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All six Oxfordshire councils approve Housing and Growth Deal

All six Oxfordshire councils have now approved the Oxfordshire Housing & Growth Deal, following the vote of support at Cherwell District Council last night.

Final sanction for the Deal is expectedly shortly with signature of the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government.

Affirmative votes have already been given by council members in Oxford City Council, South Oxfordshire District Council, Vale of White Horse District Council and West Oxfordshire District Council; along with approval by the County Council Cabinet and the Board of the Oxfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership (OxLEP).

The Deal offers £215 million of Government funding over a five year period to support Oxfordshire’s ambition to plan and support the delivery of circa 100,000 new homes across Oxfordshire between 2011 and 2031 to address the county’s severe housing shortage and expected economic growth.  This is the level of housing growth as identified by the Oxfordshire Strategic Housing Market Assessment 2014, and is consistent with that planned for in existing and emerging Oxfordshire Local Plans.

The Deal also commits ongoing Government support to strengthen Oxfordshire’s knowledge-intensive economy, which already delivers £21 billion a year to the nation’s economic output. A new Local Industrial Strategy for Oxfordshire will be developed, one of the first in the UK, to back the county’s science and innovation assets, and identify and grow new sectors.

In particular, support will be targeted to Oxfordshire’s world-class assets and employment sites, such as the Harwell Campus in Science Vale UK – with the intention to quickly move forward with land remediation that will enable the Campus to continue to grow creating more jobs.

Support will also be provided, working with employers and universities, to identify and address the long term skills needs of the Oxfordshire economy. This will involve building a pathway for young people to develop the skills needed to capture opportunities in the emerging growth sectors of Oxfordshire and facilitating social mobility for those at risk of social exclusion.

Once implemented, the Oxfordshire Growth Board will be responsible for oversight of the Deal, will agree delivery programmes and make all decisions on the prioritisation and allocation of the funding secured through the Deal.

Councillor Bob Price, Chair of the Oxfordshire Growth Board, said: “I’m pleased that so many councillors of all parties and from all parts of the county have backed the Deal. The Government has said this represents a ‘downpayment’ on a pipeline of infrastructure investment for Oxfordshire – and we in the county will hold them to their promise.”

Angus Horner, Partner and Director, Harwell Science and Innovation Campus, said: “Oxfordshire is a driving force behind the UK’s rapidly-growing knowledge economy and the 200-plus – and growing – science and innovation organisations at Harwell that sit at the heart of this expansion.

“Government funding is a fundamental part of our continued and growing success, and this initial payment from the Growth Deal is further Government validation of Oxfordshire’s world-leading capabilities and ongoing strategic importance to the successful implementation of the UK Industrial Strategy.

“Harwell is a knowledge economy ‘crossroads’ where people from throughout UK and abroad in industry, academia and the public sector meet and collaborate, to improve the human condition and ensure that the UK remains commercially-competitive in strategic, important global markets such as space, life sciences, energy and AI.

“To maintain our position as a world-class centre for science and innovation, we must attract and retain the brightest and most curious minds; provide a wonderful environment where people can access high-quality housing and transport; plus enable businesses to develop in an environment that fosters innovation and commercial success.

“The Growth Deal is a welcome and powerful supporting initiative from Government.”

Professor Alistair Fitt, Vice-Chancellor of Oxford Brookes University and OxLEP Board Member, said: “Many of our students of today are training to become Oxfordshire’s nurses, midwives and teachers of tomorrow. Supporting them to live within the community they will serve should be our top priority.

“A lack of affordable housing also affects our ability to attract and retain the world-class teaching, research and professional services staff we need. The Oxfordshire Housing and Growth Deal is a unique opportunity to tackle this challenge. Furthermore, it will support investment in transport infrastructure which is again important to the University, its staff and students and the wider community.”

Dr David Prout, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Planning and Resources) University of Oxford, said: “Oxford University strongly supports investment in housing and other infrastructure in the City of Oxford and the region more widely.  The University warmly welcomes the Growth Deal, which will help it maintain its global position and drive forward economic growth in the surrounding area.”

Jonathan Scheele, Vice-Chairman, Oxford Civic Society and Oxfordshire Futures Group, said: “The Oxford Civic Society and Oxfordshire Futures Group welcomes the Government’s offer of an additional £215 million of funding for the preparation of a strategic development plan for the county, to facilitate the provision of affordable housing, and to enable associated infrastructure development. We also welcome the conditions in the offer, principally that all the county’s authorities should collaborate on the preparation of a joint, properly-coordinated, county-wide spatial development plan.

“We believe that the Deal represents a great opportunity to strengthen planning processes, so that better plans and programmes can lead to better outcomes for our environment and the wellbeing of current and future residents of the county.

“Oxford Civic Society and Oxfordshire Futures Group have been advocating a central Oxfordshire development plan (a version of the proposed Join Spatial Plan) for a number of years (see our report: “Oxford Futures”, 2014). Our report argued for the proper coordination of housing and transport planning, so that homes get built where good transport facilities are available, or can feasibly be provided. We also called for excellence of design and much enhanced public consultation. We hope very much that opportunities will be seized: to strengthen the process of integrated strategic planning; to open the discussion of design standards (perhaps through a ‘super Design Panel’ for Oxon); and to ensure greater involvement of citizens in strategic planning.

“We encourage early discussions on the communications plan for the Oxfordshire Joint Spatial Plan. We also urge the integration of the communications plan into the plans of other local authorities involved in the development of the E-W Economic Corridor, ensuring that the voice of citizens is heard along the length of the Corridor.”

The Oxfordshire Growth Board comprises the county’s six councils – Cherwell District Council, Oxford City Council, Oxfordshire County Council, South Oxfordshire District Council, Vale of White Horse District Council and West Oxfordshire District Council, together with representatives of the Oxfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership (OxLEP), which includes the two Universities.

Growth board recommends housing and growth deal

The Oxfordshire Growth Board has today (1 February) recommended the Oxfordshire Housing & Growth Deal and its associated Delivery Plan to all the county’s local authorities.

The Delivery Plan is being finalised in discussion with Government officials.

The Deal, announced in the Autumn Budget Statement, offers £215 million of Government funding over a five year period to support Oxfordshire’s ambition to plan and support the delivery of circa 100,000 new homes across Oxfordshire between 2011 and 2031 to address the county’s severe housing shortage and expected economic growth.  This is the same level of housing growth as identified by the Oxfordshire Strategic Housing Market Assessment 2014, and is consistent with that planned for in existing and emerging Oxfordshire Local Plans.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer described the Deal as a ‘down-payment’, and both the Growth Board and Government view it as the initial component of a long-term commitment to invest in Oxfordshire’s potential and to avoid unplanned speculative development. Oxfordshire’s world class knowledge economy is seen as key to UK plc in a post-Brexit landscape and the Government is proposing the development of a Local Industrial Strategy for Oxfordshire to back the county’s science and innovation assets, and identify and grow new sectors.

Further to the Deal, the Government has today announced £34m funding for five infrastructure projects in Oxfordshire from its Marginal Viability Fund (MVF), which provides funding needed to get existing sites unlocked quickly or new sites allocated. The intention is to start these projects as soon as possible so the infrastructure can enable new homes to be built quickly.

The announcement of this funding just goes to emphasise the value of the long term, strategic and collaborative approach Oxfordshire has been taking to attracting investment in infrastructure projects that support sustainable housing growth as part of existing local plans.

The Oxfordshire Growth Board comprises the county’s six councils – Cherwell District Council, Oxford City Council, Oxfordshire County Council, South Oxfordshire District Council, Vale of White Horse District Council and West Oxfordshire District Council, together with representatives of the Oxfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership (OxLEP), which includes the two Universities.

Full agreement of the Deal with Government is subject to agreement by each local authority in the county and the Oxfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership (OxLEP). Over the next few weeks each of the five district councils will hold a full Council meeting to agree the Deal and the Delivery Plan.

Once agreed, the Growth Board will be responsible for oversight of the Deal, will agree delivery programmes and make all decisions on the prioritisation and allocation of the funding secured through the Deal.

Councillor Bob Price, Chair of the Oxfordshire Growth Board, said:

“The Deal represents a comprehensive and integrated approach to addressing Oxfordshire’s housing, infrastructure and economic challenges. It demonstrates the Government’s commitment to working with Oxfordshire and recognises the critical role the county will play in driving forward the UK economy post-Brexit, attracting global investment. It will help us deliver the potential of our world class knowledge economy, while ensuring high quality sustainable development across the County is properly planned and backed with much needed infrastructure improvements. The Deal is a result of our strong collaboration under the auspices of the Growth Board and demonstrates what this partnership approach can deliver in the interests of the people of Oxfordshire and our array of world-leading businesses.”

Infrastructure and housing

The Deal offers £150 million for infrastructure, £60 million for affordable housing and £5 million capacity funding, with the objective to deliver transport and social infrastructure along with properly planned new housing. This includes road and rail investment to benefit existing communities and unlock new development sites. It will also unlock funding for community infrastructure such as schools, health centres and adult social care.

Investment in infrastructure is recognised in the Oxfordshire Infrastructure Strategy 2017 (OxIS) as a prime requirement of sustainable growth. OxIS identified £8.35bn of infrastructure investment needed for Oxfordshire by 2040.  A substantial part of this requirement will be provided from national and strategic infrastructure funding and developer contributions. Closing the remaining infrastructure funding gap will take a long term and sustained approach from Growth Board members to maximise opportunities to secure investment.

In addition to the Deal, in September 2017 Oxfordshire County Council submitted bids for up to £500 million of funding from the Housing Infrastructure Fund to support transport schemes for the Didcot Garden Town,  Oxfordshire Cotswolds Garden Village and the North of Oxford Garden Village. The Districts have also submitted a number of bids to the Marginal Viability element of this funding.  The decisions on the District bids are expected in February 2018 and the County bids by Autumn 2018.

Affordable homes

The £60 million funding is available to support a flexible Oxfordshire-wide affordable housing programme to deliver a range of tenures. The fund is in addition to the existing Homes England Affordable Housing Programme which will continue. This gives Oxfordshire partners the opportunity to use the funding to deliver schemes according to local priorities and opportunities which would include opportunities to open up new sites, and increase delivery on sites not possible under other funding streams.

The programme will be delivered through a range of partners including Local Housing Companies, registered providers, special purpose vehicles, Oxford City Council (through its Housing Revenue Account) and other partnerships. This provides the opportunity to build on innovative approaches such as Oxford’s work with the Universities to deliver employee housing alongside affordable homes, West Oxfordshire District Council’s project with the Blenheim Estate, Cherwell District Council’s site specific Housing Company at Graven Hill, South Oxfordshire District Council’s Berinsfield and South Gateway housing projects and the Vale of White Horse District Council’s North West Valley housing project.

Joint Statutory Spatial Plan

The Deal commits Oxfordshire’s councils to develop a Joint Statutory Spatial Plan (JSSP) that will set the strategic direction for planning across the county to 2050. The JSSP, which will be in place by 2021, will complement the existing Local Plan process. It will give the public a clear overview of the countywide growth picture and offer greater opportunities to engage in collective decision making and to avoid incremental, speculative and unplanned development.

Increased protection against speculative development

The Government has recognised the challenges Oxfordshire faces from speculative development, and linked to the deal it is offering planning flexibilities on a time limited basis to provide protection. This will allow councils collectively to prepare the JSSP without having to address the spectre of unplanned development while this major planning exercise is undertaken.

Productivity and economic growth

The Government recognises the importance of Oxfordshire’s knowledge-intensive economy which delivers £21 billion a year to the nation’s economic output. The Deal commits Government support to expand our world-class assets and employment sites across the county, such as Science Vale UK – one of the most successful science and technology clusters in the UK, that includes Harwell Campus. In total the Government is putting an additional £2.3bn in R&D investment. It will also bring new resources to address specific skills gaps.

Government has also promised opportunities for Oxfordshire to be involved in developing sector deals with life sciences and artificial intelligence sectors – reflecting the county’s leading edge research and development in these sectors. It will also provide support to help scale up high-growth companies, with the extension of core funding for the Oxfordshire Growth Hub to 2022.

The five schemes funded through MVF are:

Cherwell Howes Lane Tunnel.

Part of North West Bicester Strategic Realignment of Howes Lane

£7.6m

Oxford Blackbird Leys District Centre Regeneration Scheme

£3.8m

Oxford Northern Gateway (also referred to as Oxford North)

£10m

Oxford Osney Mead Innovation Quarter (OMIQ)

£6.1m

Vale of White Horse Wantage Eastern Link Road (WELR)

£7.7m

  Total

£34.3m