CONCENRS have been raised by campaigners about “serious shortcomings” in Oxford City Council’s approach to planning, as a public consultation on the city’s local plan is about to close.

The council is currently consulting residents on the latest stage of the Oxford Local Plan 2040, a planning document which is required by law and will be used to inform all future planning applications, setting out where new homes, jobs and community facilities will be delivered and when.

But planning group POETS (Planning Oxfordshire’s Environment and Transport Sustainably) said the draft plan risks to increase housing stress, by pushing for the development of more land for employment. 

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This week, the group wrote to all district and county councillors expressing their concerns as the consultation is set to close on Monday (November 14). 

The group welcomed many of the suggested policies in the plan, but said they are concerned about “serious shortcomings” in the city’s approach to growth and housing because of the potential impact on the county.

Oxford Mail:

Katie Barrett, a member of the group, said: “There has been an historic imbalance of jobs and housing in Oxford.

“Recently this has put pressures on the surrounding district councils to provide housing land – which is also putting immense pressure on all kinds of supporting infrastructure.

“We think that the city council needs to look hard at its growth forecasts; for instance, one option favoured by consultants suggests employment space needs of up to 10 times greater than the increase in the city over the last decade.

“This seems implausible given trends such as the increase in remote working, and is likely to continue the friction with other districts that occurred in the recent tranche of local plans.

“In the same vein, we also think that the real housing need is for social and genuinely affordable decent quality housing; this could be met much more sustainably within the city, by giving priority to housing on vacant and underused employment sites.”

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The group also argued that issues including climate change, biodiversity loss and public well-being should be at the forefront of all planning and that should be reflected in the document.

David Young, another member of the group, said: “Oxford and its hinterland are largely interdependent. The city council should engage constructively with the surrounding districts to ensure a transparent approach to forecasting – not least the need to choose consultants who do not have a vested interest in growth.”

Countryside charity CPRE Oxfordshire said the plan was not clear on how much development was being planned and where exactly.

One of the main points of the draft plan is the creation of 15-minute neighbourhoods, creating communities where houses are a fifteen minutes’ walk or cycle from shops and services.  

The charity said it supports this concept but believes that the protection of the Green Belt, vital for food production, biodiversity, climate mitigation, leisure and well-being, should also be confirmed in the plan.  

Helen Marshall, director of CPRE Oxfordshire, said: “The charity welcomes the concept of many of the environmental proposals in the plan and the principle of the 15-minute neighbourhood, creating sustainable communities with access to services and facilities.

“However, this should not trump the importance of the Oxford Green Belt, which is vital to ensuring the continuing sustainability of the city and existing surrounding communities.

“We want early reassurance that 15-minute neighbourhoods will not be misrepresented as exceptional circumstances justifying more building in the Green Belt around the city and public money should not be spent on any further Green Belt Review.”

Need Not Greed Oxfordshire, a coalition of 36 local groups, also criticised the draft document, saying the prioritised growth over the climate emergency.

Ian Ashley, a member of the group, said: “The city is seeking to plan housing to support an increase in workers.

“We think it should prioritise scarce land to provide truly affordable homes for people who already work in the city.

“Beyond that, housing growth should be constrained due to the climate emergency, loss of biodiversity, the democratic wishes of the districts and the UK’s urgent need for Levelling Up by creating jobs where people already live.” 

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Suzanne McIvor, another member of the group, said: "The council acknowledges in the same document that a growing economy can result in more pressure on the housing market and exacerbate issues with affordability.

"Attracting more people from elsewhere to work in the city is not the answer. What is actually needed are truly affordable homes such as council houses.”

The consultation is split into three areas:

• 15-minute neighbourhoods

• Climate change and accelerating the move to net zero buildings

• Reducing inequalities, including housing, health and employment inequalities

In the document, the council said: “The plan places a strong emphasis upon the concept of the 15-minute city whereby our city is planned in such a way as to optimise the opportunity for people to be able to reach a wide range of facilities that they need to live well and healthily within a 15-minute walk of their home.

“This provides the opportunity to build strong local communities that enable residents to thrive. The delivery of new homes continues to be a priority for this plan, whilst ensuring that we deliver and support mixed and inclusive economic development across the city.

“We want to ensure that Oxford continues to be a successful attractive city where people enjoy living, working and visiting.”

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A spokesperson from the council said: “The CPRE has noted that we make reference to a future Green Belt review. This is not ‘hidden away’ in the document but just stated within it.

“The CPRE also claims that there is not much clarity on how much development we are aiming for or where it will go. This is not true as we do give an interim figure for our calculated housing capacity and we also identify potential development sites clearly in the document.

“The document state that a Green Belt assessment will be undertaken. This is to assess the functioning of the current Green Belt; it does not mean that we will be trying to amend the boundary. Any decision to do that would be as a result of the assessment and consideration of needs and would be subject to a later consultation.

“Addressing climate change is one of three overarching threads of the document and Chapter 1 of the document sets out that the concept of sustainable development underpins the whole plan. It is clear from the vision onwards that it is the driver of the proposed strategy.”

To take part in the consultation, visit: https://consultation.oxford.gov.uk/planning-services/oxford-local-plan-2040-in-depth-questions/

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This story was written by Anna Colivicchi, she joined the team this year and covers health stories for the Oxfordshire papers. 

Get in touch with her by emailing: Anna.colivicchi@newsquest.co.uk

Follow her on Twitter @AnnaColivicchi