§ Mr. WoodwardTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what estimate he has made of growth in housing in West Oxfordshire over the next 20 years. [121816]
§ Ms Beverley HughesThe level of house building in Oxfordshire is set through Regional Planning Guidance for the South-East (RPG9). The next round of this guidance is currently being prepared by my Department, taking into account the first draft prepared by the local authorities in the region, and also responses made to this draft. We have now published the latest set of proposed changes and are currently inviting comments.
88WDraft RPG9 allocates an annual average of 43,000 new dwellings per year in the South-East. Local authorities in the region have been asked to consider how this figure can best be divided between the counties, working from an illustrative distribution included with the draft. This suggests that 2,680 new dwellings could be built per year in Oxfordshire.
Following final publication of RPG9 later this year it will be the responsibility of Oxfordshire County Council and the district councils in the area to decide on the allocation of the Oxfordshire housing figure between the districts, including West Oxfordshire. This figure will be then adopted in the next Oxfordshire County Structure Plan.
Until this time the building rates set out in the current Oxfordshire Structure Plan will apply. This allocates 6,750 new dwellings to West Oxfordshire District between 1996 and 2011.