Introduction - Our Strategy
Our Strategy 2020-24 outlines the top issues that Oxford City Council will deliver on during the four-year period.
The Council has worked with local partners, organisations, community groups, businesses and residents to develop the strategy.
You can read Our Strategy 2020-24 on the following webpages or download Our Strategy 2020-24.
The Council is currently developing its Corporate Strategy 2024-28. You can have your say on the strategy by taking part in the public consultation.
Leader’s Foreword
"In 2019 when we started the process of renewing our four year Council Strategy, no one would have imagined the world that was to come, and the impact the COVID-19 pandemic would have on our wonderful city and the people that live and work here. Publication of our Strategy, which had followed a deep process of consultation, was delayed. However, following a review we were satisfied our strategic ambitions still hold even in this new normal.
"Our Strategy is the result of a huge amount of work including a fantastic public and stakeholder response to the consultation, and we believe reflects the focus, dedication and ambition of the Council both now and in the future. It represents the next steps along the journey towards our 2050 Vision for Oxford.
"We are unashamedly ambitious for our city which is already a beacon in many aspects nationally and internationally, but which we want to be truly world class for the benefit of all citizens. Our Strategy reflects that ambition:
- to enable a more inclusive economy in which everyone shares the benefits of growth
- to overcome our housing crisis
- to support our communities in a way that reduces the inequalities we see across the city
- to take a lead in cutting carbon emissions while ensuring this does not impact citizens’ living standards
"We can’t deliver these outcomes alone. And so our Strategy sets out where we task ourselves to deliver, where we will work in partnership with others, and where as a voice for Oxford we will use our influence to help achieve these aims.
"Looking back on the last Corporate Plan 2016-2020, we made really good progress. We launched two wholly-owned companies Oxford Direct Services (ODS) and OX Place (formally Oxford City Housing Ltd (OCHL)) to deliver services and housing. This strengthened our ‘Oxford Model’ in which the Council seeks to in-source work and retain the associated earnings to help pay for the services it provides. We helped secure the Oxfordshire Growth Deal that is bringing over £500 million of investment in housing and infrastructure across the county. We put in place a new Local Plan to guide and shape new developments in Oxford, so that they respect our past and present while improving our future through the delivery of much needed affordable housing and higher environmental standards. We delivered new council housing at Barton Park, two new temporary accommodation facilities for homeless people, and the refurbishment of all five of the city’s tower blocks. We settled 30 Syrian refugee families under a Government scheme – more than any other local authority in the South East. We built the new Horspath Sports Park in partnership with Oxford United and enabled the new Westgate centre that created 3,400 jobs. And we were the first city in the UK to hold a Citizens’ Assembly on Climate Change which is now shaping how we are working with others to cut Oxford’s emissions to net zero.
"Looking forward, we clearly have some significant challenges to overcome. Oxford, partly due to its economic reliance on tourists and students has been particularly hit by the pandemic. Unemployment has risen, retail businesses are struggling and we are very concerned about the educational attainment of those children who were already struggling to meet national standards prior to COVID-19. But equally I am proud of the response to the pandemic by Council staff, our partners, and the people of Oxford. Together, we have helped protect and meet the needs of the most vulnerable during the crisis. And together, I am confident we can build a better Oxford."
Councillor Susan Brown, Leader of Oxford City Council
