OxLEP revise their timetable for SEP Refresh in light of Brexit
The timetable for publishing the final SEP has been pushed back by several weeks in the light of Brexit, meaning SEP 2016 will now be signed and launched in October/November.
According to OxLEP this is to allow ‘more time to gather information and to gain an understanding’ from Government around plans for the European Structural Investment Fund allocation to Oxfordshire of 19.3 million Euros for the period 2014 to 2020.
These funds are directed towards supporting businesses and for skills and social inclusion activities and thus are an important element of OxLEP’s work in supporting the local economy.
See the revised SEP Timetable.
Find out what your District Council thinks of the SEP Refresh
Need not Greed Oxfordshire has been busy tracking down the District and County Council responses to the public consultation on the SEP Refresh.
These responses were summarised in OxLEP’s ‘Report on Responses‘ to the consultation, but the full responses are not publicly available on the OxLEP website. Read more …
900 homes proposed for Green Belt land north of Abingdon – have your say
Commercial Estates Group (CEG) are proposing to build around 900 homes, along with associated community amenities and public open space on Green Belt land to the north of Abingdon. The site is allocated for new homes in the Vale of White Horse Local Plan 2013 Part 1, which the Inspector has approved on the grounds that the Vale needs to meets its Objectively Assessed Housing Need, as spelt out in the Oxfordshire SHMA.
Members of the Need not Greed Oxon coalition fought hard against the inclusion of this allocated development site in the Vale Local Plan. We believe it is inappropriate development for the Oxford Green Belt and that the housing targets contained in the SHMA are overflated.
A public consultation is now open for members of the public to have their say on the draft development proposals.
There is no deadline for responses to the draft proposals, but after considering all responses CEG intends to produce a report. It will then refine its plans for a futher round of public consultation in the autumn. So it seems wise to respond as soon as possible!
What will Brexit mean for the economic growth strategy in Oxfordshire?
Need not Greed Oxfordshire has written an open letter to all District Council Leaders to ask what plans are in place to reconsider the OxLEP SEP growth targets for the county in the light of Brexit and what implications these are expected to have for housing numbers.