One of the big issues in Headington in 2011 was the City Council’s proposals to build over the car park in Headington. This was just one of scores of proposals for the future of sites all over Oxford driven by the need to identify places where much-needed housing can be built. The proposals formed the Sites and Housing – Preferred Options document which went through an extensive public consultation during the year. One welcome result was the abandonment of the Headington car park proposal.

The Sites and Housing Development Plan Document (DPD) was considered by Oxford City Council on 19 December 2011 after the results of the consultation exercise had been analysed. The amended DPD will be open for a six week public consultation early in 2012 before being submitted to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government. An enquiry under a Planning Inspector may follow.

A revised version incorporating any changes made at the Council meeting has not yet been published, so this post is based on the paper which was debated on 19 December. The document is not easy to navigate in digital form. The details about each site are in Section B2 of Appendix 3 of the paper: the SP number against each site is that site’s Site Allocation Policy number. These SPs set out the type of development it is proposed should be allowed on the site and any conditions that apply. The Barton West development is NOT included in this document.

I have extracted all the sites which lie within the OX3 postcode area and shown these on a Google map. I’ve given the benefit of the doubt to the BT site on Hollow Way which I think is partly in OX3. Clicking a marker on the map shows the Site Allocation Policy for the site. I have also given the paragraph numbers in the full document (eg B2.22-24) where each site is discussed, and the page number in the pdf document from the Council’s agenda papers (eg PDF pp 26/27). These page numbers are not the same as the numbers in the DPD itself. At the bottom of each box which appears when you click the marker is a link to a short pdf file which I have extracted from the full document and which contains the whole section dealing with the site. [NB: Some of these extracts cover more than one site, so scroll down if you don’t immediately see the one you’re looking for.]

I hope you find this form of presentation easy to follow, and I’d be happy to have your comments.

As well as development policies for specific sites the DPD also contains general policies on housing matters which could affect planning decisions and development in the City for many years – worth reading if you’re interested in these things.