A NEW lobby group is out to block South Oxfordshire District Council from earmarking fields north of Wallingford for 750 new homes.

Members of No To Site A say the council-commissioned report created by urban design consultancy Studio Real is riddled with holes and makes no coherent argument as to why the homes should be built there.

They warn that if a big new housing estate is built north of Norries Drive and Wilding Road, it would send hundreds more cars through Wallingford town centre and cause major problems on the single-lane Shillingford Bridge.

As reported in The Wallingford Herald two weeks ago, the land, dubbed Site A in council documents, was recommended to take the new homes by Studio Real after the council asked the company to review future development options.

The Government says the extra homes must be built in the town by 2026, and council planners had previously recommended Site E, near Winterbrook, and Site B, south of Wantage Road near Slade End roundabout, as the favoured options.

The Kidlington-based consultants argue in their report that building on Site A would be the most “logical and legible extension” of the town, and is better for both pedestrian access to the town centre and Wallingford School.

Opponents of the proposal have just a month to argue why Site A should not be included as well as — or instead of — the other two options.

No To Site A founder Mike Rose, of Norries Drive, said: “The report is absolutely appalling. It does not introduce any new evidence into the assessment at all.

“I’ve read hundreds of technical reports and I’ve never come across a report which has such a struggle to meet its own conclusions. There’s not a single fact in there. It is just verbiage.”

The group said such a development would send hundreds of extra cars into Castle Street, further clogging the town centre and the single-carriageway Shillingford Bridge.

Mr Rose warned: “It is the worst possible option for Wallingford and Shillingford Bridge in respect of traffic. Everyone recognises that.”

The group’s steering committee from Norries Drive, Wilding Road, and Wantage Road residents will meet today to arrange a public meeting next week for residents to discuss how to oppose the plans. They have already launched their own website www.notositea.com The county council has also described the site as “the least favourable” in terms of transport, saying it is relatively inaccessible by public transport, and potentially damaging to the town centre’s air quality.

Consultations on all three sites will continue until February 24, with no final decision yet taken on which will be put forward for the extra homes.

District councillor Angie Paterson said: “We now need views on this new suggestion and any more comments residents want to add about the other sites.

“Councillors will then make a decision based on views of the community and where is most suitable from a planning point of view.”