Woodstock homes plan 'threatens' Blenheim Palace Estate

Woodstock is the location of Blenheim Palace, birthplace of Winston Churchill

Plans to build new homes on Blenheim Palace Estate would harm Oxfordshire's only Unesco World Heritage site, the International Council on Monuments and Sites (Icomos) has said.

Pye Homes' proposals for 1,500 homes, on land in Woodstock owned by the palace, were reduced to 1,200 in June.

However Icomos, which advises Unesco, said it could not support the revised application.

Developers said the scheme would help pay for the upkeep of the palace.

'Historic character'

In a letter to Cherwell District Council, the chair of Icomos said farmland and parkland surrounding the estate was "important in understanding and appreciating its historic character".

The development would "physically overpower the existing settlement", Peter Marsden added.

As well as visual impact, he said Icomos's concerns also included increased traffic and lighting which would "impact on the tranquillity" of the site.

Daniel Hayman, who represents Pye Homes and landowner Blenheim Estates, said the development would be a "long-term process" over 15 years.

He said it aimed to compliment the surroundings and said people managing the World Heritage site would control the design.

Mr Hayman said there had to be a balance between providing new houses and the impact on the local area, but added there was a lack of affordable housing in Woodstock.

A decision on the proposals for the development, known as Woodstock East, which also includes a care village and primary school, is due next month.

Save Woodstock signs have become a familiar sight around the town