Oxford City Council outlines vision to end rough sleeping

Oxford City Council says its vision is to help end rough sleeping on its streets

A public consultation will take place on a city authority's five-year plan to tackle its "housing and homelessness crisis".

Oxford City Council said its vision was to "rapidly rehouse those who become homeless" and end rough sleeping.

Linda Smith, cabinet member for housing, said the "rapidly rising cost of living" meant "joined up answers" were needed to tackle the crisis.

The consultation is expected to open on 26 October.

The council said a review of housing and homelessness last year highlighted areas it wanted to prioritise.

These included building more affordable and low carbon homes as part of the "biggest council house building programme since the 1970s".

'Net zero'

OX Place, its housing company, is aiming for more than 2,000 new homes for rent and sale in the next 10 years, including more than 1,100 council homes "let at genuinely affordable social rent".

The council said it was also investing £51m on maintenance, refurbishments, and improvements in the next four years.

But the council, which launched a £3.8m "housing-led" service tackling homelessness in April, said adopting a rapid rehousing response would be at the heart of its services.

"Early, joined-up intervention will sustain tenancies and prevent people from becoming homeless," a spokesperson said.

"Where this is unavoidable, people will be helped into a stable, suitable home as quickly as possible."

Ms Smith said: "We're building a new generation of low carbon council homes that will help us meet our target of net zero carbon by 2040, improving conditions for renters in all tenures, and doing more than ever before to prevent and reduce homelessness and rough sleeping."

She added: "People can be cynical about the value of council consultations but your view really does matter - please have your say."