THE reason South Oxfordshire District Council must include so many houses in its proposed local plan is because the Government has instructed it to do so.
Under current legislation the Government dictates this number, with only the most cursory show of consultation.
SODC must plan for 10,940 houses by 2026, and the 150 allocated to Wheatley is a direct result of Government control.
However all is not lost. The planning process will be grinding its way slowly through over the next year and then we will be having a General Election.
The Conservatives have already promised to give the power to set plans back to local councils, and SODC will then be able to reduce their target housing to the numbers that local communities want.
John Walsh, Royal Oak House, Beckley
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