Agenda item

Housing and growth deal for Oxfordshire

Cabinet, at its meeting on 12 February 2018, will consider a report and recommend Council on whether to approve the Oxfordshire Housing and Growth Deal.  If approved by the constituent authorities, delivery of the Deal will be overseen by the Oxfordshire Growth Board.  The Growth Board is a statutory joint committee of the six Oxfordshire local authorities, the Local Enterprise Partnership and key strategic partners. 

 

The Deal, as announced by Government in November 2017, provides £215 million of additional government funding for Oxfordshire, to deliver the key infrastructure required to underpin proposed housing development, and additional funds to increase the supply of affordable housing.  This funding is comprised of £150 million for infrastructure, £60 million for affordable housing and £5 million capacity funding. 

 

The additional funding will support Oxfordshire’s ambition to plan for and support the delivery of up to 100,000 new homes across Oxfordshire between 2011 and 2031 to address the county’s housing shortage and expected economic growth.  This level of housing growth is that 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 includes a proposed package of planning “freedoms and flexibilities” to help Oxfordshire to plan collectively for the long-term, sustainable development of the county by offering some protection from the risk of unplanned speculative development for the duration of development of a joint spatial plan and early years of its implementation. 

 

If approved by all constituent authorities, confirmation, in writing, will go to the Secretary of State along with submission of the agreed Delivery Plan.

 

The Deal brings with it additional funds for Oxfordshire.  It is proposed that Oxfordshire County Council acts as the Accountable Body for the deal and provides relevant reports to the Growth Board on a quarterly basis.

 

Following decisions from Government expected on 5 and 7 February, the Housing and Growth Deal Delivery Plan as well as a full report for the Cabinet meeting will be published and circulated to all councillors.

 

The report of the head of partnership and insight, which Cabinet will consider on 12 February 2018, is attached.

 

Cabinet’s recommendations will be circulated to all councillors prior to the Council meeting.

 

 

Minutes:

 

Mr Crispin Topping, Chairman of the Steering Group of East Hagbourne Neighbourhood Plan, addressed Council on the Housing and Growth Deal for Oxfordshire (the Deal). He expresses full support for the Deal for the following reasons:

·         in return for supporting the development of up to 100,000 new homes across Oxfordshire in the period to 2031 Oxfordshire will benefit from £215 million of Central Government funding;

·         by agreeing to the Deal it will give vital added support to the Housing Infrastructure Fund bid by Oxfordshire County Council for key infrastructure around Didcot such as a new Thames Crossing and the science bridge. He considered that if the Deal was rejected Government support for the HIF was unlikely;

·         the Joint Statutory Spatial Plan will facilitate much needed, and overdue, joined up policy making across Oxfordshire.

·         the prospect of a three year land supply rather than a five year level will allow the district council to take back control over unwanted speculative development currently impacting communities (for East Hagbourne seven applications on unallocated land either approved, in process, or in prospect that could add up to 1000 units tripling the size of the population).

 

Council considered Cabinet’s recommendations made at its meeting on 12 February 2018 on a Housing and Growth Deal for Oxfordshire.

 

Councillors supported the Deal which would provide much needed funding for infrastructure and affordable housing and provide planning freedoms with the application of a three year, rather than the current five year, land supply.   The funding will ensure planned housing is supported by enhanced transport and social infrastructure. Without the Deal a similar number of house would still be required but without the additional infrastructure funding and support for affordable housing. Not agreeing the Deal may have a negative impact of future prospects of securing funding from government.

 

In supporting the Deal councillors acknowledged that there are risks (including the ability of the local authorities to work together, resources to deliver the project, changes to national policy). However, the benefits to the county in terms of the additional funding for infrastructure, affordable housing, planning freedoms and economic growth outweighed these and provided an opportunity that should not be forgone.

 

 RESOLVED: to

 

1.    agree to the Oxfordshire Housing and Growth Deal (the Deal) (attached as Appendix 1 to the report of the head of partnership and insight to Cabinet on 12 February 2018);

 

2.    agree the Delivery Plan (attached as Appendix 2 to the head of partnership and insight’s report to Cabinet on 12 February 2018) as the basis for the Deal, noting that elements will be updated as detailed work programmes develop;

 

3.    authorise the chief executive, in consultation with the Leader and the Growth Board, to make minor changes to the Delivery Plan that may be required to secure agreement with Government;

 

4.    authorise the chief executive, in consultation with Leader and the Growth Board, to agree the Year 1 affordable housing delivery programme, phasing and processes specified in the Delivery Plan;

 

5.    appoint Oxfordshire County Council as the accountable body in respect of the Oxfordshire Housing and Growth Deal;

 

6.    authorise the Chief Executive, in consultation with the Leader and the Growth Board, to review the terms of reference of the Growth Board and agree any amendments and any appropriate inter-authority agreements required to support the Delivery of the Housing and Growth Deal;

 

7.    authorise the Chief Executive, in consultation with the Leader to take any other decisions arising from agreement to the Oxfordshire Housing and Growth Deal, until the revised terms of reference of the Growth Board are in place; and

 

8.    agree to participate in the preparation of a Joint Statutory Spatial Plan (JSSP) for Oxfordshire in accordance with the timescales set out in the Delivery Plan and in accordance with Section 28 of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004, the milestones for progressing the JSSP being contingent on Government delivering the Planning Freedoms and Flexibilities as described in the Delivery Plan.

 

Supporting documents:

 

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