Oxford City Local Plan to be rewritten

The Oxford City Local Plan 2042 is to be rewritten following last year’s rejection of the previous draft Plan over its failure to cooperate with neighbouring districts over housing numbers.

We expect the consultation timeline of the new Plan to be :

• Reg 18 – Issues consultation – not undertaken and the Issues from the previous draft Plan are to roll forward 
• Call for additional development sites – NOW deadline March 17th
• Reg 18 – Preferred Options consultation, including proposed development sites – June 2025
• Reg 19 -Final stage consultation before submission to Inspectors to review – Nov 2025

CPRE Oxfordshire is supportive of fast tracking a new Local Plan on the provision that any new sites and development of preferred options take due account of the Issues previously raised and which remain relevant.

Issues in Oxford City which remain relevant for all proposed options, either in the existing draft plan or proposed in this call for sites:

• Brownfield sites must be developed first
• Providing new homes for Oxford’s current needs should be prioritised over new employment.
• Oxford City should provide accessible, genuinely affordable social rent housing sufficient to meet identified local need.
• Green space must be protected and interconnected
• Do not build on flood plains
• Wastewater facilities must meet Environment Agency requirements with any necessary work undertaken before development.
• New development, including supporting infrastructure, must comply with Oxfordshire’s zero carbon targets