'Urgent answers needed' to forever chemical concern

Residents' concerns over potential chemical pollution at a former RAF base need to be answered "with urgency", an MP has said.

Former RAF Upper Heyford in Oxfordshire, which was used by US forces until the 1990s, has already been partly redeveloped, with another 9,000 new homes proposed on the site.

But locals have said they fear the land may be contaminated by PFAS - a group of substances known as "forever chemicals" because they can take thousands of years to break down.

They first voiced concerns in April, with Bicester and Woodstock MP Calum Miller now writing to various government departments to seek answers.

The Liberal Democrat representative said he attended a meeting of residents last week at which "many concerns were expressed" which residents "need answered, with urgency".

PFAS have been used in some firefighting foams, which were deployed extensively at airports and military bases for decades, before being banned in the UK due to potential carcinogenic risks.

Concerns were heightened after a residents' petition claimed Environment Agency (EA) water quality data from a brook more than 2.5 miles (4km) downstream of the site showed PFAS levels 20 times higher than precautionary guidelines.

Miller said it was "one of the highest concentration of harmful 'forever chemicals' in the country".

Miller said he had now written to the EA, the Ministry of Defence, the Department for Education and Cherwell District Council to find answers for residents.

"This is a very serious matter," he said.

"People in the Heyford Park area deserve answers about who knew what when and who now has the responsibility for monitoring PFAS levels and for keeping them safe."

The MP, who was first elected in 2024, said he had specifically asked the bodies about previous investigations into PFAS at the base, as well as the risk they may pose to residents and wildlife.

He also queried the potential risk of future building work on the former base - which is currently pencilled in for thousands of house by developers Dorchester Living.

The firm's CEO Paul Silver previously said extensive environmental investigations and remediation had already been carried out in consultation with the EA.

"The identification of PFAS as a potential risk does not mean that unacceptable harm is occurring and the PFAS measured in this location is some 5km from our site and could have come in part or wholly from other sources," he said.

He added that the "possibility of PFAS had already been identified" in various site assessments, confirming "further targeted investigation is appropriate in specific areas".

The Ministry of Defence said it held no information PFAS contamination at the former RAF Upper Heyford, and had no jurisdiction over its former sites.

The BBC has also contacted the Department for Education, the Environment Agency and Cherwell District Council for comment.