PLANS for the first ‘smart homes’ in Oxford have been put forward in a bid to tackle the city’s chronic shortage of low-cost housing.

Almost 90 of the one-bedroom flats could be built in East Oxford and Cowley – and would be sold only to first-time buyers, the Oxford Mail can reveal.

According to developer Oxford Smart Housing – a coalition of architects, planners, landowners and investors – they would offer cheap accommodation at 20 per cent below the market rate for young ‘key workers’ such as teachers, emergency services staff and university researchers.

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The first two sites suggested are the sports ground off William Morris Close, where it is thought 70 units could be built around its edge, and Cave Street, where 14 units could be built.

Each home would be about 50sqm in size – with large windows and “beautiful designs” – and would sell for upwards of £160,000 each, project leader Patrick McDonald said.

According to property analysis website home.co.uk, the average one-bed property in Oxford currently sells for £224,014.

Mr McDonald said: “There is a great social housing need in Oxford, but we can address that without sacrificing the needs of first-time buyers and key workers.

“These are people who we need to make the city successful and attractive to businesses, who may be in their mid to late 20s and want to have more security and stop living in shared accommodation. But they are leaving because there are no other options for them here.

“Our smart homes would get them on the housing ladder and then on to other affordable kinds of homes and we think it is a really exciting idea.”

Mr McDonald acknowledges he will also need to convince people who live next to the William Morris Close sports ground, who have strongly opposed development there.

The site was formerly used by the Lord Nuffield Club and a recent application by Cantay Estates for a mix of 45 homes was dismissed by the city council, with attempts also rejected at the appeal stage.

But Mr McDonald insists his scheme is a better solution: “At the moment the ground is a complete eyesore and is boarded up.

“The owner has said he will sell this site to us and we want to build our homes around the edge of the sports ground, with a park for everyone in the middle, and get rid of this boarded-up nightmare. We want people to understand we are not trying to cheat them. We think this could be a phenomenal concept site for something new, where we could build the first of thousands of these homes across the South East.”

He has called for Oxford City Council to work with Oxford Smart Housing on bringing forward the first development of the ‘smart homes’.

But the proposals could prove a crucial test case, with the Labour-led local authority’s planning rules currently not allowing apartment blocks consisting of just one-bed flats.

Last week Liberal Democrat city councillor Andrew Gant warned it was unprepared for such developments and called for a “more imaginative approach”.

Mr Gant pointed to other areas such as London, Cambridge and Bristol, where the homes have already been built. In London, owners of so-called ‘Pocket Homes’ – which Mr Gant has been to view – have an average income of £40,000.

He said: “These are the kind of homes which help nurses, teachers and academics in other parts of the country and Oxford has a particular problem housing these people.”

The city council insists its approach to housing key workers will be reviewed as part of its new Local Plan, which it does not aim to complete until 2019.

But Mr Gant says this is not fast enough: “We need to be looking at whether these models can work here now, not in a year or two’s time.

"It's not a case of jumping into the unknown – these things exist just 40 miles away.”

Concerns were raised at a full meeting of the city council last Monday night, with Blackbird Leys councillor Linda Smith warning the flats could become “the slums of the future”.

Green councillor Sam Hollick added: “My concern would be you are telling people on low incomes that they only deserve small homes.”

It came after a report by an education expert warned headteachers in Oxford were struggling to hire staff because of the cost of housing.

Schools have claimed the situation is “worse than ever”, with some facing the possibility there may not be enough teachers in certain subjects to meet demand.

A city council spokesman said tackling Oxford’s housing crisis was a “crucial priority” but development had to be “appropriate and sustainable”.

Alex Hollingsworth, executive board member for planning, added: “If and when they decide to [apply for planning permission], their scheme will be judged against local planning policies.”