The new housing company set up by Oxford City Council will help it treble its direct contribution to new build over the next few years.
The council-owned Oxford Housing Company Limited (OHCL) will deliver 530 affordable homes by 2023, with the council's spending on affordable homes set to rise to £64m in the same period.
The council's new Local Plan will also allow major employers in Oxford to have staff housing schemes on land they own with a significantly reduced, or zero element of social rent housing required.
Mike Rowley, the council's board member for housing, said: 'An average house price of £450,000 is simply out of reach for purchase by people typically earning £30-40,000 a year. The plans we are unveiling today will help to address that. However, radical changes in land acquisition policies are essential along with the removal of the borrowing cap on local authorities.
'Our city – our universities, hospitals, shops and manufacturers all have workers who need to be able to afford to settle down in the area. We’re doing what we can, and this is helped where our major institutions and biggest employers who also own housing land join us in finding shared solutions, including for their own staff.'
