Leader’s Report

23 October 2025

Joint Local Plan

As you know, the councils have been working on the Joint Local Plan for the last 4 years. It encompasses a wide range of new policies about housing mix, zero-carbon buildings, biodiversity as well as ‘cherished’ landscapes and dark skies. Many of these policies are ground-breaking nationally, and all are backed by extensive evidence. These policies were overwhelmingly supported by our residents when we consulted on them.

This month we have had a disappointing setback when the planning inspectors asked us to consider withdrawing the Joint Local Plan because of their view of issues around how we undertook our Duty to Cooperate with Oxford City Council.

A decision to withdraw the plan would have to be a decision made by both councils but only after we have considered all of the options. Correspondence between the councils and the inspectors on this can be seen on our website, including our latest response which was posted today.

At this stage the plan has not been withdrawn and as such it still has some weight in determining planning applications. There are no immediate changes to South Oxfordshire’s five year housing land supply (5YHLS) position – we don’t have 5 YHLS – and the ’tilted balance’ applies in determining planning applications. We do however continue to have a valid adopted Local Plan with policies consistent with the National Planning Policy Framework. Of course, developers may try their hand with speculative applications (there is nothing to stop them doing so) but their position is no different now than it was one month ago.

Interestingly, the Minister responsible for Housing and Planning has recently written to the Chief Executive of the Planning Inspectorate to ask them to consider being more flexible in how they approach  ‘Duty to Cooperate’ issues, and we are actively investigating how this might apply to our Joint Local Plan.

Local Government Reorganisation

At its meeting in the March this council resolved to support, alongside Cherwell, Vale of White Horse, West Berkshire and West Oxfordshire, the submission of an interim proposal for a two unitary model covering the area of Oxfordshire and West Berkshire. Since then, significant work has been undertaken by officers and councillors, including a meeting of the five council leaders and their chief executives last week, to develop the full proposal which will be published next week. This will go to the special council meeting on 6 November and then on to Cabinet the week after.

The two unitary model for Oxfordshire and West Berkshire sets out a clear, evidence-based plan to deliver better, more efficient and more locally accountable public services. It will create two new councils that offer the right balance between efficiency and local identity, each servicing around 450,000 – 500,000 people, meeting the Government’s criteria and being large enough to be efficient and stable, but small enough to stay connected to communities.

Whilst four of the six local councils in Oxfordshire, and West Berkshire Council, have been working together do develop the two unitary model proposed in this report, it should be noted that two other proposals will be submitted in Oxfordshire. Oxfordshire County Council will be proposing a one unitary model covering the whole of the current Oxfordshire county area, leaving West Berkshire Council unchanged. Oxford City Council is proposing a three unitary model covering a ‘Greater Oxford’ area which would cover the existing Oxford City council area expanded to encompass most of the area currently designated as greenbelt that is currently in neighbouring districts, which would clearly have an impact on residents in South Oxfordshire. Interestingly, I understand that neither the County Council nor the City Council intend to take their proposals to their full councils before their cabinets take the decision to submit.

Homelessness and rough sleeping

Cabinet has recently approved a Joint Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy 2025–2028 which builds on South and Vale’s strong record in preventing homelessness, consistently performing around 20 per cent above regional averages, while recognising that there is no room for complacency. Grounded in partnership, compassion, and early intervention, the strategy sets out five key objectives: minimising the use of temporary accommodation; strengthening partnership working to tackle complex homelessness; increasing access to suitable, long-term housing; effectively ending rough sleeping; and embedding early intervention to prevent homelessness. Together, these priorities form a focused and forward-looking framework to ensure that support reaches people when they need it most and that everyone has the opportunity for a safe, stable, and secure home.