Cherwell Council offers to move people out of Oxfordshire

Thousands of homes will be built in Banbury over the coming years

A council has offered to help residents move out of Oxfordshire because of a lack of social or affordable housing.

Cherwell District Council said it has "offered to support" households to "consider moving" to Birmingham, Brackley and Aylesbury.

But the local authority warned there were "some very concerning cases" where people could still be made homeless.

About 10,000 new homes are set to be built across Cherwell by 2031.

It says in its Local Plan that about 7,000 of those will be built in Banbury, of which a "substantial" number will be affordable.

'Intensive work'

A council report said its housing team has been "looking at areas outside Cherwell where available accommodation is affordable".

That has been triggered by "long-waiting times for social housing...[and] unaffordability of any private rented accommodation" in the district, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

The authority said there were 28 homeless households in temporary accommodation in May, within its target.

But a report said there were "some very concerning cases where it is appears homelessness is not going to be avoided".

"Families with particular needs are likely to present over the next few months requiring intensive work to find a long-term housing solution.

"The trend is still likely to be an increase in the need for temporary accommodation into the summer months," the report said.

Richard Mould, Cherwell's portfolio holder for corporate services, said: "There has been a campaign to ensure clients, and those supporting them, are given up-to-date and realistic information on the housing challenges in Cherwell so they can fully explore all options prior to imposing statutory homeless duties."