Oxfordshire Local Plan Watch - Spring 2024
We are seeing significant activity across Oxfordshire with all five local authorities having recently published or due to shortly publish draft Local Plans for consultation.
The prevailing themes of the local plan reviews are planning for the delivery of housing, employment, and infrastructure, including policies for sustainable growth and net zero carbon.
Oxford City Council is the most advanced with its local plan review, having submitted its draft Local Plan for Examination due to be held in late 2024. The draft Local Plan is underpinned by the concept of the 15-minute city with homes accessible to facilities and services. Notably, the draft Local Plan proposal for 9,612 additional homes over the plan period is a reduction to the adopted Local Plan. This raises the question as to whether more transformational growth is required for the City?
Cherwell’s Local Plan 2040 is being prepared on the basis of a shared housing and employment evidence base with the City Council. The recently published Regulation 18 Consultation Draft Local Plan sets out a policy for 25,860 homes in the plan period, including strategic housing allocations around Bicester and South of Heyford Park.
West Oxfordshire is to undertake consultation on Preferred Options in Summer 2024. The initial consultation addressed a series of potential growth scenarios, and it remains to be seen whether housing and employment will continue to be focussed on existing identified centres, or whether a further new settlement or more dispersed growth will be planned for throughout the county.
South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse have continued to focus areas for housing and employment growth within the Science Vale, including established centres including Didcot and Wantage and employment locations including Culham and Harwell and edge of Oxford.
Our Planning team
Explore our other Local Plan updates
Northamptonshire Local Plan Watch - Spring 2024
Bedfordshire Local Plan Watch - Spring 2024
Buckinghamshire Local Plan Watch - Spring 2024
Local Plan Watch
Our Local Plan Watch provides an update on the progress of the Local Plans coming forward across our region to allocate new land for development and highlights the key opportunities for landowners, promoters and developers.
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