There is a significant housing shortage, so we prioritise delivery of housing over the creation of more laboratories and new employment sites, to avoid additional jobs creating yet more pressure on housing and infrastructure.
Oxford is one of the most unaffordable places to live in the UK, so it is vital that developers’ contributions are used effectively to deliver affordable housing.
Our commitment is to:
- Deliver affordable, energy-efficient homes, prioritising local residents and key workers, and bringing empty homes back into use.
- Create well-planned communities with schools, shops, play areas, transport links and adequate parking, while avoiding building on flood plains.
- Protect the Green Belt, farmland and local green spaces, prioritising brownfield land for development and avoiding unnecessary tree loss.
- Keep planning decisions local, ensuring communities have a strong voice and plans remain transparent and up to date.
- Support responsible development, carefully assessed to ensure benefits outweigh issues. Plans for data centres and solar installations will be thoroughly scrutinised. Planning decisions will take account of the wider context, including cumulative impacts of multiple schemes on the same area, to avoid unreasonable pressure on local roads, public services, and utilities.