A Neighbourhood Plan for Littlemore
We hope that as many people as possible who live, study or work in Littlemore will assist in creating and implementing a Neighbourhood Plan for Littlemore. It is a good way for everyone in Littlemore, whatever their views, to come together to try and make Littlemore an even better place to live.
What is a Neighbourhood Plan?
A Neighbourhood Plan is a statutory planning document which links with the Oxford City Local Plan but provides more of a local flavour. The aim is to ensure that future development is in line with what local people want and think is appropriate for Littlemore Parish. Neighbourhood Plans contain two sorts of policy – strategic ones which directly affect planning applications and community ones which are more general to highlight possible improvements. The Plan has to be approved at a referendum of residents, which should be in late January 2026. So it does not deal with immediate issues but should be of benefit to Littlemore in the long-term.
How the Neighbourhood Plan has been prepared
The process has been lengthy and complex but we have tried to keep people updated regularly through the Littlemore Local and the Parish Council website. We asked those who live, study or work in Littlemore to complete an Issues and Options survey in Summer 2023 and were pleased to receive 515 responses – thank you. During Autumn 2023 five policy groups drew up draft policies based on an analysis of these, statistics on Littlemore and discussions about the identity and character of Littlemore and how this may be affected over the next 15 years. In January 2024, the draft Plan was then written and in February 2024 the Parish Council approved it for public consultation. Oxford City Council completed a screening statement to assess the need for a Strategic Environmental Assessment and/or a Habitats Regulations Assessment. They indicated that this is not necessary. The pre-submission public consultation opened on May 7th and ran until 18th June 2024. The responses (most of which were very positive) were analysed and some relatively small changes made in the light of these.
The revised Plan was approved by the Parish Council on 10th September 2024 and formally submitted to Oxford City Council along with the required supporting documentation. The City Council checked that the draft Plan meets the necessary legal requirements and arranged the next consultation which ran from 28th October to 9th December 2024. After this, the Working Group considered the responses and recommended some relatively small amendments which were accepted by the Parish Council at their January meeting. These and the necessary accompanying documents were submitted to Oxford City Council at the end of January 2025. These were approved by the City Council Cabinet at their meeting in April 2025. The Neighbourhood Plan was then formally examined by an Independent Examiner who decided that with some modifications it meets the ‘basic conditions’ and should proceed to referendum. The Plan was then modified and submitted to the City Council (who are responsible for organizing the referendum) who agreed the revised draft plan and have indicated that the referendum is expected to take place in late January 2026, but the exact date has not yet been set.
All the relevant documents can be found on Littlemore Neighbourhood Plan | Oxford City Council
What happens next?
We very much hope that residents of Littlemore Parish will vote YES in the referendum. There will be publicity including a leaflet and at least one public meeting to explain what is in the Neighbourhood Plan and answer questions once the date has been announced. In the meantime, please contact Tony Eaude on [email protected] if you have any queries, and copy to the Clerk at [email protected]
November 2025