Conservatives have called out the city council over its ‘affordable housing’ claims.

Oxford City Council claims a forthcoming 61-home development on the site of Northfield Hostel, a former special school in Sandy Lane, Littlemore, and the adjacent sports field, will be “100 per cent affordable.”

In 2022, the council gave planning permission for 51 council homes on the disused hostel site.

At the same time, Oxfordshire County Council was given outline permission to build 10 homes for market sale on the nearby sports field.

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Next week, the authority's cabinet is expected to approve plans to buy the sports field from the county council and appoint housing partner OX Place to deliver 10 affordable homes on the site.

The council currently expects these will be made up of six three-bed and four four-bed houses.

Six will be council homes let at social rent to people on the housing register.

The remaining four homes will be sold for shared ownership.

A further detailed planning application for the sports fields site could be submitted by late 2023, and demolition of Northfield Hostel is expected to start in October.

Linda Smith, cabinet member for housing, said: “We’re already delivering 51 affordable homes at Northfield Hostel and demolition of the building should begin in the next few months.

“We now have the opportunity to build 10 more affordable homes by buying the disused sports field next door and I’m looking forward to OX Place delivering this project for the council.”

Pushing back against the council’s affordable housing claims, a spokesman for Oxford Conservatives said: “We welcome the building of new homes, but the city council should stop labelling them as "affordable homes.

“The council knows fully well that these homes, whether they are shared ownership or not, will be way above what most residents of Oxford can afford.

“The disappointing fact is that the council, through its housing company, has been complicit in the ridiculous overpricing of homes, way above the market value in Oxford.

“A few years ago their collaboration with a private developer at Barton Park saw ‘affordable homes’ put on the market with a price tag starting at £300,000 for a one bedroom flat.”

“Oxford's acute housing shortage and consequent skyrocketing prices are due to a lack of vision and initiative on the part of the Labour city council to identify brownfield sites and fast track the approval and building of new homes.

“In this instance it took eight years for the council to decide that the site of the Northfield Hostel can be used for housing."

 

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This story was written by Matthew Norman, he joined the team in 2022 as a Facebook community reporter.

Matthew covers Bicester and focuses on finding stories from diverse communities.

Get in touch with him by emailing: Matthew.norman@newsquest.co.uk

Follow him on Twitter: @OxMailMattN1