DEVELOPERS have come up with a plan which could lead to the 'eyesore' of Shipton Quarry becoming a site fit for 5,000 homes.

Kilbride Properties Ltd , which owns the redundant 168-acre former cement works, wants to fill in the quarry using demolition material railed in from across the UK, particularly London.

The Surrey-based company would build a new rail terminal at the quarry on the Oxford to Birmingham line, which in time could mean passengers are in the centre of Oxford within ten minutes.

It has been estimated that the site could take between 3,000 and 5,000 new homes, although no planning application for housing has been drawn up.

Kilbride's application to fill in the quarry, which will be considered by Oxfordshire County Council, is timely because a public inquiry is being held next year to discuss the county's housing crisis.

The idea of building homes in the quarry has been mooted before, but dismissed by County Hall who want to build in market towns alongside the A34.

Colin Banyard, managing director of Kilbride Properties Ltd, said: "We promoted the quarry for housing but were turned away, which is a shame, as it seems a natural location on a brownfield site, under nine minutes by train from the middle of Oxford.

"One of the things we can agree on is there's a substantial hole and it is an eyesore, so lets reclaim it.

"This plan brings the quarry back into productive use, creates jobs, restores the landscape and re-opens the rail sidings.

"And yes, those sidings could be made available for passenger use - if that were ever needed."

Shipton Quarry, disused for 20 years, is already designated as land for commercial use in the Cherwell local plan and, unusually, housebuilding there has the backing of the Green lobby.

Kilbride has a seat at next year's public examination in Reading and will lobby for houses to be built at Shipton Quarry with the promise of a £2m rail terminal and a £3.5m passenger station and improvements to the line.

The firm would also improve the A4260 and A4095 road junctions.

Oxfordshire Green group leader Larry Sanders said: "While we are great defenders of the Green Belt there are parts that are really not green and (Shipton Quarry) is one of the things we are willing to consider."

The issue of housebuilding around Oxford is contentious.

Last year Tory-run county council dismissed the idea of housebuilding in Oxford - principally on land south of Grenoble Road - and Shipton Quarry, despite 3,000 people replying to a County Hall questionnaire asking where they wanted to see new homes built between 2016 and 2026.

More than half the respondents said they wanted them around Oxford - and 300 singled out Shipton Quarry.

Rob Dance, County Hall's planning implementation manager, said: "We have received a planning application for what is described as 'comprehensive restoration and development scheme for Shipton on Cherwell Quarry'.

"A key difficulty of this site for housing is it could be hard to create a proper community."