Councils across Oxfordshire have been unable to agree on a key planning document setting out where and how many houses will be built in the county.
A joint statement from the leaders of the counties City and District Councils – Oxford City, Cherwell, South Oxfordshire, Vale of White Horse, and West Oxfordshire has announced that work on the Oxfordshire Plan 2050 has been scrapped in favour of individual Local Plans for each of the City and Districts.
The Oxfordshire Plan 2050 was intended to be used by leading Councils, to set out how housing and infrastructure would be delivered in the next 30 years. The aim had been to seek to adopt the 2050 Plan by December 2024.
Against this collective lack of agreement, the authorities now state they will cooperate with each other and key bodies as they prepare their Local Plans, which will address housing needs.
The failure of the 2050 Plan poses a setback for Oxford which is a renowned centre of knowledge and innovation, with a need for new business and lab space, and raises cross-boundary issues for a City that is surrounded by Green Belt against a need to deliver affordable homes.
Should you have land in the area which you would like planning advice on, then please do not hesitate to contact Andrew Gray on 01604 880163, or by way of email andrew.gray@argroup.co.uk