Oxford City Council will begin public consultation this week over the way it involves local people in the planning process.
The Statement of Community Involvement (SCI) sets out the council’s approach for informing, consulting and involving people in planning decisions. The SCI applies when the council prepares and consults on planning policy documents – including the Local Plan – and it explains how the council will involve people when planning applications for new development are assessed and determined.
The SCI also sets out the level of community engagement the council expects from developers during the planning process.
A six week consultation will ask people for their views on a new SCI which takes account of current COVID-19 arrangements. It also gives more prominence to the range of digital consultation methods the council expects to use in the planning process even after lockdown measures ease.
Public consultation will run from Thursday 25th March until Thursday 6th May, and cabinet could be asked to approve a revised SCI in June.
The proposed new SCI and consultation questionnaire will be available on the council’s new Citizen Space consultation portal.
“Involving local people in planning decisions helps us to get the homes our city needs. We want to ensure that our planning process is timely, inclusive and responsive and our proposed new SCI enshrines these principles in the way we intend to engage with communities and stakeholders in a post-lockdown world.
“If you want to have your say about the way we plan and deliver homes in Oxford, please take part in our consultation.”
Councillor Alex Hollingsworth, Cabinet Member for Planning and Housing Delivery
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