CPRE Oxfordshire Warns Against “Green Belt Land Grab”
17th March 2026
CPRE Oxfordshire has issued a clear warning over proposed changes to local government in the county, backing plans that support joined-up, strategic planning while firmly opposing what it describes as a “Green Belt land grab” that could put Oxfordshire’s countryside at risk.
In our response to the Local Government Reorganisation consultation, we have expressed support for whichever of the proposed options (either the single-county unitary or the two-unitary option) that best balances strategic planning needs with strong protection for our rural areas. Both the One Oxfordshire (single unitary) and the Two Unitary options offer the opportunity to plan housing, transport and infrastructure in a coherent, county-wide way. We believe that either of these alternatives would spread development more evenly across the county, align growth with transport, infrastructure and service planning, and reduce pressure on the Green Belt and rural areas.
In practical terms, this means new homes can be built where needed (for example, by making use of high-density brownfield sites) without sacrificing the integrity of our surrounding landscapes.
However, we strongly oppose the proposal put forward by Oxford City Council. This option would create a much smaller unitary authority, with a population of around 240,000 — far below the 500,000+ widely recognised as necessary to ensure economic resilience and value for money. It is also the most expensive option, with higher setup and ongoing costs driven by its limited scale.
We are deeply concerned that this model would fragment services unnecessarily, splitting them across three authorities and effectively tripling overheads. It would also abandon existing district boundaries, carving up surrounding areas and extending the city’s reach across much of the Oxford Green Belt and neighbouring rural land.
In our view, this amounts to a Green Belt land grab. It would hand long-term planning control of protected countryside to a single, urban-focused authority. We have been clear throughout: reorganisation must not become a pretext for weakening the safeguards that protect our countryside.
The Green Belt in Oxfordshire plays a vital role. It protects the historic setting of Oxford, preserves farmland and wildlife habitats, and provides essential environmental benefits — from biodiversity and flood mitigation to carbon storage and access to nature. Undermining these protections in pursuit of development targets would be a serious and lasting mistake.
We are therefore calling on Government to ensure that any reorganisation is grounded in environmental sustainability, democratic accountability, and respect for long-term protections. This means keeping the Green Belt and other designated landscapes intact.
We also believe that any new governance structure must include a clear duty to protect the rural environment — including landscapes, biodiversity, green spaces and heritage — and that development on the best-quality land should only ever be considered as a last resort. Crucially, local people must have a stronger, not weaker, voice in decisions that shape their communities.
Oxfordshire’s countryside is one of its greatest assets. We will continue to speak up to ensure it is protected for future generations.