Local Plan consultations
During August and September 2021 several major public consultations are taking place in Oxfordshire on the way that the city and county should develop over the next 20 or 30 years. Residents are encouraged to respond online to council plans for housing, road building, environmental schemes, combatting the effects of climate change, etc.
In all cases, Oxfordshire Green Party, together with other environmental groups, considers that although the plans pay lip service to some excellent aims, these aims cannot be fulfilled because of the prime importance accorded to economic growth rather than to the wellbeing of people and planet. Despite the good intentions, the plans are not sufficient to bring about the changes that Oxfordshire - as everywhere else - badly needs.
The OGP Policy Group will be submitting responses to the consultations on behalf of the local party. But OGP is also encouraging members to send individual responses. The consultations are easy to respond to online, and you only need to answer the questions that interest you. To help, we are making the OGP responses available as we work through them. To see them click on 'Read more' below.
Navigating Oxfordshire Open Thought
The Oxfordshire Plan 2050 is open for consultation until Friday 8 October 2021, via the Oxfordshire Open Thought web site. That web site is confusing, because it combines 3 consultations:
- Collecting ideas for the future (Open Thought)
- Agreeing formal policy directions on 5 topic areas (Oxfordshire 2050 plan)
- Deciding where to build houses and roads (OXIS)
Read more to find out how to navigate the website, then respond to the bits of the consultation that interest you.
Read moreReference documents for thinking about OGP policy
Here are some past manifestos and other documents:
OGP Oxfordshire County documents
and also mini manifesto 2017
OGP Policy Hub topic briefings (written 2020/21)
OGP response to Vision for Oxfordshire Plan 2050 (2019)
OGP Oxford City documents
Draft city manifesto 2020 v.2A (includes notes on Green successes in Oxford City Council)
Draft Manifesto for Oxford City Council 2021 (no Green successes but very much shorter)
Manifesto for Oxford City Council 2021 (bullet points with pictures)
OGP response to Connecting Oxford (travel proposals)
Existing suggested responses to these and earlier consultations:
Outline CPRE response to Oxfordshire Plan 2050 available at: http://www.cpreoxon.org.uk/news/item/2874-oxfordshire-plan-2050-why-care-about-the-future-of-our-county (see bottom of page)
Outline CPRE response to Oxford Plan 2040 at: http://www.cpreoxon.org.uk/news/item/2867-oxford-city-launches-local-plan-2040-consultation
Steve and Hazel Dawe (as Cowley Area Transport Group) have produced a huge number of consultation responses and letters to the paper etc, gathered together under various tab headings at www.catg.org.uk . Steve has picked out the following as particularly useful for us:
- Oxford City Plan consultation: our replies to Issues Paper questionnaire - under OTHER RELEVANT SUBMISSIONS
- Oxford City Plan consultation - part 2 of our response - Adaptation to Climate Change for Oxford, with special reference to transport/green spaces - under REPORTs
- Oxford City Plan 2036 version - submission shredding this previous version of the City Plan, also available - bottom of the page at OTHER RELEVANT SUBMISSIONS
- Oxfordshire 2050 - we wrote a submission to the earlier consultation on this topic. This can be found at the bottom of the page , under OUR CONSULTATION SUBMISSIONS.
Friends of the Earth guide for local councils seeking to tackle the climate and ecological emergencies: Climate Emergency SPD Oct 2020
National Green Party documents:
Green Party Political Programme
Green New Deal (manifesto 2019)
National background topic resources (2020/21)
How to add your ideas
What do you think should happen to make our vision for Oxfordshire come true by 2025? We need your ideas.
We are collecting your priorities on our Vision for Oxfordshire ideas site. Read more to find out how to use it.
If you would like to join our policy hub - to work on implementing local policies for Oxfordshire - please contact Kerstin Fischer-Johnston
Read moreAnnouncing the Policy Hub
As a follow-up to our Vision for Oxfordshire event, we have set up a policy hub, co-ordinated by Colin Aldridge.
Here you will find posts about what we are doing to work on policies that will implement our Vision for Oxfordshire in 2025, and how you can contribute.
The background topic notes that the hub has been working on have been moved to a blog page on the members' website for the duration of the elections period, where they appear with other information for candidates. See:
https://www.greenoxfordshire.com/background_topic_notes_for_candidates
Read more
