A SENIOR city councillor has defended the authority's drive to build more houses on green spaces around Oxford.

Oxford City Councillor Alex Hollingsworth, cabinet member for planning and housing delivery, stressed the need for houses, claiming that key workers such as nurses and teachers were being pushed out of the city by high property prices.

It comes after more than 55,000 people signed an online petition to stop at least 29 homes, including at least 12 council homes, being built on fields in Iffley Village on the fringe of the city.

Read here: More than 55,000 people sign to stop council building homes on untouched meadows

Mr Hollingsworth said: “Oxford needs homes.

"Oxford is regularly cited as among the least affordable places to live in the country and too many people – including nurses, teachers, bus drivers, and shop workers – are priced out of the city they would like to call home.

"This housing crisis is an issue across Oxford and the country as a whole, and not just in Iffley – we currently have 2,850 families on the waiting list for council housing."

To help tackle the housing crisis the council set up a homebuilding subsidiary called Oxford City Housing LTD (OHCL) - which plans to build 2,245 new homes in the city over the next 10 years.

Of these, 1,125 will be new council homes let at social rent, and a further 301 in other forms of 'affordable tenure', in schemes such as shared ownership.

In Oxford, social rent is typically around 40 per cent of private rents.

The councillor added: "All OCHL homes will represent an investment in the sustainable future of Oxford by currently going at least 40 per cent beyond current government carbon reduction targets and zero carbon by 2030.

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"This is the only way we can afford to build the new homes that Oxford desperately needs, and each new council home is a small but vital step in tackling systemic inequality in our city.

"Had OCHL not been successful in purchasing the land, it would have been acquired by a private developer.

"The Meadow Lane site is located within a conservation area – as identified in the Local Plan 2036 – and will be treated as such through the planning process. As underlined by the Local Plan, the development proposals will be expected to conserve and enhance the unique characteristics of Iffley.

"OCHL has and will continue to consult with local residents to ensure that these much-needed new homes fit properly within the context and character of Iffley Village."

Public consultation for Iffley Village's Meadow Lane site will soon be open. The council has refuted claims by campaigners that the green space is an ancient wildflower meadow.