Green belt homes would ease congestion, says council

Oxford City Council wants to create a Greater Oxford local authority

Building more homes on green belt land on the edge of Oxford would help fix congestion issues in the area, the city's council has said.

Under plans to reorganise local government, Oxford City Council wants to expand its borders to incorporate nearby villages including Kidlington, Cumnor and Wheatley.

It says the scheme would allow 40,000 homes to be built on "poor quality" green belt land, which would "alleviate the housing crisis and ease traffic congestion from commuters".

But Oxfordshire County Council, which is proposing one unitary authority for the county, say the city's proposal would "make transport worse, not better".

Under its plans, Oxford City Council would be one of three local authorities in Oxfordshire - including an expanded "Greater Oxford".

'Remain untouched'

The council's deputy leader, Anna Railton, said the plans would allow the council to build homes in walking and cycling distance from jobs in the city which would mean "thousands fewer cars on the A34, A40 and A44".

Susan Brown, Oxford City Council's leader said there was space for "up to three million new homes" on the city's green belt.

"Even building 40,000 new homes, the overwhelming majority of the green belt would remain untouched," she said.

She added that "bringing the management of Oxford's transport system back under the control of local residents" would lead to "better accountability".

But the county council's transport chief, councillor Andrew Gant, said of the city council's proposal: "Placing a boundary between competing transport authorities all around Oxford in every direction will make transport worse, not better."

"And a large part of the reason why congestion is still a problem in our county is the city council's repeated and historic refusal to prioritise sufficient housing on its own key strategic sites."

"That leads directly to development further out, and increased pressure on commuter routes."

Leader of Oxfordshire County Council, Liz Leffman, added that having one council for the county would "create stronger, simpler services that are closer to communities, cost effective and connected".

Oxfordshire's councils are currently drafting their final proposals for local government reorganisation, which will be submitted to government in November.

The Government is expected to make the final decision on how new councils will look in 2026, and they are expected to be created in 2028.