Issue - meetings

Issue - meetings

Oxford Local Plan 2042 Regulation 18 Consultation Document

Meeting: 18/06/2025 - Cabinet (Item 7)

7 Oxford Local Plan 2042 Regulation 18 Consultation Document pdf icon PDF 155 KB

The Director of Planning and Regulation submitted a report to request that Cabinet approve the First Draft Oxford Local Plan 2042 (Regulation 18 consultation) Document for consultation. It is a Plan which is looking to accelerate the move to zero carbon building standards and continues to see housing delivery as a priority whilst ensuring we deliver a mixed and inclusive economy. 

 

Cabinet is recommended to:

1.    Approve the First Draft Oxford Local Plan 2042 (Regulation 18 Consultation) document for public consultation; 

2.    Authorise the Director of Planning and Regulation to make any necessary minor editorial corrections to the documents and the supporting evidence base prior to going out to consultation.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Director of Planning and Regulation had submitted a report to request that Cabinet approve the First Draft Oxford Local Plan 2042 (Regulation 18 consultation) Document for consultation. The Plan looked to accelerate the move to zero carbon building standards and continues to see housing delivery as a priority whilst ensuring the Council deliver a mixed and inclusive economy. 

Councillor Hollingsworth presented the report. He emphasised that although Oxford was a successful and thriving city, that they do not have enough affordable housing. He noted that this was a country wide problem in England, as the country was about 4 million short of the number of houses they need. In this local plan, he said that they would be consulting on their policies to protect and enhance the environment, to protect and enhance their heritage, and to ensure jobs, opportunities, careers, businesses could do well in the city. He said that they would also work on the furtherance of access to affordable housing. Altogether, he said that the plan sought to create equal opportunities across the board for the city and its residents.

Sarah Harrison, Team Leader (Planning Policy), said that the plan before Cabinet was the regulation 18 consultation and that this was the first statutory stage in the local plan process. She said that they had done early consultation and were in a good position to know what is needed and what people want to see. For this regulation 18 stage, she said that they had presented draft policies to people, they had been clear that there were options behind the draft policies, and they explained why they had selected what they had. She added that they needed to look at green belt work, after direction from national government, and that this work would come in the regulation 19 stage. She said that the regulation 19 stage work was due towards the end of the year. That work would be on the draft plan which they will submit for independent examination. She said that they hoped to be able to submit the plan to government in April 2026 and that from then the timing would be out of their hands, but their goal was to have it adopted by March 2027.

Councillor Arshad asked when the consultation for this would come up.

The Team Leader (Planning Policy) said that the consultation would take place between the 27th of June and the 8th of August.

Councillor Arshad asked what kind of things they were expecting from residents and if they had any expectations on changes that could come from the consultation.

Team Leader (Planning Policy) said that they did not yet know. She said that they had different ways of reaching different people. This included leaflets to be taken door to door, online resources, and events where they would talk with people face to face. 

Councillor Brown thanked the Team Leader (Planning Policy) for her responses and for the work that the officers had put into the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7