A COUNTYWIDE planning framework could save the district councils £3m worth of taxpayers' money on their local plans.

The long-awaited Joint Spatial Plan will enable long-term strategic decisions, in terms of major transport and housing projects, across the districts.

A business case for the plan is expected to be approved by Oxfordshire Growth Board - made up of all six local authority leaders - on Monday.

But Oxford Civic Society said the plan should have been in place long before the Local Plans so that everyone was on the same page.

The Growth Board's business case revealed that each Local Plan - of which there are five - would cost £5m to bring forward.

It said that a JSP would reduce the overall cost of £25m as only one set of evidence would need to be produced across the county rather than five separate pieces of work.

It is hoped the plan could save each authority £500,000 and also make Oxfordshire more attractive to investors backing infrastructure projects such as East-West Rail and the Oxford to Cambridge Expressway as well as housing schemes.

It said: "It provides confidence for investors because they can rely on longer-term plans, and greater clarity and transparency on the context for decisions locally.

"It will support the development of a pipeline of sites for Oxfordshire through which we are aiming to secure investment to support infrastructure and flexibilities to help deliver our housing and jobs targets."