Oxfordshire councils abandon housing plan
0Five councils in Oxfordshire have abandoned a housing plan that could have seen thousands of homes constructed in the county.
The councils – Oxford City and Cherwell, Vale of White Horse, South Oxfordshire and West Oxfordshire district councils – said it was “with regret” that they were unable to reach agreement on the “approach to planning for future housing needs”. It is understood that the disagreement was over where and how many houses should be built.
Funding of £215m had been earmarked within the Oxfordshire Housing and Growth Deal for the development of the Oxfordshire Plan 2050, which was first announced in 2017. The original deal targeted the construction of 100,000 homes by 2031.
In a joint statement, the authorities said: “The Oxfordshire Plan 2050 work programme will end and we will now transition to a process focused on local plans. The issues of housing needs will now be addressed through individual local plans for each of the city and districts.
“The councils will cooperate with each other and with other key bodies as they prepare their local plans.”
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