What should housebuilders help to provide in West Oxfordshire? Views sought on developer contributions
Residents will be asked how new housing developments in their area can make a positive contribution to the quality of life for communities, as West Oxfordshire launches a consultation to find out what people think should be funded on the ground in the district.
Carl Rylett - Planning & Sustainable Development said, “Developers are often required to make a financial contribution to the community they have built in, to address the impacts of new development. This can be for things like a youth centre, play area, affordable housing or improvements to public transport and walking and cycling routes.
“We are really keen to understand what our communities in West Oxfordshire think is needed to enhance their area. This is your chance to tell us whether you think the Council is looking at the right sort of improvements for your area.”
Kilkenny Lane Country Park on the northern edge of Carterton was funded by developer contributions along with Woodstock Youth Club, which received funding for a new club house in 2018. Developer contributions from new homes at Springfield Oval Witney provided financial support for a local community bus service to continue to operate, and Enstone Parish Hall was provided directly as part of The Paddocks development at Enstone.
Our consultation platform Commonplace, makes it easy for people to find out more about the different types of projects that are possible and drop a ‘pin’ on a map to say what they think is needed in their local area. A game has also been developed on the site that allows people to theoretically choose how to spend developer contributions on different types of infrastructure.
Using the platform, the Council is also looking for specific feedback on its developer contributions supplementary planning document (SPD) which explains when and how the Council will seek contributions from developers.
The Council was awarded £118,250 through the Government's PropTech Engagement Fund to trial the use of Commonplace to enable greater and easier digital engagement with the planning process.
Carl Rylett added, “We have been delighted with the levels of engagement we have seen through the use of our new digital platform Commonplace, which has been demonstrated through our Your Voice Counts consultation which ended a couple of weeks ago.
“We genuinely want the views of our residents, and we are committed to making it as easy as possible for people to talk to us. We believe the council belongs to residents, and that their voices should be at the forefront of everything we do.”
The developer contributions SPD consultation begins on Monday 17 October and runs for four weeks until 14 November 2022. The interactive mapping, game and other features are available on an ongoing basis.
Please go to https://communityinfrastructure.commonplace.is/ to let us know what you think.