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Have your say on future planning policies
08/09/2021
A consultation is about to begin which will feed into work that is currently underway to create a new Local Plan
What do you think the key themes of future planning policies should be in our district?
Cherwell District Council are about to begin a consultation to help them shape their policies on the future development of homes, workplaces, and infrastructure here in north Oxfordshire. At a meeting on Monday evening the council’s Executive gave the green light to an options paper, which will be going out for public consultation at the end of this month.
The consultation will feed into work that is currently underway to create a new Local Plan. This, when adopted, will guide the decisions on development in our area up to 2040.
Councillor Colin Clarke, Lead Member for Planning, said: “This options paper doesn’t propose new sites for development or set targets for the number of homes that may be needed. Instead, it asks people to have their say on what the key themes of future planning policies should be.”
The council’s current Local Plan is now five years old and there is a new national and local context emerging. The Local Plan review is a chance to develop new policies for matters including: the climate emergency; creating a built environment that promotes heathy lifestyles; achieving net increases in biodiversity; supporting town centres; and rural housing.
The council also intends that its new Local Plan will be a key strategy to drive the district’s recovery from pandemic restrictions.
The options paper proposes a “place and people based” vision for the district with a focus on developing a sustainable local economy, meeting the climate change challenge, and healthy place shaping. The paper includes a place-based discussion for Banbury, Bicester, Kidlington, Upper Heyford and the rural areas.
Cllr Clarke added: “We are still at a very early stage of the plan-making process. The council anticipates consulting on a draft Local Plan in 2022 and then submitting it to the Planning Inspectorate for examination in 2023.
The consultation will start on September 29 and runs for six weeks.
Published: by Banbury FM Newsteam