Oxfordshire's Strategic Vision
for
Long-Term Sustainable Development
1. Introduction
1.2 It is home to a cross-section of world leading institutions and global innovators which help power an extraordinary and unique economy of national and international significance. It is at the frontier in tackling the most difficult challenges facing humanity: from the isolation of penicillin and advancement in surgical technologies which save lives, the revolution in human communications through the creation of lithium-ion batteries, to the development and manufacturing of a vaccine for the world in the fight against COVID-19, and identifying solutions focused on the long-term societal challenges created by climate change.
1.3 These characteristics, together with its proximity and connections with other places, are key reasons why people choose to live, work, visit and invest here.
1.4 But there are also challenges. Oxfordshire is one of the fastest growing economies in the UK, powered by its dynamic and innovative businesses which are pioneering across a range of sectors, but it is a County with significant and persistent inequalities. There are also challenges linked to congestion, housing affordability and the natural and built environments. All these impact on Oxfordshire's residents and businesses.
1.5 Oxfordshire is facing significant changes. Some of these are the results of global trends such as climate change and the unprecedented impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Other changes reflect Oxfordshire's status as an international centre of world leading research and innovation with a hive of knowledge-intensive economic activity at the universities and science, technology and business parks. And, we form part of the network of places that together form the Oxford-Cambridge Arc – a key national economic priority.
1.6 We also now have a better understanding that decisions made as a result of emerging plans and strategies for Oxfordshire have the potential to, and very probably will, impact (positively or negatively) on local, national and global emissions in the short, medium and long-term. The pandemic has shown how people in Oxfordshire come together to support one another in their communities, has demonstrated the importance to people’s health, of easy access to nature and high quality green space. It has given us a glimpse of a world less dependent on personal travel and one more reliant on digital connectivity.
1.7 Recognising these opportunities and challenges leads us to want to ensure that Oxfordshire's plans, strategies and programmes are ambition-led and outcome focussed. Accordingly, we believe it is timely for Oxfordshire to set out its common and shared Vision for the future based on our unique, special assets and heritage.
1.8 Our Strategic Vision for Oxfordshire sets out what the county should look like and how we can achieve it. The outcomes we are seeking are set out on the first two pages of this document. They will form the basis against which we measure progress. We hope this Strategic Vision will be read by residents and partners within and beyond Oxfordshire as a statement of intent by the partnership that has prepared it.
1.9 We know from public consultations and stakeholder engagement that within Oxfordshire there is an appetite to see a different approach to place-shaping: one that is more ambitious, radical, innovative and creative[1], embracing social, economic and environmental wellbeing to achieve a happier, healthier, greener future[2]. We have bold and dynamic economic ambitions[3] brought to life in an investment plan[4], and innovative work on inclusive growth[5] has highlighted a need to actively recognise and address the inequalities of our success and ensure all communities have a stake in the future prosperity of Oxfordshire.
1.10 This Strategic Vision has been shaped by public discussion and debate. Engagement with our communities and stakeholders revealed strong and wide support for the principle of establishing a Strategic Vision for Oxfordshire and for the broad intent of the ambitions set out in an engagement draft document. We have used the detailed feedback we received to further refine and strengthen our Vision.
1.11 This Strategic Vision is intended to be transformative. Addressing climate change and the health and quality of our natural environment, our globally significant economy will improve the wellbeing of our communities; an exemplar to the rest of the UK and other international locations. It considers wellbeing in the round based on an understanding that the different dimensions of wellbeing are intrinsically linked.
1.12 We want to facilitate a step-change in our approach to planning for and delivering sustainable development for Oxfordshire, challenging the norm and drawing on new ways of thinking to provide the best possible future for our residents. For this reason, our Strategic Vision is positive and optimistic, and we have set our ambition high.
1.13 Our Strategic Vision is high-level. We fully recognise the rich variety of places that make up Oxfordshire. We value the character of these different settings – our city, towns and villages and our natural and historic environments – and recognise that delivering our shared Strategic Vision will require place-focussed responses to specific challenges and opportunities that reflect local circumstances, as well as the nationally significant role Oxfordshire plays in the success of the UK.
1.14 Activity to achieve ambitions for zero-carbon and increased biodiversity will need different design solutions in the high-density environments of the city and urban areas than in rural settings. This happens best through inclusive processes and a detailed understanding of places and communities to arrive at solutions that work for them.
1.15 This Strategic Vision is not intended to replace or set the vison for any of our communities or partner organisations but instead provide a balanced framework through which these can be developed.
1.16 This Strategic Vision is overarching. It cuts across many sectors and is designed to inform a range of plans, strategies and programmes. It complements the plans and strategies already in place and agreed by our partner organisations and the Growth Board. It also forms part of the informal interface between national and local policy, helping to deliver national objectives and priorities, as well as helping to maximise the benefits to Oxfordshire of decisions made by others.
1.17 Finally, the Strategic Vision recognises that positive change will evolve and take time. Some of what we are seeking to achieve is beyond our direct control. This Strategic Vision is a pathway for long-term change towards a more sustainable future. While our priorities are unlikely to alter over the short to medium-term, our approach needs to be resilient to change over time. Although there is a high level of uncertainty over a 30-year period, particularly around external factors including climate and technological change, new opportunities to align environmental, social and economic needs to deliver sustainable development in different and better ways will emerge. This will position Oxfordshire to challenge and capitalise on the scope for innovation over the longer-term.
2. Achieving our Strategic Vision through Good Growth
2.1 Our Strategic Vision for Oxfordshire's future is driven by improvements to people's wellbeing. This is reflected in our definition of what 'good growth' will look like in Oxfordshire.
2.2 National planning policies require Oxfordshire to plan positively for growth in ways that achieve the three overarching objectives of sustainable development: economic, social and environmental. Growth can be defined narrowly in terms of expansion in numbers of homes and jobs and economic output. But growth can also encompass progress based on improvements in circumstances for individuals and society and in the quality of our environmental assets and natural resources. Rather than seeing economic, social and environmental objectives as competing demands that need to be balanced, our approach for Oxfordshire is to align and integrate these priorities, so that economic progress benefits business, society and the environment. The economy, environment, connectivity, community assets, housing and public services are all key factors in giving Oxfordshire's residents – current and future – the best opportunity to prosper and thrive.
2.3 We think this is more in line with sustainable development principles and thinking and a better approach to achieving transformative and long-term sustainable development. This is how we will approach growth, delivering change that is distinctively 'Oxfordshire'. Good growth will focus on progress in improving health and wellbeing, look to decouple growth from the consumption of finite resources and transition to a low carbon future, address inequalities and prioritise our natural and built environment, alongside greater resilience to climate and economic change. We also want this good growth to be genuinely inclusive which means inequality – a pervasive determinant of wellbeing – must be addressed wherever it exists in our diverse county. We will need to tackle deprivation and disadvantage in whatever form throughout the county, be it in the City of Oxford, our towns or in our rural areas.
2.4 Oxfordshire's economy represents a crucial and unique attribute. The County's position as a global innovation hub brings important opportunities both to local communities and to the future of the UK. We recognise the positive benefits that economic prosperity can bring and the critical interdependencies between a flourishing economy and successful outcomes for local communities, public services and the environment.
2.5 Economic prosperity is an important part of the roadmap to achieving our ambition for Oxfordshire and business a key strategic partner. Business creates employment opportunities for our residents, including our young people. Business also creates the wealth which sustains and supports public services, and the technological innovation that can be increasingly transformational in shaping places and building sustainable communities. Finally, because so much of Oxfordshire is rural, we must not lose sight of the particularly important role the agricultural sector can play in helping deliver our biodiversity and climate ambitions and in advancing new technologies and innovation in sustainable farming.
2.6 Our definition of 'good growth' forms the basis for a set of Guiding Principles. Taken together, our outcomes, the definition of 'good growth' and the guiding principles, form the foundation for our overarching approach to long-term sustainable development for Oxfordshire, and for developing our plans, strategies and programmes.
Guiding Principle 1: We will reverse the impacts of climate change
We will reduce the impacts of climate change by making climate action a top priority in our decisions. We will maximise opportunities through our plans, strategies and programmes, to reverse the impacts of climate change, demonstrating leadership in carbon reduction, developing nature-based solutions to help mitigate the impacts of climate change, championing more sustainable ways to improve connectivity and supporting emerging transformative technologies and sectors. Our aim is that Oxfordshire will be carbon neutral by 2040, or earlier if possible, and by 2050 will be moving towards a carbon negative future.
Guiding Principle 2: We will create the conditions to support a world leading and innovation rich economy which is clean, prosperous, diverse, inclusive, successful and sustainable
We will work collaboratively with partners to ensure that our spatial, infrastructure and economic priorities are strategically aligned to deliver a globally leading economy, for the benefit of our communities which is pioneering, diverse and high in productivity and which meets the needs of our priority sectors, including our world-leading universities and delivers successful outcomes for the environment, communities and our public services. We will ensure there is improved physical and digital connectivity, and that the right type of premises, land and infrastructure are provided in the right places for businesses to thrive. Inequalities in employment opportunity and access to education, skills and training will be addressed, and life-long learning will be a priority. The aim will be to build a skilled population which has a stake in the future prosperity of Oxfordshire, ensuring that growth is inclusive and supports the health and wellbeing of local communities, whether current or future generations.
Guiding Principle 3: We will improve our overall health and wellbeing and reduce inequalities
We will place overall health and physical and mental wellbeing at the forefront of our decision-making. We will seek to deliver a net increase in the health and wellbeing of people in all our place-shaping decisions and activities, reducing inequalities and helping to enhance the overall quality of life, health and happiness of existing and future residents, recognising the diverse needs within our communities. This will include providing public services to support excellent physical and mental health outcomes, homes to meet all people's needs, jobs to support livelihoods, enhanced access to public and private green spaces, better access to sustainable, inclusive and resilient active and low carbon transport and improvements in air quality. We have access to some of the greatest health care facilities and minds in the world in Oxfordshire and through working closely with the universities and health organisations, we will ensure we are leading on prevention and healthy place-shaping.
Guiding Principle 4: We will enhance our natural environment
Key sources of natural capital in Oxfordshire include biodiversity, water, soils, landscape character and tranquillity. Natural capital contributes to a wide range of social, economic and environmental services. It is a key reason why many people choose to live here, many businesses choose to locate here, and tourists choose to visit here. We will grow our natural capital through our plans, strategies and programmes, recognising the significant contribution natural capital makes to our quality of place, the health and wellbeing of our communities, and their value in building resilience to climate change, reducing flood risk, increasing biodiversity and boosting economic productivity. We will value Oxfordshire's countryside, our important habitats and species, our agricultural land, our parks and open spaces, the River Thames and our other rivers, canals, reservoirs, lakes, ponds, wetlands and aquifers. We will protect and restore our valuable habitats and species and improve resilience by creating ecological networks. We will improve the quality of our waterways and water bodies and reduce levels of water stress in Oxfordshire. We will protect where necessary and seek new opportunities to add to and enhance our highly valued countryside, landscape and the greenspaces and environmental assets, including those areas within our city and towns that provide valued recreation space and vital green lungs.
Guiding Principle 5: We will reflect our distinctive and diverse communities and places
We will ensure that our plans, strategies and programmes reflect the unique and distinctive qualities of places within Oxfordshire, maximising opportunities to deliver the development needed, embracing innovation while enhancing our valuable assets and recognising the diversity of our city, towns and villages, the quality of the historic, natural and built environment, our rich internationally significant cultural and heritage assets, the importance of local identity and the needs of our diverse communities. While we are the most rural county in the South East, most of our population lives in our city, towns and villages. The diversity of our settlements, the synergy between urban and rural and the benefits both bring are critical to our success.
Guiding Principle 6: We will deliver homes that meet the needs of current and future generations
We will promote the development of new homes that will add to the vitality and vibrancy of our communities while positively contributing to our collective wellbeing. We will tackle the significant challenge of housing affordability in Oxfordshire by delivering more truly affordable homes both for rent and home ownership, and we will deliver homes that allow people to live healthily, happily and independently in their old age. The emphasis will be on place-shaping.
Guiding Principle 7: We will embrace technological changes
We will ensure that our plans, strategies and programmes are sufficiently agile to embrace the potential offered from new and evolving technology in creating better opportunities and outcomes for people, in addressing inequalities, and in its impact on mobility, communications, energy and water supply, waste management, models of construction and increasing economic productivity.
Guiding Principle 8: We will expect high-quality development
We will expect all new development to be of the highest sustainable design and construction standards, with particular support given to resilience to climate change, innovative building solutions, sustainable use of natural resources and construction methods, and development that improves the overall built environment and embeds healthy place-shaping principles, promoting good physical and mental wellbeing. New development will contribute to connected communities and improve the local environment.
Guiding Principle 9: We will help people to help each other by supporting communities and individuals to achieve positive change for themselves
We will help communities to be more cohesive and better able to adapt to change, based on accessible and quality key services and infrastructure, excellent digital connectivity and strong community networks. Communities will be supported and empowered to do the things that matter to improve their health and wellbeing.
Guiding Principle 10: We will maximise the benefits of strong collaboration within Oxfordshire
We will build stronger collaboration with our partners to secure a plan-led approach to good growth, delivering strategic development opportunities that are aligned with our shared ambition and long-term investment priorities, particularly where these provide opportunities to enhance our strategic connectivity. And, we will create the conditions where people feel involved and empowered, embedding a culture of meaningful involvement and enabling communities to inform and shape local decisions.
Guiding Principle 11: We will proactively and positively engage and collaborate beyond Oxfordshire
We will foster links with neighbouring areas to facilitate the delivery of good growth through mutually beneficial relationships. Key to this will be ensuring that our strategic priorities inform regional and sub-regional priorities, including the emerging Oxford-Cambridge Arc.
2.7 All the Guiding Principles articulate how Oxfordshire will change as a place over the period to 2050 and all will shape our overarching approach. Individual Guiding Principles have not been weighted. Rather, because we are seeking to drive improvements to environmental, social and economic wellbeing in ways which build resilience, and because most of our Guiding Principles are relevant to more than one of our outcomes, the Guiding Principles form an inter-related set of equally important ground rules.
3. Next Steps – Delivering the Strategic Vision
3.1 The collective leadership of the Oxfordshire Growth Board has developed this Strategic Vision. However, delivering the Vision will require long-term collective commitment and investment by the partners that make up the Growth Board but also, crucially, by a wider set of strategic stakeholders and partnerships.
3.2 As a first step in delivering the Strategic Vision, we have identified two work streams:
· Measuring what matters
· Developing plans, strategies and investment priorities.
Measuring What Matters
3.3 The ambition, outcomes and priorities set out in the Strategic Vision have been explicitly designed for the long-term. They are unlikely to change over the short to medium-term and it is not anticipated there will be a need for frequent reviews. To achieve the outcomes we have identified by 2050, will require some trends to be reversed, while for some other trends, where progress is already being made, there will need to be an increase in the pace of change.
3.4 Measuring progress, so that we know what responses are needed to achieve continual improvement, will be an important part of our approach to delivering the Strategic Vision. It will also provide a robust basis on which Oxfordshire's communities and stakeholders may hold the Growth Board to account. We will measure what matters, based on the strategic outcomes and the definition of Good Growth set out in the Strategic Vision.
Developing Plans, Strategies and Investment Priorities
3.5 Our wellbeing goals are ambitious. Achieving them will require all those who make future decisions about investment and those planning for and delivering place-making across Oxfordshire to maximise impact by working collaboratively, based on shared strategic priorities and by embracing innovation to develop solutions.
3.6 The Strategic Vision for Oxfordshire will be delivered by a wide range of plans, strategies and programmes. The Oxfordshire Plan 2050[6] is one important example, but not all the outcomes will be within the sphere of influence of the Oxfordshire Plan. That Plan will deliver parts of the Vision, but as a statutory planning document, it cannot address all aspects involved in delivering this Vision. Local Plans, infrastructure plans, economic strategies and associated plans and programmes will also have important roles to play, responding to different local circumstances and, in some cases, reflecting wider considerations such as economic growth, health and wellbeing and infrastructure that impact on place-making in Oxfordshire. At an Oxfordshire-wide level they include the Joint Health & Wellbeing Strategy, the Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy, the Infrastructure Strategy (OxIS), the Local Industrial Strategy, Oxfordshire Investment Plan and the Local Transport and Connectivity Plan, while sub-nationally the spatial framework for the Oxford-Cambridge Arc and England's Economic Heartland's Transport Strategy will have important roles to play.
3.7 There is also an important role for residents and business leaders to help deliver this Strategic Vision.
3.8 It is vital that we have an agreed set of long-term, strategic economic, infrastructure and environment investment priorities aligned to the outcomes we are committed to. This will help us to ensure that we are investing in the right infrastructure and other assets in a timely way, maximising the benefits of that investment, and avoiding unnecessary expenditure. It will also better position Oxfordshire to influence the priorities of other relevant organisations. By providing clear strategic leadership and direction through this Vision, we aim to increase public confidence in the delivery of long-term priorities.
3.9 Oxfordshire's Growth Board will seek that those preparing relevant strategic-level plans, strategies and programmes consider how their policies, proposals and investment decisions deliver against this Strategic Vision. Future responses to these plans, strategies and programmes from the Growth Board will take these into account.
Annex 1: Strategic Influencers
A1.1 A key role for this Strategic Vision will be to help align long-term spatial, economic and infrastructure investment priorities across Oxfordshire. There are already other plans, strategies, policies and investment programmes (in existence or emerging), as well as legislative requirements, that will influence place-shaping in Oxfordshire, including where development in Oxfordshire should take place and where investment should be focussed. Oxfordshire will be shaped by these 'strategic influencers' to varying degrees over the next 30 years.
A1.2 Most of the strategic influencers have been, or are being, developed at an Oxfordshire-wide level, or relate to sub-national geographic areas, or are UK-wide. Many have a direct relationship with Government policy or legislative requirements. We have not attempted to present an exhaustive set of influencers. Rather, we have captured those which we consider to be the most significant and most relevant at the strategic level, while acknowledging that some of these will have a greater impact than others.
A1.3 The strategic influencers will continue to evolve – some will change, and other new influencers will emerge as plans and strategies for Oxfordshire are developed, national policy changes and sub-national frameworks take shape. Some parts of this evolving context of strategic influencers will be more within the control of the partnership organisations than others. But in most cases, the relationship is a two, rather than one-way, process and there is an opportunity to influence and shape the priorities, plans, strategies and investment decisions of others, particularly in the longer-term – a means of 'influencing the influencers'. Our Strategic Vision can help maximise the benefits of decisions made by others, as well as helping to mitigate the impact of decisions outside the partnership's control.
A1.4 They key messages from the strategic influencers are summarised in the following table.
|
Key Messages for Oxfordshire from Existing Plans & Strategies |
Strategic Influencers |
|
There is a commitment to deliver homes in sustainable and high-quality developments, including maximising the potential of existing urban areas. |
§ Housing & Growth Deal § Local Plans § National Planning Policy Framework (2019) § Oxfordshire Local Transport & Connectivity Plan |
|
Development should enhance the natural environment, improve access to the countryside and increase its natural capital, recognising its valuable role in supporting clean growth and improvements to health and wellbeing. |
§ Green Future: 25 Year Plan to Improve the Environment § Local Plans § Oxford-Cambridge Arc: Government Ambition § Oxfordshire's Draft Nature Recovery Network § Oxfordshire Local Industrial Strategy § Oxfordshire Energy Strategy § Oxfordshire Joint Health & Wellbeing Strategy |
|
Strategic transport investment priorities should aim to enhance Oxfordshire's strategic connectivity value. |
§ England's Economic Heartland Transport Strategy 2050 § Oxford-Cambridge Arc: Government Ambition § Oxfordshire Local Industrial Strategy § Oxfordshire Local Transport & Connectivity Plan |
|
Long-term strategic investment decisions should be responsive to climate, demographic and technological change, building resilience in the economy, transport infrastructure and the physical and natural environment. |
§ Government's Clean Growth Strategy § England's Economic Heartland Transport Strategy 2050 § Oxfordshire Joint Health & Wellbeing Strategy § Oxfordshire Infrastructure Strategy § Oxfordshire Local Industrial Strategy § Oxfordshire Investment Plan § Oxfordshire Energy Strategy § Oxfordshire Local Transport & Connectivity Plan § UK Industrial Strategy |
|
The priority is to invest in strategic infrastructure that supports economic growth, particularly in the areas that have potential to support a transition to a low carbon economy, facilitate mobility changes away from the private car and where there is potential to support key sectors (especially in the science, technology and innovation sectors). |
§ Oxford-Cambridge Arc: Government Ambition § England's Economic Heartland Transport Strategy 2050 § Oxfordshire Infrastructure Strategy § Oxfordshire Local Industrial Strategy § Oxfordshire Investment Plan § Oxfordshire Energy Strategy § Oxfordshire Local Transport & Connectivity Plan § UK Industrial Strategy |
|
Economic growth should be driven by innovation and higher productivity, should be 'clean', should focus on supporting clusters and corridors of economic activity and should reflect Oxfordshire's national and international role and profile. Economic growth should be more inclusive, with the benefits shared more equitably so that they reach all communities, including socially disadvantaged groups. |
§ Oxford-Cambridge Arc: Government Ambition § England's Economic Heartland Transport Strategy 2050 § Oxfordshire Infrastructure Strategy § Oxfordshire Local Industrial Strategy § Oxfordshire Investment Plan § Oxfordshire Energy Strategy § Oxfordshire Local Transport & Connectivity Plan § UK Industrial Strategy |
|
Improvements to health and wellbeing should be at the heart of all decisions around place-making and infrastructure investment. |
§ Local Plans § Oxfordshire Joint Health & Wellbeing Strategy § Oxfordshire Local Transport & Connectivity Plan |
|
Delivering the right type of housing, which is built to a high quality and design and is affordable, is as important as increasing overall supply. |
§ Local Plans § Oxfordshire Joint Health & Wellbeing Strategy |