The councils’ response to the Planning Inspectors’ findings on the Joint Local Plan
Published Wednesday 1 October 2025
A statement on behalf of South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse District Councils.
Over the past four years, South and Vale have worked incredibly hard together to create an innovative, forward-looking and positive plan for housing and development in our areas that seeks to raise standards, actively address the need for genuinely affordable social housing and sustainable infrastructure, and to tackle the climate emergency and restore nature.
We’ve done this through widespread and extensive consultation and engagement with the thousands of stakeholders who have willingly and constructively engaged in the process, including members of the public, community representatives, partner organisations, neighbouring councils, the development industry and other businesses in the area.
We are therefore disheartened and very disappointed that the Planning Inspectors have recommended that we withdraw the plan from the examination process over a single issue – namely the “duty to co-operate”, specifically with Oxford City Council. The city council itself was forced to withdraw its own local plan from examination earlier this year on several issues regarding the duty to co-operate.
It’s no secret that there’s disagreement within Oxfordshire on how many homes the rural districts should provide on Oxford’s behalf. Nevertheless, all councils in Oxfordshire are working towards what they believe to be in the best interests of their residents and their area.
Cllr Bethia Thomas, Leader of the Vale of White Horse District Council, said: “We take our responsibilities towards the duty to co-operate very seriously, and our Joint Local Plan sets out how both districts would together provide around 7,000 homes for Oxford for this very reason. It would be very difficult to conclude that the rural districts in Oxfordshire weren’t doing enough to support Oxford’s housing need. We are doing so now and have been for decades.
“During our extensive public consultation and engagement, we received widespread community support for our plan to tackle the need for genuinely affordable homes in our area in a sustainable and forward-thinking way. Given the recent high levels of housebuilding in the area, this was our chance to address the need for the infrastructure that our residents are calling out for.”
South and Vale used the government’s standard method calculating housing need for the Joint Local Plan. Our decision to do so was in line with the firm advice from the Planning Inspector of Oxford City Council’s plan who set out that the city hadn’t provided sufficient justification to use a different method.
Cllr David Rouane, Leader of South Oxfordshire District Council, said: “We are disappointed but not surprised given recent rulings from Planning Inspectors nationally – an increasing number of emerging local plans around the country are being recommended for withdrawal for this issue in particular; Horsham and Mid Sussex spring to mind as recent examples.
“We developed a constructive and collaborative plan and engaged with the city through a variety of methods, even when there was clear disagreement over both the need and the approach. It is not clear what more we could have done on this front.
“Our approach to measuring housing need was in line with the Inspectors of Oxford’s plan last year. Since our examination hearings in June, Oxford’s latest local plan consultation shows that using the government’s standard method there would be no more homes for us to find for Oxford.
“There are aspects of the Inspectors’ letter that we’re keen to review, but our most important role is to ensure where we can that we represent our communities and their needs.”
The councils are in discussions about the next steps and will provide a further update in due course.
The Inspectors’ letter is available on the councils’ website.
