OXFORD City Council is set to clash with its county counterpart over a U-turn on housing which had been earmarked for land south of Grenoble Road.
The city council has decided to object to Oxfordshire County Council's removal of 1,000 homes from its draft Structure Plan, earmarked for land opposite Oxford United's Kassam Stadium.
The public examination of the Structure Plan will begin in mid-October, when the city council is likely to make its views clear. City council planning officer Michael Crofton Briggs told a meeting of the executive board that there was a "clear mandate from members to argue the case for the development of the Grenoble Road site". He added: "The Grenoble Road development is still very much on the table."
Colin Cook, the Labour representative for Jericho and Osney, said: "The county council argues we should be building on brownfield sites before venturing into the Green Belt, but the stark truth is that brownfield sites do not exist in the city." He added: "The only way we can have a hope of meeting our housing targets and making provision for the future is by expanding into greenfield sites. We have to ensure that the Grenoble Road plan is restored and that can be achieved."
The original draft Structure Plan allowed for 36,500 new homes to be built in Oxfordshire by 2016. The city's contribution was to be 5,500. The 1,000 homes would come within the jurisdiction of South Oxford District Council and the Green Belt would have to be redrawn.
Following protests, the executive voted to abolish the Grenoble Road project and to redistribute the 1,000 houses among the Vale of White Horse, Witney and Bicester, plus 300 within the city.
County Council leader Keith Mitchell said: "Clearly the city council is representing the interests of the city and we are representing the views of the county - particularly people interested in the rural environment and protection of the Green Belt. The principle of the Green Belt and any attempt to breach it will now be decided by an inspector appointed by John Prescott. The city and county councils work together on many different things, but I am happy to have a difference on this one."
Labour councillor Maureen Christian, who represents Headington Hill and Northway wards, said: "The county council has succeeded in upsetting people in all the districts where it is hoping to redirect the housing."
Mr Briggs said the county council was proposing to increase the number of houses to be accommodated within the city by 1,000. He said some county councillors believed houses could be built on city car parks and vacant industrial lots.
The city council executive board is now calling on the county council to nominate land at the "outer boundary" that could be incorporated into the Green Belt and be "swapped" for the Grenoble Road site. Oxford City Council is already building homes for key workers on derelict garage sites. "These are eyesore sights which cause the council countless problems," said Val Smith, the council's executive board member for housing. The Grenoble Road site represents only 0.5 per cent of the Oxfordshire Green Belt.
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