Nearly £1 million in additional funding will support key housing, growth, and regeneration projects in Cherwell.
On Tuesday, October 7, Cherwell District Council's executive committee approved using £600,000 from council reserves for growth and regeneration projects.
An additional £300,000 grant from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government was welcomed to speed up infrastructure and housing delivery under the Bicester Garden Town Programme.
The funds will be used for various activities, including accelerating the delivery of 8,000 homes in the district that have planning permission but have not been built.
It will also aid the council's regeneration plans in the district's urban centres.
Councillor Lesley McLean, deputy leader of the council and portfolio holder for finance, property, and regeneration, said: "Cherwell District Council currently has approximately 8,000 homes with planning permission agreed awaiting developer delivery.
Lesley McLean, deputy leader of Cherwell District Council(Image: Cherwell District Council)
"This funding provides extra capacity to help get construction underway and to overcome some of the complex barriers that are currently preventing developers from getting shovels in the ground and bringing forward much-needed new homes, along with the infrastructure required to make the new developments work."
To address delays with the delivery of new homes, the council approved a Housing Delivery Action Plan in February.
The announcement of new funding is designed to support this plan and ultimately to speed up construction at key sites with existing planning permissions.
Officers will take on an enabling role with developers to tackle some of the infrastructure challenges in the district hindering the construction of the new homes.
The delivery of infrastructure projects required under existing Section 106 legal agreements with developers will be a key focus.
The new funding will also aid the council's growth and regeneration service, which will see officers support the district's multi-stakeholder area oversight groups and work to unlock provision for the district's future energy needs.
Banbury, Bicester, and the four parishes of Gosford and Water Eaton, Kidlington, Yarnton, and Begbroke all have area oversight groups.
They exist to provide a coordinated approach to new development and to empower communities.
The groups are working to identify where infrastructure or regeneration is needed, and they include chairs of parish and town councils, district councillors, business leaders, community groups, Oxfordshire County Council, and government agencies such as Network Rail and the Environment Agency.
Councillor McLean added: "The decision to allocate additional funding - and the positive news of our £0.3m grant from government - will also help us support our three area oversight groups, which exist to ensure that, as the district grows, key stakeholders and our communities are working together to support high-quality placemaking and regeneration."