Plans for new lorry park in South Oxfordshire could put rare wildlife at risk

Residents in South Oxfordshire say plans for a new lorry park near the M40 at Thame will put wildlife meadows under threat and could mean the loss of a golf club. 

The land earmarked for the warehouse is near junction 8A of the M40.

No formal application has been submitted but the developers say it is a prime transport location and would bring thousands of new jobs to the area.

• Report by ITV News Meridian's Penny Silvester:

Residents from villages all around the area joined forced for a socially-distanced show of unity against plans for the new lorry park at Waterstock.

Hundreds of local residents formed a long snake of protest along the footpath that criss-crossed the golf course.

Proposed development on the 200 acre site runs along side water meadows that only last year were awarded special wildlife status.

What do protesters think?

The developers, Greystoke, are promoting a logistics hub, but no formal application has been submitted.

The floodplains at Waterstock are a nationally recognised wildlife habitat. They're home to one of the rarest breeding Waders in the country- the Eurasian Curlew.

• Nick Marriner- River Thames Conservation Trust:

With the gold course in the foreground, up ahead you can see traffic as it moves along the M40 near junction 8A.

The developers say a logistics hub here would boost the local economy.