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Housing

How many homes do we need?🏠

Oxford is a small city with a longstanding shortage of suitable land for building homes.

Providing the homes Oxford needs is a key goal of our Local Plan 2040, which we’ll be submitting for approval by government inspectors next month. 

We’ve identified space for 9,612 homes within Oxford by 2040, but this still won’t be enough to meet demand. 

So, how many more homes does Oxford need, how have we calculated this and where will the extra homes need to be built? Head on over to our website to find out more.

Climate Emergency

Tree planting season is here! 🌳

This tree planting season we are planting 74 trees across our parks, recreation grounds, and green spaces.🌟

If you live in Rose Hill, you may have seen the ODS team planting the first trees, this week.

Over the last decade, we've planted more than 10,000 new trees in our green spaces, and this number grows every year!

To learn more about where we're planting trees this year, check out our map in the link below.

New housing development rules require a boost to biodiversity 🌼🌳

This week, the government introduced new biodiversity net gain regulations that all developers – including Councils – must follow.

Under the new regulations, housing developers in England are now required to deliver 10% Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) when building new housing, commercial or minerals developments.

This can be achieved either on-site or off-site, the latter by funding habitat creation on other land or (as a last resort) by purchasing statutory credits. This builds on the existing requirement for net gain in our Local Plan 2036. 🏠

For Council developments, we will be looking to support biodiversity net gain either on our development sites, or as close to the site as possible – therefore ensuring we are able to help habitats in Oxford.

Would you like to know how you can support biodiversity? The Climate Action Oxfordshire website has various ideas, from planting a pollinator-friendly garden, becoming a tree guardian, and creating a wildflower area.

Communities

Consultation launched on proposed change to parks and open spaces byelaws

We're asking Oxford residents and park users for their views on proposed changes to existing byelaws on the city's 130 parks and open spaces. 🌳🍃

The byelaws, which have not been amended for over 25 years, provide a basic set of rules to ensure people behave in ways that respect the enjoyment, wellbeing and safety of others.  

The proposed changes include:

• revoking old rules relating to ball games, climbing and wild swimming 🏊‍♀️ – these are no longer relevant or appropriate, and go against the need to encourage more active lifestyles 
• amending byelaws to better reflect the way Oxford’s parks 🌳 are used – for example, seeking public views on removing the blanket ban on cycling to allow considerate cycling in parks, as there are now cycle lanes through Cowley Marsh Recreation Ground and Donnington Playing Fields
• making new byelaws to deal with new challenges and changing priorities that have emerged over the last 25 years, like e-scooters and the use of drones and sky lanterns

Would you like to have your say? Click on the link below. 

Economy

Crystal Spirit Emporium recognised as best Christmas window display! 🎉🎉

Earlier this week, the Lord Mayor of Oxford, Councillor Lubna Arshad, presented a certificate to Sarah-Jayne, the owner of Crystal Spirit Emporium, for winning our best dressed Christmas window display competition.

Crystal Spirit Emporium, which is located in the Covered Market, is an independent family-run shop and has a variety of incense, crystals, sage, aromatherapy oils and more! ✨

Oxford

"Our goal is to make it as easy as possible for residents to interact with Oxford City Council."

Financial support for those affected by flooding 

In response to Storm Henk in January, we worked with ODS to put in place preventative measures, including installing flood barriers, to mitigate the impact of flooding on the community.

As a result of the actions, only 17 properties experienced flooding.

Now, to help those affected in the January floods, the government is offering compensation through various grant schemes and the Council is working to ensure that residents and businesses receive the support they need during this challenging time.

For more information about the grants available, click the link below. 

Consultations

OCC Website Refresh 🎉 Over recent weeks, we’ve carried out a range of work to improve our website, including: upgrading the look and structure of the site reducing the overall number of pages and documents making accessibility improvements Over the Christmas period, we asked our Residents’ Panel for their views on an earlier draft of the website, and their comments have fed into the changes we’ve made. We’re now looking for feedback from the wider public. This consultation ends on 29 February 2024.

Corporate Strategy 2024-28 Last month we published our draft Corporate Strategy 2024-28. The draft strategy sets out our plans over the next four years across our five priorities: Good, affordable homes Strong, fair economy Thriving communities Zero carbon Oxford  A well-run council We've worked with local partners, organisations, community groups and businesses to develop the strategy, but now we want to hear your thoughts. This consultation ends on 21 March 2024.

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