The owner of a derelict north Oxfordshire quarry and cement works believes the site could become the location for light industry and up to 2,500 homes.

The former Blue Circle Cement quarry in Shipton-on-Cherwell, near Kidlington, closed in the mid-1980s.

Several proposals have been made for the 168-acre site and there is planning approval for part of the land to be used to store new cars.

A section of the quarry has been designated as a site of special scientific interest because of the rock strata exposed by the quarry workings. Now the owner, the Bride Parks Group, which bought the site in 2001, wants its future potential to be debated.

Managing director Colin Banyard said the quarry could help meet the need for affordable homes, industry and public transport infrastructure in Oxfordshire.

The site lies about six miles north of Oxford, between the Banbury Road and the Oxford-Banbury railway line.

Mr Banyard said a station could be built and sidings reinstated for the light industry that could be established.

The industrial units would probably be for research and development companies, not manufacturing.

Another option would be to extend the Oxford Canal to improve amenities on the waterway.

Mr Banyard added: "As the quarry is well screened and is low down, many people do not realise it is there, other than seeing the 220ft chimney stack and some old buildings.

"The bowl of the excavated quarry is about 168 acres and is a brownfield site."

He said Bride Parks specialised in developing transport infrastructure and could also help Oxford achieve its guided bus system.

Desmond Watts, co-owner of the Cotswold Country Club at Bunkers Hill, which overlooks the quarry, said: "It is an area that does need something doing to it.

"I would be glad to see the old cement works buildings come down as they are an eyesore and also the chimney, although it is a landmark.

Mr Watts, who lives at Bunkers Hill beside the A4095 Bicester to Witney road, said there might be concern about the number of vehicles development of the site would generate.

He added: "Residents have tried to get a 40mph speed limit on this stretch of road because of the amount of traffic we have."