Oxford measures to make more room
Filed Under Country Curtain | Posted on April 7, 2008
Theres just not enough space to go around if Oxford is to meet the demand of a growing housing need, so there are some tough decisions to be made
Oxford is running out of space and unlike many other citys it faces a lack of brownfield land that can be used to create the many more new homes it needs to accommodate a growing population.
So, the mandarins at the city council, tasked with making the tough decisions, inevitably find their eyes glancing sidelong at the wide-open spaces beyond the city limits.
Its a tough call, because its a controversial call; there are those who will brook no urban incursion into the verdant splendour of the blessed green belts of England. Oxford, therefore, finds itself hedging close to the thorny divide separating urban extension and the preservation of the countryside.
There might not be blood, but maybe some harsh words from the rural quarter, if things move ahead and Oxford finds scope to relieve some of its housing pressures in new avenues beyond its borders.
There is a body of opinion that says this is green and leafy Oxfordshire and you shouldnt build on it at all - thats certainly something we come up against in the city quite a lot, said the councils Graham Stratford. But, theres also a lot of people in the city who realise that with the level of housing need we face - something has to give.
No matter the give and take that arises from the issue, it isnt something that Oxford will face alone; any newbuild developments beyond its borders will come under the auspices of neighbouring local authorities, so it will inevitably require negotiating a partnership approach.
On the one hand, it complicates matters, but on the other it does mean that city council doesnt face the problem alone. And indeed, measures and proposals are being explored, even as the city takes a deep look at itself to identify what can be done within its own borders.
Our planners are working on their core strategy document to identify sites for development within the city, but we are aware that there is not enough land within the city to meet the massive housing need that Oxford has, Stratford said.
We are waiting with bated breath for the Governments response to the Examination in Public (EiP) of the South East Plan. The EiP did say that we should work with South Oxfordshire [council] to review green belt - particularly one green belt site south of the city - for a potential urban extension.
This could see initially 4,000 homes, possibly more in the future, so were keen to see the Governments response, because it does seem to us that the citys housing problems arent going to be solved within the city limits.
Meanwhile, the council has been pushing forward in other avenues, having recently launched a choice-based lettings scheme. This has been under development for some two years, while it was meticulously planned to ensure it worked in practice.
Later this year, it is planned to extend choice-based lettings on a sub-regional spread, working in partnership with three of the four district councils. The council has also made significant gains in the field of homelessness.
Our big success story is Housing Options, Stratford said. When I first went into homelessness about five years ago now, we had 1,300 households in temporary accommodation. Weve now got just over 500 - well on track to meet the DCLGs target for temporary accommodation. In fact, well meet that this summer I hope.
So, clear gains. Thats been recognised with Oxfords elevation to the status of the South Easts Regional Homelessness Champion, an honour it shares with Reigate. The honorific comes from hard work of course, but also some strong strategic initiatives.
For instance, it maintains a joint housing team with the county council and the districts to focus on tackling youth homelessness. It has also worked well with other agencies to prevent homelessness, and one effect of that is that it no longer uses B%26amp;B accommodation to house homeless households.
The city, partly the result of being home to one of the countrys prestigious universities, has a large private rented sector - with around 24 per cent of the housing stock being of this tenure.
This has led to the councils Home Choice team becoming a major weapon in its arsenal against homelessness.
It means there is a lot of property out there and were able to assist people into it because there simply isnt enough social housing, Stratford added.
Weve got over 600 households currently being supported in private sector accommodation by rent deposit and a little bit of support work to help them.
Historically, [the private rented sector] served the student market, but thats gone a bit softer because the colleges and the university are building more halls of residence and student flats, and buying up places, Stratford said. They have financial muscle in the market, so thats made the rented sector a bit softer, which has helped us to some extent to get people into the private sector.
Success can breed its own problems, of course, notably by increasing demand. This has certainly proved the case in dealing with rough sleepers. Historically, the city has been something of a magnet for rough sleepers. The irony is that as the council has upped its capabilities to handle the problems, so the good repute has boosted the magnetic qualities. So it goes, but the council isnt perturbed - it simply gets on
with the task in hand.
Oxford has a name for having good service provision, Stratford added. We have all the mental health services in the county, we have the only direct access homeless hostels in the county. Weve got a street surgery where people can just go in and get treatment and prescriptions, without being known to them. Weve put an awful lot of effort into reducing the number of rough sleepers, building up our hostel provision, but the flipside of this is that where you get good service you also tend to generate some interest!
So, its just as well that Oxford is keeping itself ahead of the game. To help keep it there, it has benefited from %26pound;640,000 of DCLG funding a year for the next three years to help tackle the problem of single person homelessness.
It also maintains a robust %26lsquo;reconnections service. Essentially, this scheme helps a homeless person to return home - but not in the sense of %26lsquo;sending %26lsquo;em packing. Nobody is sent home if they dont want to go there - but Oxford has even %26lsquo;reconnected a person all the way back to Poland.
Weve reconnected to Warsaw because we are seeing a growing number of EU nationals in the city, Stratford added. Obviously, there are those who are doing well, working as plumbers and teachers and nurses, but there is always some fall out.
You will end up with some people who cannot cope and dont find it easy. They can end up stuck, they can end up on the streets with no money.
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