Churchill's birthplace Blenheim Estate goes to war with locals alloment homes plan

Villagers have declared war on Winston Churchill's birthplace Blenheim Palace over a plan to build 45 homes on their prized allotment.

Green-fingered locals say Blenheim Estates plan to concrete over part of their patch in Cassington, Oxfordshire would destroy the 'green beating heart' of their 750-strong community.

Users of the allotments, which have been used for more than 70 years, also claim they have been kept in the dark about the plans and have been given just a few days to object.

Green-fingered locals say Blenheim Estates plan to concrete over part of their patch in Cassington, Oxfordshire would destroy the 'green beating heart' of their 750-strong community

Blenheim says it sent leaflets to villagers but admits they were not all delivered - in one case because of a 'large dog on the loose'.

Villagers are unhappy that they have been given until just October 12 to send in comments regarding the proposals before the local parish and district councils decide whether to give their go-ahead.

In a statement, angry Good Life gardeners from the Cassington Allotment Association said 'The allotments have been providing healthy food for families for more than 70 years.

'They create a sense of being part of the community, allowing senior citizens and families to mix and enabling the plot growers to share their experience in producing vegetables and fruit.

'This has been especially important for the mental health and wellbeing of allotment holders throughout the Covid crisis and represents a highly sustainable model of village living.

'The allotment is the green beating heart of the village. The prospect of a significant housing development destroying two thirds of the allotment is crushing for people who have cultivated this land for decades.'

Villagers have declared war on Blenheim Estates over the plans, which will soon be considered by the local council

Blenheim chief executive Dominic Hare rejected claims villagers had not been properly informed about the plans.

He said: 'Landowners get criticised for not consulting before applying for planning permission but this is not the case here.

'We have attended meetings, we have been discussing this opportunity for over a year, I remember talking about it at a meeting with the parish council a year ago.

'We have held a number of structured interviews with a cross-section of villagers and all of that contributed to this design brief, this consultation is simply the next stage sharing the results of what has gone before.

'This is an exceptional opportunity to provide a number of truly affordable homes, all or almost all of this site will be Blenheim affordable housing, which will all be Passivhaus-certified eco-homes almost completely eliminating heating bills.'

Blenheim was the home of the Churchill family for the next 300 years, and was the birthplace of former Prime Minister Winston Churchill in 1874

Users of the allotments, which have been used for more than 70 years, claim they have been kept in the dark about the plans and have been given just a few days to object

Villagers have also raised concerns that the site, a few hundred yards from the confluence of the River Evenlode and the River Thames, is 'effectively a flood plain' and the new homes will be swamped when there's heavy rain and rising water levels.

Mr Hare confirmed there was 'a problem with surface water last year which will have to be resolved whatever happens'.

Blenheim Estate stretches over 12,000 acres of countryside, and the famous palace is about four miles from Cassington.

The plan by Blenheim - where Sir Winston was born in 1900 - comes as the Government wrestles with the debate about building tens of thousands of new homes on the Green Belt.