Cabinet, at its meeting on 18 June 2025, will consider a report requesting to approve the First Draft Oxford Local Plan 2042 (Regulation 18 Consultation) Document for consultation.

Councillor Alex Hollingsworth, Cabinet Member for Planning and Culture, David Butler, Director of Planning and Regulation, and Sarah Harrison, Planning Policy Team Leader have been invited to attend the meeting and answer questions.

The Committee is asked to consider the report and agree any recommendations.

Cabinet, at its meeting on 18 June 2025, will consider a report requesting to approve the First Draft Oxford Local Plan 2042 (Regulation 18 Consultation) Document for consultation.  

Councillor Alex Hollingsworth, Cabinet Member for Planning and Culture, Sarah Harrison, Planning Policy Team Leader, and Rachel Williams, Planning Policy and Place Manager, were present to respond to questions.  

The Committee were asked to consider the report and agree any recommendations. 

Councillor Hollingsworth presented the report, summarising that he is also an employee of Oxford Brookes University but has no declarable interests which would conflict with his involvement on the report.  The Committee heard that the report is a replacement Local Plan for the previous 2040 Local Plan which experienced issues relating to housing need calculations. The current plan is overdue for replacement by one week. Councillor Hollingsworth explained in detail to the Committee that the regulation 18 consultation would be completed over this summer, and the regulation 19 consultation would be completed afterwards in order to present the next Local Plan to a Planning Inspector for approval. 

The Chair invited questions from the Committee. 

Councillor Miles asked several questions: 

• In relation to categories noted within the report which have experienced no change since the last Local Plan, it was asked whether reflection has been made on the policy coherence of matters such as bike parking and demand for bike parking against other council policies. 

• In regard self-build, whether the six-month period noted in the report could be extended to support people taking time to secure funding.  

• In relation to specialist accommodation for elderly persons and those with dementia, for example, how is the appropriate size of rooms defined.  

Councillor Ottino requested clarification around how empty student accommodation is monitored, and what happens when it is identified that a property is not in use. Secondly, he raised concern with the wording of the first bullet point on page 102, in relation to ‘the delivery of certain infrastructure’, noting it as contentious.   

Councillor Hollingsworth, in relation to queries relating to bike parking, explained that local policy that goes to public hearing is subject to national policy requirements and the decision of the planning inspector. As such, the Committee understood that it is necessary to strike a balance. Councillor Hollingsworth reminded Councillor Miles that the report only outlines the consultation stage proposals for the Local Plan. In regards self-build, that there can be difficulties around financing was acknowledged, but it was explained that the Council’s plan must respond to the housing shortage and must avoid leaving sites vacant for longer than necessary.   

The Team Leader for Planning Policy built upon Councillor Hollingsworth’s response, noting that the current Local Plan 2036 has reduced the timeframe for self-build housing from a year to six months in response to lack of interest. In regards specialist accommodation, Councillor Miles understood that attempts to consider this within the last local plan were thrown out by the planning inspector. In response to Councillor Ottino, the Team Leader for Planning Policy explained the challenges with monitoring empty student accommodation, that planning could control the permitted use but has little control over occupancy; however in an Oxford context with such high land values, it was unlikely that sites would be left underutilised for any period of time.  

Councillor Miles, in relation to HMO policy and saturation, requested clarification on whether they can remove grandfather rights for HMOs which are not performing to the required standards. She noted that the policy refers only to new HMOs and asked whether this could be extended to existing HMOs also. Additionally, Councillor Miles asked what could be done around policy HD9 and view cones and in response the housing shortage, could anything further be planned to strengthen encouragement of upwards building in Oxford City.  

Councillor Hollingsworth, in regards HMO policy, explained that if something is defined in its use class as an HMO then this cannot be removed under the current planning system unless there is a change of use. In response to Councillor Miles, explanation was also provided of the policy requirements around the height of residential buildings in Oxford, how the previous Local Plan 2036 had moved in this direction with regards to provisions on height related to Carfax Tower. Councillor Hollingsworth agreed on the need for increased density which includes higher buildings and encouraged a positive view on such planning applications.  

The Chair invited the Committee to discuss recommendations.  

The Committee resolved to make the following recommendation(s) on the report to Cabinet: 

1. That the Cabinet review the cycle parking standards proposed in the draft Local Plan 2042 to ensure Consultation materials encourage more specific public feedback on this issue in alignment with the Council's wider transport policy commitments, particularly the goal to increase cycling trips within the city. 

2. That the Cabinet review and consider strengthening the wording of policies HD8 and HD9 in the draft Local Plan 2042 to better support appropriate densification in order to meet Oxford's housing needs whilst respecting the scale and character of different parts of the city. 

The Chair thanked the Cabinet member and officers.   

Councillor Hollingsworth, the Team Leader for Planning Policy, and the Planning Policy and Place Manager left the meeting.