I have just received a very professionally-produced, glossy newsletter, Weston Otmoor, A Sustainable Future, which is billed as "the official newsletter of the Weston Otmoor eco-town consultation".
I assume this has been produced by the independent market research company and the developers of the project.
The questionnaire is cleverly set out, with the questions worded to promote the scheme, and there is only a very small section for concerns.
This publication has obviously cost a lot of money to produce - money that will be recouped by the developers when they sell the houses.
Incidentally, according to the literature, the scheme may include only 30 per cent of affordable housing.
That means 70 per cent quality houses at premium prices, and bigger profits!
They also quote that to be eco-friendly, these houses will be built with sustainable materials with zero carbon emissions.
I thought that present standards for house building included reducing carbon emissions, with extra insulation, condensing boilers and low energy light fittings etc being standard.
The eco-friendly tag is the developers' way of softening the blow because we are all expected to support anything that has a green issue.
The literature states that there is the potential for up to eight primary schools. I wonder whether local people are aware of the size of this proposed town.
My other major concern is that the A34 and the M40 are both roads with serious problems at peak times.
The A34 in particular is regularly blocked with tailbacks as far as Abingdon.
Redesigning the junction and adding traffic to reach 15,000 houses is not the answer, because no matter what public transport and park-and-ride you introduce, people will still use their cars - that's the way it is.
I am aware that people will accuse those of us who object to this proposal as "Nimbys".
In some respects, that is true, but as the newsletter states, the aim is to create a place which can evolve naturally as it gets bigger.
So where will it end? How much green open space are we going to destroy in our quest for a "greener environment"
NEIL SPENCER Oxford Close Kirtlington
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