PLANS to build offices and a car park on the site of ancient allotments in Bicester will be examined at a public inquiry.

The Church of England is appealing against Cherwell District Council's rejection of its plans to develop the site off Skimmingdish Lane.

Councillors threw out the controversial application last November because the land was not earmarked for employment uses in local planning documents.

They were also concerned the allotments would not be replaced and said the land could be prone to flooding.

Now a Government appointed planning inspector will hear arguments over the plans at a public inquiry in December.

The campaign to save the allotments, which are believed to be some of the oldest in Britain, hit the headlines after gardeners who had been growing vegetables on the plots were evicted by the Diocese of Oxford last summer.

Celebrity gardeners Monty Don and Alan Titchmarsh pledged their support for the campaign.

Bicester Town Council, Launton Parish Council, the National Society of Allotment and Leisure Gardeners, and the Environment Agency and Green Party MEP Caroline Lucas also opposed the plans.

But the Diocese says it has a duty to make the most profit possible to sustain the Church, which is a charity.

The inquiry, which is expected to last two days, is due to start on Tuesday, December 5, at 10am, in the council chamber at Bodicote House, near Banbury.