Oxford City Council's Head of Planning to join Future Cities Forum this September

Image: View looking west over housing and business parks in east Oxford and Headington fringes - courtesy Advanced Research Clusters

Future Cities Forum is delighted that David Butler, Head of Planning at Oxford City Council, will be speaking at our 'Science Cities' forum at the Cohen Quad, Exeter College, Oxford, this September.

Oxford City Council has announced that the seven councils in the region will be re-organised into three unitary councils by 2028, with each council responsible for all local council services in its area, including housing, planning, waste collection, roads and social care.

David is being invited to describe the opportunities and benefits that this will bring. The Council has stated:

'The new structure is intended to simplify local government and save money, while keeping decision-making local and supporting the delivery of new homes.

'The government asked councils across England to put forward proposals to simplify local government in their areas.

Oxfordshire’s councils submitted three proposals in November 2025, setting out options for one, two or three unitary councils.

'Oxford City Council led the development of the three-council proposal. In February and March, the government ran a public consultation on the proposals, inviting views from residents, businesses and local stakeholders.

'We expect the consultation results to be published in the coming days.

'All three options would have simplified local government for residents and saved money by reducing the number of councils across the region.

'The three-council proposal was the only one that recognised that Oxford city and rural Oxfordshire are different, with different demographics, economies and challenges.

'The proposal will create separate councils for urban Oxford and rural Oxfordshire, meaning services can be tailored to meet the specific needs of local residents and businesses.

'The three-council proposal is also the only one that aims to tackle Oxfordshire’s housing crisis.

'It aims to do this by using 2.6% of Oxford’s 35,000-hectare Green Belt to build 40,000 new homes – including 16,000 social and affordable homes – close to the city by 2040.

'By concentrating homes and new jobs close to Oxford, rather than across the county, it would also protect rural Oxfordshire from overdevelopment and sprawling towns and villages.'

The Council has also announced that work has started on the £5 million development of new homes at Northway in Headington, which is being delivered by the council’s Housing Revenue Account (HRA) with the council's wholly owned housing company, OX Place, working as development managers alongside LIFE Build Solutions. 

Oxford City Council says:

'The block, in Westlands Drive, will be made up of a mixture of one-to-four-bedroom homes. Eleven of the new homes will be council homes, with six let at social rent and five let at affordable rent. In Oxford, social rent is typically 40% of what a private landlord would charge for the same home, while affordable rent is 60-65% of what a private tenant would pay.   

'The remaining four homes will be sold for shared ownership. Shared ownership is a more flexible way of helping people onto the property ladder in Oxford. Shared ownership allows people to buy a share of their home – between 10% and 75% initially – while paying rent on the rest.   

'The scheme will be heated by electric air source heat pumps and use a fabric-first approach to minimise energy consumption and cut down energy bills for residents.  Westlands Drive will be a low-car development, with two wheelchair-accessible parking spaces and a third space for visiting carers, and storage for bikes. One property will also be fully accessible for people using wheelchairs 

'The green space of the development will be complemented by newly planted trees, curved benches and bird and bat roosting sites. 

'The Westlands scheme forms part of Oxford City Council's wider programme to tackle the city's housing crisis by increasing the supply of high-quality, sustainable homes. Since OX Place was established in 2016, it has delivered new homes across Oxford, with more than 150 homes expected to be completed during 2026. New residents are expected to be welcomed to the block in 2027.'