West Oxfordshire District Council Executive agree to engage residents on draft locations for building new homes and business in the district
West Oxfordshire District Council Executive have agreed the draft areas for development to go to consultation with communities in November as the Council looks to get residents views on initial thinking about where new homes and businesses could go in the district to meet identified needs in the period up to 2043.
The Spatial Options Consultation will be running from 3 November to 22 December 2025. It sets out a range of potential locations where new homes, employment sites, nature recovery areas, and supporting infrastructure could be provided. The Council will be seeking views from residents, businesses and other stakeholders before any sites are selected for inclusion in the draft Local Plan, which will be published for further consultation in spring next year.
In their meeting the Council Executive recognised the initial concerns regarding infrastructure and discussed how a key aim of this plan is to tackle that problem. This would be addressed in the Local Plan as a result of a series of specialist reports targeting key issues like travel and transport, energy and water infrastructure. These reports will be produced over the coming months to sit alongside the plan. The Local plan will also look at how development must be phased to make sure the necessary infrastructure is in place when new homes are occupied.
Councillor Andy Graham, Leader of West Oxfordshire District Council, said:
“We all want West Oxfordshire to thrive, with cost effective and energy efficient homes, local jobs, protected natural landscapes, and communities supported by the infrastructure they need.
“Since publishing we have already had some useful feedback from our own Overview and Scrutiny Committee and initial thoughts from the local community. Infrastructure is a crucial element of the Local plan, and we are doing all in our power through this process to make sure any new homes have the right transport, the necessary sewage infrastructure, the doctors, schools and other facilities that are needed.
“We need to remember this plan runs to 2043 and the phasing of development is absolutely critical. The new homes will not be built straight away and we will use the time to make sure infrastructure is funded and in place – avoiding the mistakes of the past where some homes have been built without all of the right services and facilities being in place."
Councillor Hugo Ashton, Executive Member for Planning, added:
“It's important to understand that this isn’t a draft plan yet, and at this stage nothing has been decided. We will be consulting because we want people to help shape the choices ahead, before firm decisions are made. We have listened to communities and changed the plans; we will do so in this case as well.
“The Government requires us to plan for around 905 new homes to be built each year, which means identifying land for an additional 8,000 homes by 2043, on top of what is already planned at places like Salt Cross.
“We have no choice on the housing numbers – if we don’t plan for them, they will be built anyway but, in an ad,-hoc way with little input from communities. By being proactive and creating an ambitious plan we have the opportunity to make sure development is done properly.
“This Plan is our chance to take a more joined-up approach; planning growth alongside the infrastructure, services and investment it depends on. The new Local Plan will give us a stronger voice to secure that investment, from transport corridors such as the A40 to schools, healthcare and utilities, and to hold developers and other organisations to account for delivering what our communities need.”
Feedback from this consultation will directly inform the preparation of the first full draft of the Local Plan which is expected to be consulted on next year – likely around late spring to allow time for proper consideration. Residents will get another opportunity to have their say on that draft plan before it is submitted to the Planning Inspectorate for approval.
The Council will be launching the consultation on 3 November, and it will close on 22 December. During this period there will be an online survey, a series of conversations with Town and Parish Councils along with drop-in events to allow everyone to have a say. All the detail will be released on the 3 November.
Contact Information
West Oxfordshire District Council Communications Team
Notes to editors
The new Local Plan will provide a framework for how West Oxfordshire grows and changes in the period up to 2043, ensuring that development happens in the right places, supported by the right infrastructure. It will address the district’s long-term needs for housing, employment, transport, and community facilities, while helping to tackle the climate and ecological emergency and protect the area’s distinctive landscapes and character.
The Spatial Options consultation will seek public feedback on four key areas:
- Extending the Plan period: Whether to move the end date from 2041 to 2043 to ensure a 15-year period post-adoption in line with national policy. This would raise the housing requirement to 16,290 homes, with an overall supply target of around 18,000 to provide flexibility.
- Revised settlement hierarchy: Following feedback from previous consultations, the revised hierarchy responds to residents’ concerns and proposes to group towns and villages in a more logical way that better reflects the character and capacity of each place. As part of this, views will also be sought on the most appropriate levels of growth to plan for at each ‘tier’ of the hierarchy.
- Previously allocated sites: How to address existing allocations yet to be delivered — including Salt Cross Garden Village, West Eynsham, and sites at Witney and Carterton. The aim is to refresh and update those allocations to take account of relevant changes in circumstance since the previous Local Plan was adopted in 2018.
- New potential development areas: Considering options for future housing and employment growth, focusing on strategic-scale locations at Carterton and Witney, alongside smaller opportunities at Long Hanborough, Bampton, Standlake, Burford, Charlbury and Tackley. The Carterton Area Strategy sits within this wider approach, aiming to ensure sustainable growth supported by the right infrastructure from the outset.
The required housing supply will come from a mix of sources: around 2,330 homes from existing planning permissions once non-delivery is factored in; approximately 2,250 from smaller “windfall” sites that typically come forward over time; a further 5,375 from allocations already identified in the current Local Plan 2031, including major sites such as Salt Cross Garden Village, North Witney, East Chipping Norton, West Eynsham and the REEMA sites; and around 8,000 homes that will need to be identified through new allocations.
The Council has previously run 3 consultations covering:
- Initial Scoping Consultation (Aug–Oct 2022)
Sought early views on the priorities and issues the new Local Plan should address.
Read the summary
- Focused Consultation on Objectives & Options (Aug–Oct 2023)
Asked for views on draft objectives, development patterns and ideas for growth, and a call for sites. Read the summary
- Preferred Policy Options Consultation (Jun–Aug 2025)
Asked for feedback on proposed policy approaches to things like climate, infrastructure, economic development, and nature recovery; a set of revised objectives; and a proposed vision for the district.