Cllr Jane Murphy, Leader of South Oxfordshire District Council, has responded to a letter received from Kit Malthouse, MP, Minister of State for Housing, inviting the council to provide proposals on housing growth, including new settlements in the Oxford-Milton Keynes-Cambridge Corridor.
A copy of Cllr Murphy’s full response and the letter from the Minister of State for Housing is available here.
Cllr Murphy has written a statement summarising her response:
We welcome the opportunity to respond to Kit Malthouse MP, Minister of State for Housing, request for housing growth proposals within our district that support the Oxford to Cambridge Corridor.
We have written to the minister to request more information on the reasons behind the need for one million new homes and have expressed our surprise that he requires information on any new developments prior to the route being decided.
It is unclear from the minister’s letter if the new homes required include our ambitious planned growth, included in our emerging Local Plan, and takes into consideration other Oxfordshire authorities, who have signed up to the Housing and Growth Deal.
The South Oxfordshire Local Plan is currently under review, with all strategic housing sites being reassessed. The Council will make their decision in December following completion of the review and aim to submit the plan for examination in March next year. This timetable is in line with all our partners, who have signed up to the Housing and Growth Deal.
We continue to work together with other local authorities on the Joint Statutory Spatial Plan for Oxfordshire - a tool for considering the county’s growth in a co-ordinated, long-term way, which takes into consideration each district’s local plan.
We have informed the minister that the spatial plan is a more appropriate method to explore housing growth and have sought assurance that the government won’t impose new settlements in our district.
We welcome this letter and have requested to continue to engage and consult with the minister throughout the whole process to deliver this ambitious project.
