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Huge investment approved for community projects and local authority owned housing at busy July Council meeting

Published Friday 18 July 2025

Up to ten million pounds for investment in homes to meet local housing need, alongside over half a million pounds worth of extra funding for community organisations were top of the bill at a busy South Oxfordshire District Council meeting on Thursday 17 July.

Council approved recommendations to inject an additional of £521,000 funding over two years for the voluntary and charitable sector under the Revenue Grants scheme, following an underspend on the previous year’s revenue budget. This means additional funding for a further fifteen organisations this year and next, ranging from family and community centres to youth services and charities, which will now receive 100 per cent of the funding they have identified as needing. 

Up to ten million pounds was also approved towards approximately thirty homes for use as social housing, through an addition to the council’s approved capital programme. The funding was made available through money that had originally been earmarked for the proposed new building at the Gateway site in Didcot. Council approved the financial transfer and decision to cease to further work on this project in light of impending Local Government Reorganisation (LGR), other than for work in progress crucial to future proofing the site for longer term development, for the benefit of the wider Didcot area.

Speaking in the debate, Council Leader David Rouane said that: “It was enormously disappointing that the Government’s decision to enforce a LGR had put a stop to the redevelopment of this key site which is the Gateway to Didcot for the many people arriving at the railway station. The council was right to take the development to this stage before halting the project; securing planning permission for an office and installing an energy supply to the site mean that the money spent so far has not been wasted and the new council will be able to develop the site as it sees fit.”

In his Leader’s Report, Cllr Rouane reflected on the council’s recent challenges with a major IT overhaul to bring services back inhouse; on the successful public engagement to date for LGR and the council’s preferred option for a proposed two-unitary council arrangement – rounding off with a celebration of the news that South Oxfordshire is ranked in the top ten performing district councils in the country for taking action on climate and nature recovery.

Other items on the agenda included a review of the scrutiny function and partner committee updates.

A revised motion on encouraging Community Energy benefit options in large renewable projects was passed.

Topics covered by questions included: 

  • South Oxfordshire’s response to the climate emergency
  • Update on progress for enabling local action on climate adaptation
  • Processing of housing applications
  • Didcot Gateway power supply 

Full details of the meeting are available here. You can also view details the questions and answers to council here.

Ends