Sir – Your article Prepare for bad news on Green Belt (Report, April 2) is not an accurate picture of the strength of SODC’s opposition to development in the Green Belt.

Councillor Mitchell may be right; the Government may simply instruct us to build at Grenoble Road but we remain opposed to it. Indeed, in our most recent planning strategy document, a version of which has just been issued for consultation, we have sought to reduce the area of Green Belt on which we might be instructed to build by pulling back its north-east boundary to the B480 thus removing a large piece of Green Belt from development to the benefit of villages such as Garsington.

Our approach to Berinsfield and Wheatley is not contrary to this.

Berinsfield has a Green Belt wash across the whole village, including the built-up area, which currently makes development there, even on brownfield land, extremely difficult. It cannot be right to prejudice the development of what has been an area of deprivation in an otherwise wealthy part of the county, by preventing any development within the current village envelope.

There is no detailed work which has yet suggested that the development of the village needs to expand beyond this into the Green Belt beyond.

As Wheatley village is not in the Green Belt, development within the village boundary is already possible, but existing constraints make further development difficult. Wheatley is an important centre and we want to maintain its services and vibrancy. This is unlikely to be easy without some additional housing including housing for older people.

If people do not want this to be done by building beyond the village envelope we are open to suggestions as how this can be achieved — that after all is what consultation is all about.

In closing let me confirm that Conservatives at SODC will continue to do all we can to save the Green Belt around Oxford.

Angie Paterson, Cabinet member for planning, South Oxfordshire District Council