ANOTHER week and another application for a major housing development in West Oxfordshire.

Even before the district council has made a decision on the 700-home Carterton East proposal, it is under pressure to approve a 1,000-home scheme west of the town.

The Campaign to Protect Rural England is worried that developers are rushing to exploit the vacuum in development strategy caused by the lack of an up-to-date Local Plan for the district.

While consultation on the updated Local Plan, taking into account the latest forecasts of housing needs until 2031, has yet to begin, with the plan unlikely to be finalised until October, Crest Nicholson is asking the council to make up its mind on a major development in just 13 weeks.

As well as the houses, the scheme includes proposals for a primary school, shops, community buildings and protected areas for wildlife.

Crest Nicholson is unlikely to earn itself any friends with such a hasty approach, especially in the absence of a proper Local Plan.

We would suggest that the company takes a step back and agrees a more sensible timescale for consideration of the proposal.

This would give the many people in Carterton and surrounding communities, who have deep concerns about the likely impact of the plan, a proper opportunity to have their say and allow the councillors charged with such an important decision enough time to weigh up such a complex application.