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Hi Subscriber, 

We hope you're enjoying Your Oxford and find it a useful roundup of the week. If you are enjoying it, why not share it with a friend and help us spread the word? We want to make sure you're all always up-to-date with events, consultations and Oxford City Council news. 

Oxford Needs Homes 🏘️

Opinion: Banishing the shadow of bad housing

Last month the government published the Renters Reform Bill that will scrap ‘no fault’ evictions for private tenants. This is a welcome move, though long overdue.

Ending no fault evictions will be significant in Oxford, where a third of homes are privately rented. Everybody deserves the security of knowing they can’t be evicted for no reason. Insecure private renting has a profound impact on people’s ability to plan their lives and live free from worry.

One thing the bill won’t fix is the affordability of private renting. This is a serious issue in a city where rents are over 50% higher than for England as a whole. Although the bill aims to limit “unjustified” rent increases the problem we have is that rent is too expensive here already.

Unaffordable housing puts people at greater risk of homelessness. It pushes them into hardship, overcrowded and unfit conditions or out of Oxford altogether. The 2021 census found a 23% reduction in under-fives compared to 2011 – a clear sign that young families find it increasingly difficult to live here.

Even before the cost of living crisis, the cost of housing meant that nearly a third of Oxford’s children lived below the poverty line. Bad housing has a devastating impact on children’s health and wellbeing and casts a long shadow over their future life chances.

What can we do about this? While our HMO and selective licensing schemes are driving up standards for private tenants, we have no power to control their rents. What we are doing is providing more affordable homes – a key priority in our new five-year housing, homelessness and rough sleeping strategy.

Our housing company OX Place is delivering the affordable homes we so badly need. By the end of this decade, OX Place aims to build over 2,000 homes. These will include a new generation of more than 1,100 council homes, let at social rent. Another 300 homes will be in other affordable tenures like shared ownership.

Social rent is genuinely affordable. In Oxford it’s typically around 40% of the rent a private landlord would charge for the same home.

Shared ownership helps people onto the housing ladder, making homeownership a reality for people who would otherwise be priced out of Oxford. Key workers. First-time buyers. People aged under 40.

Solving Oxford’s housing crisis will require more bold action from central government, but every new affordable home we build locally solves an individual crisis and makes a life-changing difference. That’s why Oxford City Council will continue working to bring forward new sites for development to deliver the homes Oxford people need.

Opinion piece by Councillor Linda Smith, Cabinet Member for Housing. Originally published in The Oxford Mail/Times 

Call for more powers to regulate short term lets 

This week, we renewed our longstanding call for powers to regulate properties entirely rented out as short lets, in response to two government consultations.

The rise of websites like Airbnb and Vrbo has led to a rapid increase in the number of short lets in Oxford in the last decade, this is a big issue for a city with a housing crisis. 

At the moment, the short let sector is virtually unregulated. This means we have little power to enforce standards required for other rented accommodation.

What makes a house a home?

This month we're running an #OxfordNeedsHomes campaign across our channels. The campaign will help you understand our five-year Housing, Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy priorities, give background to the housing crisis we currently face in the city, and celebrate the work being done by OX Place to tackle it. 

As part of it, we'll also be asking the question: "What makes a house a home?" and that's where we need your help, Subscriber.

If you have a spare couple of minutes, please click the link below and submit your response. We'll be sharing some of these on our social media platforms this month so keep your eyes peeled.

Climate Emergency

Bike parking just got a lot easier 

This bike week, we're pleased to announce the installation of 133 bike racks across the city, which will bring an additional 266 parking spaces for cyclists.

Of the 133 new racks, 76 are on public land and have been installed by ODS on behalf of the City Council. A further 57 racks are being installed on private land through the ‘ParkThatBike’ scheme which sees free bike racks installed in publicly accessible areas. 

 In Oxford, 39% of residents cycle at least once a week and 25% of residents cycle to work, both the second highest in the country. Additional bike racks will make it easier and more secure to cycle around. 

Oxfordshire Big Green Week 

Oxfordshire Great Big Green Week start tomorrow! The Great Big Green Week is the UK's biggest celebration of community action to tackle climate change and protect nature.

Activities during the week will allow you to find out what you can do, to hear and talk about current issues, and to understand how you can use your time and energy to make a difference.

Communities

The East Oxford Community Centre of tomorrow

The once in a lifetime redevelopment of East Oxford Community Centre is well underway. In the last couple of weeks, we have seen the demolition of the non-viable 20th-century buildings and extensions to make way for the state-of-the-art, purpose-built centre. 

The project was put on pause during the pandemic and restarted in December 2021. Inflation on materials and labour in the construction sector has been running high as a result of international events.

At next week's cabinet meeting, it is expected that an extra £1.298M investment will be agreed to ensure that the new community centre is a place that inspires and changes lives for generations.

This is a major investment in the community and in East Oxford and we're pleased that we're able to do this at a time when many other councils wouldn't be able to. 

Economy

Do you know the next generation of council officers?

Oxfordshire County Council

LTN consultation 

Oxfordshire County Council is holding a six week consultation to gather views on proposed changes to the east Oxford low traffic neighbourhoods (LTNs) and understand their impact since new bollards were introduced in March. 

An online consultation is open until 5pm on Thursday 20 July.

Oxford United consultation 

Oxfordshire County Council want your views on proposals by Oxford United Football Club to build a new stadium on council-owned land, known as 'The Triangle', near Kidlington.

The online consultation will run until 23 July.

Are you an artist?

Nuneham Viaduct reopen 

Network Rail opened the Nuneham Viaduct this morning - a day earlier than planned! 

As you probably know, the railway between Oxford and Didcot was closed in April after significant movements in the 160-year-old viaduct were detected.

Around 800 people worked almost 60,000 hours to install a new steel support to secure the future of the rail link.

For more information, read Network Rail's press release.

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