Oxford City Council has published the final draft of its Local Plan 2045, ahead of a public consultation later this month.
The strategic document will underpin all planning decisions in Oxford until 2045.
It will help to shape how the city of Oxford addresses its housing crisis, supports its economy, reduces carbon emissions, and supports the diverse communities and neighbourhoods. It aims to make the city more equal and more resilient.
It will do this by ensuring:
- 40% affordable housing in developments of 10 or more homes, prioritising social rent
- more flexibility and opportunities for neighbourhoods across the city
- major developments must include more green features as well as biodiversity net gain
- affordable workspace strategies for key employment sites to encourage a diverse economy
- all large developments to include Community Employment and Procurement Plans that promote local jobs and local businesses
Since the publication of the Local Plan 2036, the Government now requires all councils to use a ‘Standard Method’ to calculate housing need. For Oxford, the Standard Method is 1,087 per year, or 21,740 homes in total during the Local Plan period.
Because of the city’s tight boundaries and constraints that limit the number of developable sites - such as flood zone and SSSI protection - the Council cannot meet all of this need within Oxford. The housing capacity of the city has been assessed as 9,267 over the Plan period (463 homes per annum), meaning there is an unmet need of 12,473 homes.
Next steps
Following approval at last night’s Cabinet meeting (21 January), the draft Local Plan will go to full Council on 26 January and be open for public consultation from 30 January to 13 March 2026.
Comments received will be submitted, alongside the draft Local Plan, to the Government for independent examination.
The full draft Local Plan 2045 is available on the Council’s website.
Comment
“Previous rounds of public consultation have helped us to set out a vision for Oxford in the Draft Local Plan 2045 that addresses our housing crisis, addresses inequalities across our communities and responds to the climate crisis, all the while respecting the city’s heritage.
“This is a key decision for Oxford as it will shape how our city develops over the next two decades.”
Councillor Alex Hollingsworth, Cabinet Member for Planning and Culture
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