This is the South Oxfordshire Local Plan 2011. It has been prepared in accordance with the statutory requirement on all district councils to produce, and to keep up to date, local plans covering the whole of their district. The local plan guides development in the district and sets out the Council's policies for the use of land. The plan also makes specific proposals for the use of particular sites and designates areas of particular value. The plan forms the basis for decisions made on planning applications. Section 38(6) of the Planning and Compensation Act 2004 requires that, where the plan contains relevant policies, planning applications shall be determined in accordance with the development plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise. The development plan for South Oxfordshire in January 2006 comprised Regional Planning Guidance for the South East (RPG9, as amended), the Oxfordshire Structure Plan prepared by the County Council, the South Oxfordshire Local Plan 2011 prepared by the District Council, and the Minerals and Waste Local Plan prepared by the County Council.

This Local Plan has been prepared within the strategic framework provided by the Oxfordshire Structure Plan and within the context of national and regional planning guidance issued by the Government.

This Plan replaces the South Oxfordshire Local Plan which was adopted in April 1997. This Local Plan covers the period up to 2011.

The Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 requires all local planning authorities to move towards a new system of plan making. At the district level, instead of a single Local Plan, there will be a portfolio of policy documents, which together will be known as the Local Development Framework (LDF). At its adoption, this Local Plan became part of the Local Development Framework. The Council has prepared a Local Development Scheme, available on the Council's website www.southoxon.gov.uk, which sets out a programme for the preparation of the other elements of the Local Development Framework.

The South Oxfordshire Local Plan 2011 had to go through a number of stages before it was formally adopted and became part of the statutory development plan. The public, local organisations and other interested parties had the opportunity to participate in this process at a number of key stages.

The plan comprises a written statement setting out the Council's policies and proposals, with a reasoned justification for them, and a proposals map which shows the areas to which the policies or proposals apply, on an Ordnance Survey base.

The written statement is arranged in a number of separate sections. Section 2 sets out the aim and objectives of the plan and it contains the strategic policies. Sections 3 to 8 contain the specific policies which relate to the objectives of the plan. The final five sections contain the site-specific policies for the rural areas and each of the four towns in the district.

In accordance with Government guidance, the plan concentrates on key issues and it includes site-specific proposals for the larger sites only. The plan provides a planning policy framework within which detailed decisions on all sites can be taken through the development control process. Policies for specific uses list the criteria most likely to be relevant to a proposal for the particular use; however, all development proposals will be considered against the relevant policies in the plan as a whole.

Many detailed matters relating to planning advice are best dealt with by the production of supplementary planning documents (SPD), previously known as supplementary planning guidance (SPG). The Council approved as SPG the South Oxfordshire Design Guide in December 2000, the South Oxfordshire Landscape Assessment in July 2003, the Chilterns Buildings Design Guide in July 2003, and the Affordable Housing SPG in September 2004. Development Briefs have also been adopted as SPG for Fair Mile Hospital, Vauxhall Barracks and Chinnor Cement Works. A programme of Conservation Area Character Appraisal SPDs is underway and a number of these have been approved. The programme for the preparation of future SPDs can be found in the South Oxfordshire Local Development Scheme, available on the Council's website, www.southoxon.gov.uk. The Council also publishes a number of leaflets giving advice on matters such as satellite dishes. A full list of publications is also available on the Council's website.

There are many important issues facing the district which go wider than strict land-use planning. The Council has agreed a Statement of Strategic Intent for the district which is ‘to work in partnership to maintain and improve the quality of life in South Oxfordshire’. This statement is supported by seven Strategic Objectives which provide a clear focus for the Council's priorities. Underpinning this are a number of Key Aims and a set of measurable Best Value Performance Indicators and Local Performance Targets. The Council's strategic approach is set out in the annually updated Corporate Plan, which also indicates how the Council sets priorities. A Performance Management System is used to monitor progress on all targets, and to predict year-end outcomes so that remedial actions are identified as early as possible. The Council has also drawn up a number of strategies addressing a number of issues which are separate from, but complementary to the Local Plan. The following strategy documents are the most relevant to this plan:

• Agenda 21 Strategy
• Arts Development Strategy
• Community Safety Strategy
• Community Strategy
• Contaminated Land Strategy
• Economic Development Action Plan
• Energy Strategy
• Homelessness Strategy
• Housing Strategy
• Priorities for Nature Conservation
• Rural Strategy
• Sports and Recreation Strategy
• Tourism and Visitor Management Strategy
• Waste Management and Recycling Strategy

The Council also assists town working groups in the four towns of the district to prepare town management strategies and action plans. Similarly, the Council has supported, and will continue to support, local groups preparing Village Appraisals, Parish Plans and Village Design Statements.

Under the provisions of the Local Government Act 2000, the Council has a duty to prepare a Community Strategy for promoting or improving the economic, social and environmental well-being of their areas and contributing to the achievement of sustainable development. Our Place, Our Future: Community Strategy for South Oxfordshire 2004-2009 was published in June 2004 by the local strategic partnership known as the South Oxfordshire Partnership.The Community Strategy and Local Plan are complementary and each plan takes account of the vision and priorities of the other. The South Oxfordshire Partnership produces updates on the Community Strategy each year and will undertake a full review in 2007 to plan beyond 2009.

South Oxfordshire is a predominantly rural district, with the small market towns of Henley, Thame and Wallingford, together with the larger town of Didcot, acting as local service centres for people living in the surrounding villages and countryside. The north of the district contains part of the Oxford Green Belt, and in the south, much of the district is designated as part of the North Wessex Downs or the Chilterns Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The district contains many attractive villages, and the towns of Henley, Thame and Wallingford are of outstanding conservation importance.

See Map 1: South Oxfordshire in Context.

The major urban centres of Oxford and Reading lie outside the district but adjoin it, and South Oxfordshire is very much part of their hinterland, with close economic and social links between the urban centres and the surrounding countryside. At the 2001 Census, South Oxfordshire had a resident population of 128,177. The district covers a land area of 65,521 hectares (253 square miles).

In common with much of the South East, South Oxfordshire experiences considerable pressures for further development. The pressures are particularly severe in the parts of the district close to Oxford and Reading. The district's very attractive environment and easy access to other parts of the country, particularly to London and Heathrow, make it a desirable place to live and work. As a consequence land and house prices in the area are high. This general affluence has resulted in a serious shortage of affordable housing for young people and those on low incomes. The Local Plan therefore needs to consider how to reconcile the pressures for development in the area, including the need to meet the requirements of local people for housing, jobs and services, with the maintenance of the environmental qualities of the district.

In preparing the plan, the Council has had regard to national planning guidance issued by the Government in the form of Planning Policy Guidance Notes (PPGs), Planning Policy Statements (PPSs) and Circulars.

PPS1: Delivering Sustainable Development states that sustainable development is the core principle underpinning planning. Paragraphs 3 and 5 state:

'At the heart of sustainable development is the simple idea of ensuring a better quality of life for everyone, now and for future generations. A widely used definition was drawn up by the World Commission on Environment and Development in 1987: "development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs".

'Planning should facilitate and promote sustainable and inclusive patterns of urban and rural development by:

• making suitable land available for development in line with economic, social and environmental objectives to improve people's quality of life;
• contributing to sustainable economic development;
• protecting and enhancing the natural and historic environment, the quality and character of the countryside, and existing communities;
• ensuring high quality development through good and inclusive design, and the efficient use of resources; and,
• ensuring that development supports existing communities and contributes to the creation of safe, sustainable, liveable and mixed communities with good access to jobs and key services for all members of the community.'

The Council has also had regard to the Rural White Paper Our Countryside: The Future published in November 2000. This sets out the Government's vision for more sustainable rural areas. It outlines the key issues in the countryside and sets out a comprehensive set of proposals to help rural communities.

In addition to Government advice a number of agencies produce advice and guidance which has been taken into account in the production of this plan. These include the Environment Agency, the Countryside Agency, English Heritage and Sport England.

In March 2001 a revised RPG9: Regional Planning Guidance for the South East was published. This states that the main principles that should govern the continuing development of the region are:

• urban areas should become the main focus for development
• greenfield development should normally take place only after other alternatives have been considered, and should have regard to the full social, environmental and transport costs of location
• the pattern of development should be less dispersed
• London's World City role and the South East's international connections should be developed
• economic opportunities should be increased by raising skills levels and reducing the disparities between different parts of the region, improving the performance of the poorer parts of the region and by managing the localised impacts of development in economically buoyant areas
• sufficient housing, and in particular affordable housing, should be provided for all who need to live and work in the region
• the development of housing should be more sustainable, providing a better mix of sizes, types and tenures
• development should be located and designed to enable more sustainable use of the region's natural resources, in the supply of food, water, energy, minerals and timber, in the effective management of waste, the promotion of renewable energy sources and to assist in reducing pollution of air, land and water
• there should be continued protection of the region's biodiversity and enhancement of its landscape and built and historic heritage
• the life of the countryside and rural communities should be sustained through economic diversity which respects the character of different parts of the region and enables sustainable agriculture and forestry
• access to jobs, services, leisure and cultural facilities should be less dependent on longer distance movement and there should be an increased ability to meet normal travel needs through safe walking, cycling and public transport with reduced reliance on the private car
• transport investment should support the spatial strategy.

South Oxfordshire falls within the Thames Valley sub-region within the Western Policy Area. The guidance states that this area is characterised by concentrations of business service employment and high-tech, knowledge-based industries and by increasing pressure on local infrastructure, land resources and house prices. The guidance states that specific policies should be developed to tackle the identified local problems, and suggests a number of measures that might be appropriate, including greater emphasis on affordable housing based on local need assessments and additional investment in public transport provision and facilities for walking and cycling.

The Oxfordshire Structure Plan 2011 was adopted in August 1998. An Alteration to Policy H1 dividing the housing provision for Didcot between this district and the Vale of White Horse District was approved in April 2001. The general strategy is to provide a sustainable planning framework for development to meet housing, economic and other requirements over the period 1996 to 2011 in ways which will:

• help meet the objectives of regional policy to secure a shift in the balance of development from the west to the east of the region
• protect the environment, character and natural resources of the county by restraining the overall level of development
• favour locations where the need to travel, particularly by car, can be reduced, where walking, cycling and the use of public transport can be encouraged and where a reasonable range of services and facilities exist or can be provided
• concentrate developments which generate a lot of journeys in locations which are, or are capable of being, well served by public transport
• make the best use of land and buildings within built-up areas to reduce the need for the development of greenfield sites, whilst not permitting development on important open spaces.

The plan states that the preferred locations for development will be Banbury, Bicester, Didcot and Witney and that, in the rural areas, local plans will make appropriate provision for development and in doing so will have regard to the economic and social well-being of local communities.

PPG12: Development Plans, published in 1997 states that local authorities are expected to carry out a full environmental appraisal of their development plan. In 1997 the Council commissioned consultants to carry out an environmental appraisal of the adopted South Oxfordshire Local Plan and the conclusions of this work were fed into the South Oxfordshire Local Plan 2011.

The Government now recognises that the appraisal process needs to be widened to encompass social and economic issues as well as environmental matters. The Council carried out a sustainability appraisal of the policies and proposals in the first deposit draft plan. An appraisal of the proposed changes in the second deposit draft plan was also undertaken and the conclusion of the appraisal was that the Plan's policies were comprehensive and closely guided by the need to minimise the adverse impacts of development in the district in the context of creating a sustainable environment. Copies of both appraisals are available.

To ensure that the plan is effective, it is essential that its policies and proposals are monitored. To ensure that the plan is effective, it is essential that its policies and proposals are monitored. An annual monitoring report will be published each December, starting in 2005, setting out the results of the monitoring of planning decisions and other indicators. This will follow the guidance set out in the publication Local Development Framework Monitoring: A Good Practice Guide produced in 2005 by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.