FAMILIES fear the open space around their village could be swallowed up by proposals for hundreds of homes south west of Didcot.

People in West Hagbourne — two miles south of the town and with a population of just 220 — want to protect the “green gap” between them and Didcot.

South Oxfordshire District Council has earmarked a site south west of the town, largely in the parish of West Hagbourne, for 450 homes in its long-term plan.

Villagers say a 3,340-home development already approved at Great Western Park, west of Didcot, will shorten the gap and fear 450 more homes to the south west will close it up completely.

However, the council has also suggested homes could be built north of the town, near to the 1,430 homes earmarked for north-east of Ladygrove, before 2016.

The Vale of White Horse District Council also has plans to build homes south west of Didcot, close to the village.

Phil Taylor, chairman of West Hagbourne Parish Council, said the village was backing development to the north.

He said: “We are all very concerned that if Didcot grows too much, the risk of the village being swallowed up becomes greater.

“We don’t want to become part of Didcot, just as much as people in Didcot probably don’t want to become part of West Hagbourne. The green gap between the settlements is incredibly important for us and the people of Didcot.

“We are trying to make people understand that the village wants to preserve what it has got. It has ancient cob walls, a conservation area and the oldest house in Oxfordshire.”

Mr Taylor called on both councils to think about road infrastructure ahead of building new homes and said he hoped new highways would take traffic away from the village.

He said: “If a new road is built, it has to work for the Hagbournes, Harwell and Didcot. Everyone would like to see more of a vision from the council and for planners to say ‘this is the big plan, this is what we want to do’ without damaging and destroying the fabric of the surrounding villages.

“The village feels Didcot has grown and eroded the parish.

“There is a huge chunk of the parish that is going to be built over. About 16 or 17 per cent will have been taken over if all the suggested developments go ahead.

“There has been no planning gain for the village. Every time Didcot grows, traffic through the village increases. We get 700 cars through the village in rush hour at the moment. We have all the impact of the growth but no advantages.”

Didcot Town Council has said it supports development to the north, as does Harwell Parish Council.

Angie Paterson, South Oxfordshire cabinet member for planning, and Tony de Vere, leader of the Vale of White Horse, said all comments from individual public consultations would be carefully examined before a decision was made.