Cherwell council's plan for 25,000 new homes considered

A plan that proposes almost 25,000 new homes for Oxfordshire could be approved by senior councillors next month.

Cherwell District Council's local plan has earmarked the potential building of 7,800 new homes in Bicester, 6,500 in Banbury and another 4,400 near Kidlington before 2042.

The latter plan was approved at the High Court after a legal battle in 2021 and will fulfil an unmet need for housing from Oxford.

The council's overview and scrutiny committee will consider the local plan at an extraordinary meeting on 12 November.

Its views will be passed on to the authority's executive, which will be asked to approve the plan on 2 December, ahead of a public consultation.

That would last for six weeks and would be extended for another fortnight because of the Christmas and New Year period.

Sites that could be used for housing include one south-east of Woodstock, which would be used for 450 homes.

Of the proposed 24,580 homes, about 4,500 have already been built, including about 1,600 in Banbury, 1,400 in Bicester and 170 in and around Kidlington.