West Oxfordshire launch their Spatial Strategy consultation
4th November 2025
West Oxfordshire District Council has launched a 7-week Reg 18 “Spatial Option” public consultation as part of the development of their Local Plan 2043. The consultation runs from 2nd November to 22nd December and can be found here.
They are holding a number of face-to-face consultation events and we encourage our members to go along to these to find out more.
- Tuesday 11 November – Chipping Norton (Glyme Hall) 4-7pm
- Thursday 13 November – Tackley (Village Memorial Hall) 6-9pm
- Tuesday 18 November – Witney (Corn Exchange) 5-8pm
- Thursday 20 November – Long Hanborough (Recreation Hall) 4-7pm
- Tuesday 25 November – Brize Norton (Elderbank Hall extension) 4-7pm
- Wednesday 26 November – Bampton (Village Hall) 4-7pm
- Tuesday 2 December – Milton Under Wychwood (Village Hall) 4.30-7.30pm
- Tuesday 9 December – Standlake (Village Hall) 4-7pm
Feedback is being sought in four key areas:
1. Extending the Plan period: Whether to move the end date from 2041 to 2043 to ensure a 15-year period post-adoption in line with national policy. This would increase the housing requirement to around 16,290 homes, with an overall supply target of approximately 18,000 to provide flexibility.
In principle we will be supporting this.
2. Revised settlement hierarchy: Following feedback from earlier consultations, which we contributed significantly to, they propose a clearer grouping of towns and villages that better reflects their size, character and capacity to accommodate growth. They seek views on how much growth should be planned for at each level of the hierarchy.
We envisage commenting on this section significantly. For example, it is vital that “small villages” are correctly classified as this will give them future protection from inappropriate development.
3. Previously allocated sites: How to refresh and update existing allocations that have yet to be delivered — including Salt Cross Garden Village, West Eynsham, and sites at Witney, Carterton and Chipping Norton — to reflect current circumstances since the last Local Plan was adopted in 2018.
4. New potential development areas: Initial options for future housing and employment growth, focusing on larger strategic-scale locations at Carterton and Witney, alongside smaller opportunities at places like Long Hanborough, Bampton, Standlake, Burford, Charlbury and Tackley. This forms part of a wider spatial strategy to ensure sustainable, well-planned growth supported by the right infrastructure from the outset.
We will be reviewing and commenting as appropriate on points 3 and 4.
You can participate in the Local Plan consultation survey via the survey here or email comments to planning.consultation@westoxon.gov.uk
CPRE Oxfordshire will be responding to this consultation on matters which are important to us and if would like to assist or have any feedback to aid our response do get in touch with our Planning Coordinator, Lynda Moore lyndam@cpreoxon.org.uk.