NEW plans have been submitted for a controversial 700-home estate on fields near Kingston Bagpuize.

Estate agent Savills, working on behalf of St John's College, Oxford which owns the land, has sent a second masterplan to Vale of White Horse District Council.

Savills has submitted the masterplan in its latest 'scoping opinion' application to the authority, seeking to establish whether it needs to carry out an Environmental Impact Assessment of the estate in order to get planning permission.

The masterplan shows how a new primary school would occupy the north-west corner of the estate bordering the A420.

Housing would take up most of the 85-acre site and a new playing field would be created in the south-east corner on the A415.

The college's plans have sparked major protests from villagers in the area.

Residents of Fyfield, whose parish the new estate would fall into, have called it a major overdevelopment of the area and even threatened to rename 'St John's Close' in their village in protest.

St John's principal bursar Andrew Parker has said in response to protests that the college offered the land 'to help meet Oxfordshire's housing needs'.

He also pointed out that the plans would be subject to a full consultation process through the council, when the question of local impact would be considered.

Members of public can see the latest scoping opinion application at whitehorsedc.gov.uk using reference number P17/V3333/SCO