AN OXFORD college has been accused of behaving like King Canute after renewing its efforts to build housing in the tiny village of Binsey.
Christ Church was refused planning permission to turn the historic hamlet's disused Manor Farm into a residential development because of the risk of flooding.
But villagers, who had bitterly opposed the plan, have been angered by news that the Oxford University college says it is to appeal to the Planning Inspectorate.
The college was yesterday compared to King Canute, for pretending it could resist the rising waters of the Thames, which regularly leave the village cut off from Oxford. But after a five-year battle, the college is not prepared to give up. Its agents, Smith-Woolley, of Woodstock, have sent a letter to villagers insisting that the appeal against Oxford City Council's central, south and west area committee's decision last August would include new expert advice on flood risk.
Alison Cobb, who has lived in the tiny village on the outskirts of west Oxford for 21 years, said: "We are sad and disappointed. The last time the planning application was submitted it was refused unanimously. And it is not just people in Binsey who will be upset. Everyone who loves the place will be horrified at the prospect of the village being suburbanised. The college seems to be behaving like King Canute, believing it can stop the floods here."
Christ Church wants to build two three-bedroom houses and one four-bedroom house on the site and convert two listed barns into one- and two-bedroom houses.
Mrs Cobb feared the development on the Thames flood plain would lead to parts of the city being at greater risks from flood. She said she understood the college was looking at the possibility of building a raised path to the village, while many of the new properties were to be on 4ft platforms. In her letter to residents, Sharon Firmin, of Smith-Woolley, said the development was modest in scale and would get rid of unsightly modern farm buildings, and a slurry tank, while enhancing old buildings. After seeking advice from flood specialists Peter Brett Associates, the college is satisfied that its proposal would reduce the built area in the village. and any new homes would not be at any risk of flooding.
reg.little@nqo.com