Planning > Green Belt Issues
The Trust has opposed development in Oxford's Green Belt in all recent consultation exercises, including on:
- The Oxford Local Plan (consultation 2002 to 2004)
- The Oxfordshire Structure Plan (consultation 2002 to 2004)
- The South East Plan (consultation 2005 to 2007)
- The Oxford Core Strategy (consultation ongoing since 2006)
The Trust has maintained its view that the Green Belt has in important role to play in protecting the green setting of Oxford, an integral aspect of the city's special character. It is this function of the Green Belt which the Trust has specifically sought to defend.
Responding to the Oxford Local Plan, the Trust argued that there was no justification for a review of the Green Belt boundary at Horspath. The Trust also asked for the policy on Green Belt to be strengthened to include a presumption against development.
Oxfordshire County Council's Structure Plan first introduced the possibility of an urban extension to Oxford south of Grenoble Road. This was a late amendment to the document, which was subsequently removed prior to inquiry. The Trust argued strongly against an urban extension and Green Belt review. A case was presented to show that there was no justification for such a review, and highlighting that any such infringement into the Green Belt would put the whole of the Green Belt under pressure from development, thereby threatening the green setting and character of Oxford.
Early consultation on the South East Plan focused on two main options for development in the 'Central Oxfordshire' area: building at the county towns, or an urban extension to Oxford. The Trust mobilised its members and responded in favour of the county towns policy. When the final draft South East Plan was published in June 2006, the Trust reiterated this view. It also emphasised the importance of preserving the Green Belt. Both positions were consistent with the approach taken by SEERA in the deposit draft of that document. In preparation for the Examination in Public, where the possibility of a review of the Green Belt was to be discussed, the Trust commissioned a study of land availability for delivering housing targets. This demonstrated that there was no need to build on Green Belt land, and formed the basis of the Trust's case at the EiP.
Oxford City Council has also been consulting on its Core Strategy, part of the new Local Development Framework which all local authorities are required to produce under the new planning system. From the outset, the Trust has emphasised the importance of preserving the character and landscape setting of Oxford, and has opposed the option of building on Green Belt land. It has also requested better protection for Oxford's skyline. On housing numbers, the Trust has argued that there is no justification for a higher target than that in the Draft South East Plan, and that there is no need to build on the Green Belt, Safeguarded Land or greenfield land to meet this target.
Safeguarded Land
The Trust has argued, in response to both the Core Strategy and the South East Plan, that Safeguarded Land, which was designated in the Local Plan in order to meet future development needs, should be released before any Green Belt land. This is a controversial point with some local groups, but as local planning policy currently stands, this is the correct approach, and therefore a strong argument in responding to policy documents. It does not however reflect the Trust's views on the desirability of building on these specific areas, but simply an acceptance of current designation.
Current position
Following the Panel's report on the draft South East Plan, which recommends an urban extension to Oxford on Green Belt land south of Grenoble Road, the City Council has published a 'Further Preferred Options' document for the Core Strategy, including the urban extension as a preferred option. The document also includes Safeguarded Land at Barton as a potential development site, and Safeguarded Land at Summertown as a contingency to meet future housing needs.
The Trust is currently drafting its response to this new document, but envisages that it will cover the following points:
- the document pre-empts the government's response to the panel report and any consultation, and is therefore premature
- no figures have been presented to refute the case made by the Trust that there is no need for additional land to meet the housing target
- whilst the Trust is not advocating a review of the Green Belt, and only if there is a decision made elsewhere to develop within the Green Belt (as is being suggested by the City Council at Grenoble Road) then such a decision should trigger a proper review of the whole of Oxford's Green Belt and of the Safeguarded Land so that the eventual outcome puts the development in the best place for Oxford
The objective of the last point is to encourage a more holistic approach to development in the City, which considers how best to deliver nationally prescribed housing targets while preserving the character of Oxford into the future. This is an opportunity to reconsider whether the land designated as Safeguarded Land is the most appropriate for development, and whether the area south of Grenoble Road is the best site, within the Green Belt or elsewhere, for the housing proposed. In considering this issue, the Trust is mindful of its key objectives to protect and enhance the character and landscape setting of Oxford.
