TAKING inspiration from other European university cities shows the level of thought that is going into Barton West .

But given the scale of the task, Oxford City Council will need to go to these lengths to ensure it gets it right.

There is no doubt Barton West is a significant opportunity to provide much needed homes for the city.

Residents deserve a development that enhances Oxford and solves a housing problem, but not at the expense of creating other issues.

The talk of creating green spaces and preserving trees is encouraging.

But more pressing issues for city planners will centre on infrastructure.

Serious questions have been raised about the impact 1,200 homes will have on the ring road and the council has already revised its plan to make the A40 a “40mph urban boulevard”.

We know Thames Water has grave concerns about the city’s sewers and whether they can cope with the proposed development in Oxford.

If the council does get it right, European cities could be visiting us in future to plunder ideas.

But first these issues must be resolved, or the council will be saying “Auf wiedersehen” to the whole idea.