7th May 2009

The Government's South East Plan - released this week - requires Oxford to provide 8,000  new homes by 2026. It looks likely that at least half of these will be built on Oxford's Green Belt South of Grenoble Road. Only 35% of these have to be affordable.

Says Green Councillor David Williams; "This is neither a sustainable location nor a high enough percentage of affordable homes. The current Oxford requirement is to ensure that 50% of all new homes are affordable, a policy secured by the Greens. This is a retrograde step by a Government clearly more interested in growth than providing affordable homes."