A CRICKET club has strongly objected to a plan to build 100 new homes.

A plan has been submitted by Gallacher Estates to build the homes on Banbury Road in Chipping Norton, next to the town's cricket club and Cromwell Park.

Objections have been made to the application due to its proximity to Chipping Norton and District Cricket Club, with fears that cricket balls could hit the houses.

David Wood, the secretary of the club said: "We feel it is our responsibility to raise the very real issue that cricket balls will be hit into the area being considered for housing.

"There have been court cases over this in the past such as Miller vs Jackson.

"In this case the cricket club were found to be causing a nuisance. This was despite the fact that the cricket club, at their own expense, had erected a 5m boundary and only 6 balls had cleared the boundary.

"The distances in this case are similar to those being proposed by the developer and so it does not seem unreasonable for there to be a similar number of balls that will pass over the existing border.

"Any border should be paid for, and maintained, by the developer as we also feel that any border is likely to be unsightly when compared to the beauty of the cricket ground as it exists.

"We would also highlight that at no time has the club been approached by the developer to discuss

the plan.

"We think that this would have been a courteous thing to have done."

The decision on the application was due last Thursday at a West Oxfordshire District Council meeting, however it has been held up over plans for an Eastern Distributor Road next to the Banbury Road site.

At present the size of the new road is still to be decided with Gallagher Estates hoping an agreement will come within the next month.

A spokesman for Gallagher Estates said: "The application has been put back by between a couple of weeks and a month or so, as we are still in negotiation with the council about the size of the side road."

Gallagher's Estates did not want to comment on the cricket club's criticisms.

The developers have also been asked by the council to pay £100,000 to enhance the S3, 488 and X8 bus services and £15,000 towards a town-wide 20 miles an hour speed limit.