A COUNCIL leader emphasised the importance of a Government-backed garden village off the A40 after a major developer revealed its alternative vision.

Gladman Developments Ltd recently published proposals for a 2,000-home ‘garden village’ on land off the A40 north of South Leigh – pitched as an alternative to Government-backed plans for a 2,200 home garden village, dubbed Oxfordshire Cotswold, further east along the road to the north of Eynsham.

Leader of West Oxfordshire District Council James Mills, who described Gladman’s plans as speculative and unsolicited, said it was odd the developer would enter a rival proposal.

Mr Mills said: “It seems to be put forward as an alternative to the [Oxfordshire Cotswold] garden village which is odd when we have Government backing for that project.

“Gladman wrote to the council putting forward this unsolicited, speculative proposal, but given previous applications we weren’t sure how to receive it from this particular company.”

In its vision statement, Gladman suggests its proposed development, named Barnard Gate Garden Village, could help West Oxfordshire take its share of Oxford’s unmet housing need. The garden village near Eynsham had already been put forward to contribute towards the 2,750 homes the district must build to help the city.

Mr Mills continued: “The site [near South Leigh] had been looked at as a potential area for development to meet Oxford’s unmet demand but it was thought to be too far away from Oxford and too far away from railway infrastructure."

The council leader stressed the benefits the garden village near Eynsham would bring to West Oxfordshire.

He said: "Speaking to residents, they make it very clear that it’s important to have the right infrastructure – and the Government-backed garden village would create access to funding which could help the garden village itself and solve problems with existing infrastructure such as the A40.

“It is hugely important to have a Local Plan in place to protect our existing villages from speculative developers and the garden village has an extremely important part to play in putting together a successful Local Plan.”

Mr Mills attended a meeting of South Leigh Parish Council last Tuesday, where there was a discussion about Gladman’s proposals.

Chairwoman of the parish council, Nicky Brooks, said: “On the whole, the parish council has expressed concern but we need to look further into it because it is a complex issue.

“We want to be as informative as possible about the proposals so we are in an information gathering stage at the moment.”

Ms Brooks said a village meeting would be held soon, with a date to be confirmed.

It its vision statement, Gladman says its plan has an advantage over the Government-backed garden village in that the proposed land has a single landowner willing to progress, that it can contribute to future A40 improvements and that, due to its geographical isolation, it can become a settlement with its own identity and not an extension of an existing town or village.

On Monday, January 2, the Government announced its support of plans to build 2,200 homes on countryside to the north of Eynsham by 2031, with a pot of £6m to be shared between it and 13 other confirmed garden villages across England over the next two financial years.