Local Plan 2043 - preparation of a new plan
To make sure that our planning policies and proposals are up to date and effectively tackle vital issues such as climate change, health and wellbeing, housing and the economy, we are preparing a new Local Plan which is now intended to cover the period up to 2043.
Local Plan Preferred Policy Options Consultation
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Local Plan Preferred Spatial Options Consultation
The preferred spatial options consultation will take place from 3 November – 22 December 2025.
The consultation will consider four main issues – extending the plan period to 2043, a revised settlement hierarchy, a revised spatial strategy and potential locations for future housing and employment development.
Details of how to respond will be published here shortly.
Progress to date
So far, we have carried out three key phases of public consultation as detailed below;
Initial scoping consultation (August – October 2022)
The first step was an initial ‘scoping’ consultation which we ran from 24 August – 5 October 2022 to seek early views on what main topics the new Local Plan should cover.
A copy of the consultation document is available to download below.
Your Voice Counts Consultation Document August 2022 - pdf - 2.52 Mb
The consultation was very successful with over 5,000 visitors to our website, 441 respondents and 1,143 contributions being made.
The report below provides a summary overview of the responses received and the main issues raised by respondents.
Focused consultation on ideas and objectives (August – October 2023)
Building on the feedback received to our initial consultation last year, we ran an 8-week focused consultation from 30 August – 25 October 2023 based around 3 particular elements:
Draft local plan objectives – a series of draft objectives which are intended to guide the future evolution of the plan in terms of its overall approach and anticipated policy content;
The future pattern of development in West Oxfordshire – different scenarios for how and where we might look to focus future growth in the period up to 2041;
Call for sites, ideas and opportunities – an open invitation for stakeholders to put forward their thoughts on how land in the district might be used in the future such as new housing, employment, infrastructure, community use, green space, nature recovery and renewable energy.
For ease of reference, a copy of the focused consultation document is available to download in PDF format below.
We received a good level of response to the consultation with around 2,000 comments from 450 individuals and organisations.
The report below provides a summary overview of the responses received and the main issues raised by respondents.
Preferred Policy Options Consultation (June – August 2025)
Most recently, we consulted on a series of draft policy options over a 6-week period from 26th June – 8th August 2025. The consultation sought views on the overall structure and content of the emerging local plan, the proposed vision and objectives and a series of preferred policy options.
A copy of the consultation paper is available to download in PDF format below.
In response, the consultation generated a total of almost 1,500 responses from around 400 individuals and organisations.
The report below provides a summary overview of the responses received and the main issues raised in response to each aspect of the consultation paper. It should be noted that under each section, the report highlights the key matters arising in bold text. These are the issues that were most frequently raised by respondents but all issues will be carefully taken into account as the Council looks to prepare its draft Regulation 19 version of the Local Plan in spring 2026.
Supporting evidence
To help shape the new Local Plan we will draw on existing evidence and commission new studies as appropriate. The list of documents below will be added to as new evidence becomes available.
Housing and Economic Land Availability Assessment (HELAA) – In Progress
Viability Assessment – In Progress
Settlement Sustainability Report – In Progress
Carterton Strategic Study – In Progress
What happens next?
The Preferred Spatial Options consultation will run for a period of 7 weeks from 3 November to 22 December 2025.
Following consultation, responses will be processed and analysed and the Council will look to move towards the publication of the final Regulation 19 draft version of the Local Plan in spring 2026.