow Homes so would have difficulty absorbing an overspill from Steventon.

“The primary schools to the west of Didcot are oversubscribed so no help there.”

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Some villagers claimed the displacement of school children would increase ‘already busy traffic’ on nearby roads.

Sarah Snuggs said: “The village school was oversubscribed this year and children already living in the village did not manage to gain places.

“Inevitably a housing development will introduce new families in need of school places with no feasible way of accommodating these children locally. Presumably they will need to go to schools outside of the village increasing the already busy traffic.”

Paul Warren added: “The additional 80 homes would very likely introduce a large amount of additional school age children to the local area, with existing residents with children risking losing places at the already oversubscribed St Michaels School, meaning even more traffic as children would need to travel out of the area for schooling again increasing traffic volumes and increasing pollution.”

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Similar concerns for the school were raised during a consultation process prior to the application.

Gladman said it was willing to speak with the relevant bodies to see what healthcare and education provision was in place.

The company has been contacted for comment on the concerns of residents.

The homes are planned to be two-story and would use traditional building materials to blend in with the existing character of the village.

Towards the north of the site, near the main access road, land has been designated for use as a residential care home.