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Issue - meetings

Approval of Regulation 19 Draft Submission Local Plan for Public Consultation

 

 

Meeting: 22/07/2026 - Council (Item 10.)

10. Approval of Regulation 19 Draft Submission Local Plan for Public Consultation pdf icon PDF 149 KB

Purpose

For Members to consider the proposed pre-submission draft West Oxfordshire Local Plan 2043 including the timetable for formally publishing the draft plan in accordance with legislative requirements.

 

Recommendation

Subject to the resolutions of the Executive on 15 July 2026, Council is recommended to resolve to:

1.     Approve the pre-submission draft Local Plan attached at Annex A for the purposes of formal publication for a statutory period of at least 6-weeks in accordance with Regulation 19 of the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012.

2.     Delegate authority to the Head of Planning, in consultation with the Executive Member for Planning and Infrastructure, to make any necessary minor textual and presentational amendments, and any amendments necessary to reflect any agreed Overview and Scrutiny recommendations, to the pre-submission draft Local Plan, prior to formal publication.

Additional documents:

Meeting: 15/07/2026 - Executive (Item 518)

518 Approval of Regulation 19 Draft Submission Local Plan for Public Consultation pdf icon PDF 149 KB

Purpose:

For Members to consider the proposed pre-submission draft West Oxfordshire Local Plan 2043 including the timetable for formally publishing the draft plan in accordance with legislative requirements.

 

Recommendations:

That the Executive resolves to:

  1. Recommend to Council to approve the pre-submission draft Local Plan attached at Annex A for the purposes of formal publication for a statutory period of at least 6-weeks in accordance with Regulation 19 of the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012.
  2. Recommended to Council to delegate authority to the Head of Planning, in consultation with the Executive Member for Planning and Infrastructure to make any necessary minor textual and presentational amendments, and any amendments necessary to reflect any agreed Overview and Scrutiny Committee recommendations, to the pre-submission draft Local Plan in conjunction with Officers, prior to formal publication.
  3. Agree that the Local Development Scheme (LDS) attached at Annex B be published online and made available in hard copy format in agreed ‘deposit’ locations across the district. 

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Councillor Duncan Enright, Deputy Leader of the Council, left the room for the duration of this item.

 

Councillor Andy Graham, Leader of the Council, began the item by explaining that, as the meeting was in public, and given the importance of the Local Plan, he wanted to ensure that everyone had the opportunity to participate in the process in accordance with the Council’s Constitution. Councillor Graham continued by outlining the order in which the item would be dealt with: an introduction to the report and the recommendation before the Executive; Non-Executive Members of the Council would be given the opportunity to ask questions and make comments followed by responses from Executive Members and Officers; consideration of the recommendations made by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee and finally

the Executive debate on the report and a decision on the recommendations in the report.

 

Councillor Liz Leffman, Executive Member for Planning and Infrastructure, then presented the item, the purpose of which was for Members to consider the proposed pre-submission draft West Oxfordshire Local Plan 2043 including the timetable for formally publishing the draft plan in accordance with legislative requirements.

 

In her presentation the Executive Member made the following points:

 

  • The recommendation proposed in the report was that the Executive recommend that Council approves the Plan for statutory public consultation.
  • This was an important milestone in what had been a thorough, evidence-led and transparent process that had taken place over several years.
  • The Executive were not being asked to adopt the Local Plan. The recommendation was requesting that the Executive recommended to Council that the Publication Draft be approved for a six-week statutory consultation before it was submitted for independent examination by the Planning Inspectorate.
  • The Local Plan had provided the framework for how West Oxfordshire would grow and develop to 2043. The Plan was about more than housing. It had planned for employment opportunities, schools, healthcare, transport, walking and cycling infrastructure, utilities, flood mitigation, green spaces, community facilities, renewable energy and the protection of our natural and historic environment.
  • Without an up-to-date Local Plan, development did not stop. Instead, decisions became increasingly driven by national policy and speculative planning applications. This would reduce the Council’s ability to shape where development took place and the quality of that development. The Plan gave the opportunity to plan positively and ensured that growth happened in the right places and in the right way.
  • One of the defining principles of this Local Plan was that development must be supported by infrastructure. Ensuring that new homes were accompanied by the services and facilities communities needed—schools, GP surgeries, roads, public transport, walking and cycling routes, water and wastewater capacity, electricity networks, green infrastructure, parks, leisure facilities and digital connectivity.
  • Growth must create sustainable communities, not simply larger settlements. The Plan would be backed by an extensive Infrastructure Delivery Plan and a wide range of technical evidence that identified what infrastructure was needed, who was responsible for delivering it and, where possible, when it should come forward.
  • The  ...  view the full minutes text for item 518

Meeting: 08/07/2026 - Overview and Scrutiny Committee (Item 6.)

6. Approval of Regulation 19 Draft Submission Local Plan for Public Consultation pdf icon PDF 148 KB

Purpose

For Members to consider the proposed pre-submission draft West Oxfordshire Local Plan 2043 including the timetable for formally publishing the draft plan in accordance with legislative requirements.

 

Recommendation

That Overview and Scrutiny Committee resolves to:

1.      Note the report and make any applicable recommendations for the Executive to consider at the meeting on 15 July.

 

 

Additional documents:

 

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