Plans for 1,200 homes round Oxford are approved

Plans to build hundreds of affordable homes, a shopping centre and a primary school have been approved by Oxford City Council.

The new development will see the creation of 1,200 homes on a site between Barton and Northway with at least 40% set to be affordable housing.

The plans will now go out for a further six-week public consultation and then to the Secretary of State.

As well as housing, traffic management measures will be put in place.

Nature reserve

The A40 ring-road could have traffic speeds reduced to a maximum of 40mph between the western approach to the new roundabout and the Headington roundabout.

Leader of Oxford City Council, Bob Price, said: "One of the key aspects of this is to try to minimise the impact of any additional traffic on neighbouring communities, so the links that will be created across the A40 will be two pedestrian and cycle links only and the third link will be a bus gate."

Sue Holden, secretary of Barton Community Association, said she was in favour of the extra homes because of the housing shortage in Oxford.

But she voiced concerns about the impact on the nature area reserve in Barton.

"The main bone of contention is the fact they've now declared that the nature reserve will be built on, and that was the one thing they wanted to preserve and not become part of the development," she said.