IN your editorial on September 29 you state the inspector has claimed that by reviewing the Green Belt boundary around part of Wheatley, this will lead to an expansion of Oxford city into the open countryside.
This is not what he said. He claims Horspath and Wheatley are already an urban sprawl.
This is a nonsense – try walking over Shotover Plain, the direct route out of the city.
The parish council has conjured up the scare that any development in Wheatley would be four-bed London commuter houses. There is absolutely no evidence for this. What villagers want are homes for first-time buyers and private residential accommodation for older people.
I stood for SODC in May on this programme and was elected.
This is what SODC had promised us.
It should not be for the Inspector, a government official, to drum up artificial arguments based on one drive through the area to Cowley and a scare story to prevent a slight change to the boundary. This would have no effect on the purposes of the Green Belt to safeguard the surrounds of Oxford but it would enable Wheatley to keep its young and old together and also get some useful funding under the new arrangements for important and vital infrastructure and social improvements.
Unless the inspector changes his view, Wheatley will get none of these benefits.
ROGER BELL, Liberal Democrat Councillor for Wheatley, Windmill Lane
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here