New figures from Oxford City Council show affordable homes made up almost half of housing completions in Oxford last year.
The council has released its Authority Monitoring Report (AMR) for 2022/23, which assesses the implementation and effectiveness of planning policies in helping deliver its corporate objectives.
The AMR reflects the council’s commitment to creating a thriving city that is fairer for everyone by delivering affordable new homes. It gives a comprehensive overview of housing completions and permissions in Oxford.
Delivering new homes
In 2022/23, a net total of 554 homes were completed in Oxford.
Just under half of these – 273, or 49.3% - were affordable homes:
- 178 homes in Newman Place, Littlemore, with 107 homes for social rent and 71 shared ownership homes
- 40 homes in Barton Park, let at social rent by council housing company OX Place
- 38 homes at OX Place’s development on Between Towns Road, The Curve – 20 of these are shared ownership, with 16 council homes let at social rent
- 8 homes for social rent at Wolvercote Paper Mill
- 5 homes for social rent at St Paul’s House, Walton Street
- 4 homes for social rent in St Nicholas Place, Littlemore
Social rent is calculated with reference to the size and value of a home and average regional income. In Oxford, this is typically around 40% of the rent a private landlord would charge for the same home.
Market homes made up a quarter (25.6%) of the total, with 142 completions. An equivalent of 139 homes was completed in student and other communal accommodation.
This means 3,780 net new homes have been completed since the start of the current Local Plan period in 2016/17 - exceeding the plan’s target of 3,509 net new homes to date.
Completions only tell part of the story. Planning permission was also granted for 1,209 homes, including 383 affordable homes.
On sites with more than 10 homes, the Local Plan stipulates that 40% must be for social rent, with a further 10% for other types of affordable housing.
Most permissions were for small-scale developments of fewer than 10 homes that did not meet the council’s threshold for the provision of affordable housing.
Planning permission has been given for 4,442 new homes since the start of the current Local Plan period. Last year’s permissions for 1,209 homes continues a welcome upward trend in permissions since 2021/22, helping to ensure a steady supply of homes for the future.
The AMR shows there are enough specific deliverable sites in Oxford to provide a minimum of five years’ worth of housing, in line with national planning policy requirements.
The AMR also helps the council track progress towards building vibrant communities and a local economy that works for everyone by providing detailed data and analysis on key housing and employment indicators.
Infrastructure
A parallel Infrastructure Funding Statement details how developer contributions from the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) and Section 106 (s106) agreements have been used to deliver infrastructure projects.
The CIL is a fee charged per square metre. The council collected £2.2 million in CIL and sent out demand notices for a further £2.7 million during the year.
More than £2.2 million was spent on a range of infrastructure projects. These included Bullingdon and East Oxford community centres, Blackbird Leys redevelopment, citywide cycling improvements and extending Seacourt Park and Ride, as well as payments to parish councils and neighbourhood forums.
The council received £360,589 from s106 agreements and entered into a further £878,560 in agreements during the year. A total of £20,073 was spent on recreational green spaces and contributing towards affordable housing.
Comment
“One of our key priorities is to provide more affordable homes and this report shows just under half of the houses built in Oxford last year were affordable.
“That includes 180 homes for social rent, which means 180 people and families on the council’s waiting list will get brand new, decent and genuinely affordable homes.
“Developer contributions helped us deliver more than £2.2 million in infrastructure projects. We want to ensure that everyone benefits from developments in Oxford. Using money levied on new buildings allows us to improve our community centres and green spaces, enhance cycle routes and build council homes, as well as allowing parish councils and neighbourhood forums to spend on local projects.
“This is how we can build a more inclusive and sustainable city for everyone.”
Councillor Louise Upton, Cabinet Member for Planning and Healthier Communities
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