Plans to build over 500 new houses on a site in Shrivenham met a distinctly lukewarm reaction when they were put before the public this week.

The main issues highlighted included the strain on local services, the increase of traffic on an already clogged A420 and the move away from a traditional village feel.

The proposals, drawn up by developers Legal & General Homes were displayed at Shrivenham Memorial Hall.

Heather Hawkins, a business owner who lives in Shrivenham, said: "I don’t wish to sound negative, but the reality is that it is doubling the size of the village.

"The infrastructure is our biggest issue – we have quite a nice-sized village, and to double it removes the feel of an English village.

"We have had quite a lot of additional lots developed and I’ve not been uncomfortable about those, but they have been in small chunks on the edge of the village, and this isn’t – it’s a new village on the edge of our village."

Legal & General Homes acquired the site, consisting of 78 acres to the east of Highworth Road, in December 2017, with outline planning consent for 515 homes to be delivered across two phases.

In addition to the new homes, the plans include land for a primary school, a new road junction to improve traffic flow on the A420, public open space and retail space.

The developers, Legal & General Homes, say that their proposals aim to provide much-needed high-quality market and affordable homes, from one-bed apartments to four-bed detached family homes.

Phase one of the proposals will introduce the first 240 homes on site.

The displayed plans showed that only one access road would be built into the site in the first phase, with an additional roundabout to come at a later date.

Retiree Jean Allen, who lives in the village, said: "There’s one access road here. If you are in and out this way, you well know that the road into Swindon is a nightmare.

"They say that at some point they are going to make a roundabout, but that’s only at the first stage. There’s masses more to build."

Another local man questioned the plans: "It’s typical of these sort of developments – the developers are only thinking of the actual estates and the houses they are building.

"We well remember developers who are going to develop this, that and the other.

"They need to put in the access for the A420 in phase one – they need to realise that the A420 is having great difficulty with traffic now."