271 infrastructure projects needed, one clear message: infrastructure must be a priority for West Oxfordshire

Infrastructure is at the heart of the new Plan, which seeks to ensure future growth is supported by the transport, schools, healthcare, water and sewage infrastructure and other services communities need. 

The Council has commissioned detailed expert studies to understand where infrastructure is under pressure and what further investment will be needed. A key part of this evidence is the Infrastructure Delivery Plan, which identifies what needs to be delivered, where and when, including 271 identified projects plus theoretical intervention needs and a total of £1.51bn of investment from now until 2043.  

With 3/5 of the funding already secured or anticipated, it leaves £604m of funding that will need to be funded by relevant organisations, government, or developers. 

By having these needs clearly identified through an up-to-date Local Plan, it puts the Council in a stronger position to secure developer contributions, coordinate future investment and hold developers and infrastructure providers to account for delivering what is needed. 

Cllr Liz Leffman, Executive Member for Planning and Infrastructure, said: 

“Infrastructure has to keep pace with growth. Over the past two decades we have seen growth without the sewage treatment capacity, schools, healthcare and transport infrastructure we need. We don't want to repeat that. 

"It is also one of the clearest messages residents have given us throughout the development of this Plan, and it is a priority we share. 

“The Government has set a significant level of housing growth that we have to plan for, so we need to be equally ambitious about the infrastructure that comes with it – from schools and healthcare to transport, water and sewage infrastructure. 

“We have done a huge amount of work to understand what West Oxfordshire will need over the next 15 years. Now we want people to look at the evidence and what we are proposing. 

“This is our final opportunity before the Plan is submitted for independent examination to make sure it is as strong as possible and gives us the evidence we need to make the case for investment.” 

The Draft Local Plan also strengthens requirements for individual developments, with developments of more than 10 homes required to prepare a site-specific Infrastructure Delivery Plan setting out the infrastructure needed to support them. 

On transport, the Plan supports better public transport, walking and cycling connections and safeguards land for a potential future Mass Rapid Transit solution along the A40 corridor, helping improve connections between Carterton, Witney and Oxford and access to jobs, education and services. 

Investment in water and sewage infrastructure is also key. The Council is already using its planning powers, including Grampian conditions to ensure new homes cannot be occupied where there are capacity constraints until Thames Water has delivered the necessary sewage infrastructure improvements. The Plan builds on this by identifying where future investment will be needed.* 

The Council has also written an open letter to highlight a significant challenge around the delivery of the infrastructure needed to support new homes. While the Council is planning positively for housing growth and identifying where investment is needed, it cannot direct nationally regulated infrastructure providers, such as water companies, to make that investment or determine when it happens.  

In the letter, the Council is therefore calling on Government, regulators and infrastructure providers to ensure investment programmes keep pace with planned housing growth, so that a lack of essential infrastructure does not become a barrier to delivering the homes communities need. 

Cllr Andy Graham, Leader of West Oxfordshire District Council, said: 

“This is about the kind of West Oxfordshire we want to leave to the generations that follow us. Building quality homes is only part of that. We also need the schools, healthcare, transport, utilities, green spaces and community facilities people rely on every day. 

“We have learnt from the past that infrastructure cannot be something we try to catch up with after homes have been built. That is why we have done the work through this Plan to identify what is needed from the beginning, where investment is required and who is responsible for delivering it. 

“We are committed to playing our part and planning positively for the homes our communities need, but we also need Government and our national infrastructure partners to play theirs. For us to deliver ambitious housing targets, the infrastructure those homes depend on must be funded and delivered at the right time. 

“Our residents deserve a Plan that gets this right. Before it goes to the Planning Inspector, we want people to look at the evidence, challenge it and help us make sure we have the strongest possible plan for West Oxfordshire.” 

The Council is asking residents and organisations to review the Draft Local Plan and its supporting evidence and comment on whether it provides a robust and deliverable approach to meeting West Oxfordshire's infrastructure needs.  

The Regulation 19 consultation runs until 9 October 2026. Comments received will be submitted alongside the Plan for consideration during its independent examination. Read the Draft Local Plan, explore the Infrastructure Delivery Plan and supporting evidence, and submit your comments: https://yourvoice.westoxon.gov.uk/en-GB/folders/west-oxfordshire-pre-submission-draft-local-plan-2043