Two Oxfordshire councils have been told to withdraw their joint local plan due to concerns there was not enough cooperation with Oxford City Council.
South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse District Councils said they were ‘disheartened’ by the Planning Inspectorate’s decision to recommend they withdraw the plan from the examination process over the ‘duty to co-operate’ with Oxford City Council.
The letter from the inspectorate acknowledged there were some early attempts at engagement but added the councils should have engaged ‘on an on-going basis on the issues.’
Cllr Bethia Thomas, leader of the Vale of White Horse District Council, said the plan provides 7,000 homes for Oxford, adding: ‘It would be very difficult to conclude that the rural districts in Oxfordshire weren’t doing enough to support Oxford’s housing need.’
Cllr David Rouane, leader of South Oxfordshire District Council, added: ‘We developed a constructive and collaborative plan and engaged with the city through a variety of methods, even when there was clear disagreement over both the need and the approach. It is not clear what more we could have done on this front.’
