Oxford City Council’s leader has said she is 'alarmed and extremely disappointed' as planning inspectors have recommended the withdrawal of its draft local plan. 

Susan Brown made the comments after the Planning Inspectorate rejected the assessment that 1,322 homes a year are needed in total, with 841 of these needing to be built outside Oxford’s boundaries. 

The council submitted the plan for public examination in March. 

Inspectors then held an initial set of public hearings in June to decide whether the Local Plan 2040 satisfies national planning policy and other legal requirements. 

Ms Brown said: “We are alarmed and extremely disappointed by the recommendation to withdraw our Local Plan 2040 from public examination. 

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Susan Brown (Image: Contributed) “The planning inspectors have failed to grasp the seriousness of Oxford’s housing crisis and the number of new homes we need to tackle this crisis – and don’t appear to have heeded the clear message from government which requires all councils to up their housing delivery ambitions. 

"The current standard method does not even take account of population increases that have already happened in Oxford and across Oxfordshire recorded in the census. Using this discredited method to calculate how many homes we need would make the city’s housing crisis worse. 

“Oxford City Council also disputes the finding it has not met the duty to cooperate. We have a longstanding history of working collaboratively with neighbouring councils and other stakeholders on planning issues affecting Oxfordshire - including during the preparation of this plan. 

“The duty to cooperate is not a duty to agree. Nor should it be a charter for those who object the loudest to be able to block the building of desperately needed homes.” 

Reacting to the news David Young, of campaign group Planning Oxfordshire's Environment and Transport Sustainably (POETS), said: “We are very pleased that the Planning Inspectorate has turned down the draft Oxford 2040 Local Plan recently submitted for public examination. 

“For some years now the city has consistently been seeking to overstate forecast housing needs – yet at the same time prioritising land within the city for more employment in an overheated economy. The result has placed heavy demands upon surrounding district councils – often on protected Green Belt land. The damaging consequences of this dash for growth are only now beginning to be seen.

“It was very clear at the examination, that three of the districts (Vale, South and West) were unhappy with the unjustified housing figures – and we now believe Cherwell is too. Hopefully now the city will talk properly to the other councils and find a better way forward.”