The Green Belt Threat
Speculators - Anthony Crean (Greystoke Land) and Ron and Mick Wyatt (Waterstock Golf Club) - want to turn more than 200 acres of Oxford greenbelt into industrial warehouses.
It is understood from representations that the speculators have made that they may have options on 300 more acres of adjacent land.
This would affect many villages and towns, including: Great Milton, Holton, Ickford, Little Milton, Milton Common, Tiddington, Waterperry, and Wheatley.
What This Means For You
- Doubling of traffic on the already overloaded A418 and spillover onto surrounding roads including the A329 and A40
- Thousands more diesel trucks, cars, and 24/7 HGVs on our roads
- Serious pollution in our communities, including to Chilworth House, a school for children with complex educational needs
- Irreversible damage to a designated Local Wildlife Site that's home to otters, curlews and more than 100 other species (61 of which are on the UK's protected species list, and many red-listed)
- Destruction of more than 15,000 mature trees, which soak up ~320 tonnes of carbon dioxide each year
- The Oxfordshire Way - a landmark public footpath - would run through industrial warehouses
- Loss of green sporting and recreational facilities, including a popular golf course and driving range
What They Say
- Pim Young, Oxfordshire Wildlife Sites Project Officer, BBOWT: "Across Oxfordshire rough grazing marsh and floodplain habitat is a real rarity. [Waterstock's] plays host to some of our most endangered breeding bird species such as curlew - and it also provides crucial wintering habitat for large numbers of birds."
- Sally Rowlands, Chair of the RTCT: "Waterstock is a hidden jewel in the crown of the River Thame. It forms one of the richest areas for wildlife on the river. So, it’s not surprising so many of our endangered wetland birds choose to call it home."
