Saudi billionaire Wafic Said, an 86-year-old Syrian-born businessman and former Conservative donor, has joined residents of Stoke Lyne in Oxfordshire in opposing plans for 13 enormous warehouse developments on greenfield land beside the M40. The logistics companies Tritax Big Box and Albion Land are appealing against Cherwell District Council's refusal to grant planning permission, in a public inquiry that has left villagers fighting the development themselves after the council declined to defend its own decision, claiming the appeal would likely fail.

The proposed warehouses would cover approximately six million square feet across 150 hectares, with individual buildings reaching 23–25 metres in height (taller than five stacked double-decker buses). The combined footprint would span 1.4 kilometres north to south and 2.2 kilometres east to west—an area equivalent to 45 football pitches—across land currently hosting protected species and wildlife. Residents have raised £50,000 for legal representation, with barrister James Maurici arguing that the scale and environmental sensitivity of the site make it unsuitable for such development, despite developers' claims of economic benefits.