The Oxford City Council has officially secured a £1 million grant from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) in order to support and to conduct long-term investment in inclusive, sustainable growth like housing and local infrastructure. More exactly, the received sum of the fund has the role to assess and evaluate the feasibility and the planning for new homes, roads and public spaces. The main focus of the project will be centred around the West End of Oxford area.
The UK government allocated this award after a group – the Oxford Growth Commission – studied Oxford closely and detailed in a report 47 suggestions on how the city should grow. The report prepared by the Oxford Growth Commission raised to attention the housing issue and the weak travel links, recommending as a strategy an inward development, rather than the spreading outward one. The recommendation presented by the report was to build closer to the uk/local/city-centre/">city centre and main transport routes – solving both housing and travel issues effectively – rather than a far out spread of buildings into the countryside.
The £1 million grant is supposed to be used as a pre-step to any beginning of construction. Susan Brown, the leader of Oxford City Council, remarked that the funding helps the council to gather the necessary information required for future succeeding projects. The viability of the proposal is undergoing through the studying and the planning of the presented problems. The fund will test the practicality of the ideas, will plan the infrastructure component – how to improve water pipes, electrical grids and train connections; public space area distribution – designing parks, streets and community spaces and affordable housing options.
However, the opinions on the steps to follow are rather divided. Nearby leaders (such as the South Oxfordshire District Council) believe that regional general, strategic development, with an accent on the already existing problems, should be more prioritised.
These already existing problems were synthesised in three issues:
- the water networks issue – the use of wastewater pipes to almost full capacity;
- the medical care issue – overly crowded local GP doctor surgeries;
- the traffic issue – the regular congestion of the roads.
The final report involving this growth initiative will be published by the end of this year by the Oxford Growth Commission and it will contain clear instructions for the central government on how to handle the development.
