Help shape the future of Oxford

We asked

A public consultation on the draft Housing, Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Strategy for 2023-28 during a period of 6 weeks, starting 26^th November and ending 8^th December 2022. This was a statutory consultation – all local authorities have to consult on their draft homelessness and rough sleeping strategy before this is finalised and implemented.

The focus of the consultation was to hear if we had set out the right commitments and plans to achieve the priorities we have established for the strategy.

The consultation was available to the public on the Council’s consultation website. The online survey was promoted widely, primarily through social media, but also through the Council’s Tenants in Touch magazine, on our Choice Based Lettings website, press releases and through sharing information directly with a wide range of community groups and partner organisations.

In addition to the online survey, we sought views from the community through other means, including attending community events, holding a session with individuals who have lived experience of homelessness, held a session with the Council’s Tenants Ambassadors. We also engaged with key partners, holding five stakeholder workshops to seek their views on our commitments and how we plan to achieve these.

We received a good response to the consultation, receiving 103 online responses along with 4 written responses and 60 individuals attended the stakeholder events representing 27 different organisations. 

You said

We had a positive response to the consultation with between 74% and 85% of respondents to the online survey agreeing or strongly agreeing with what we had set out to do under each priority.  This sentiment was echoed through the other consultation activities, with most individuals and organisations agreeing with our commitments. Overall, the good response rate and positive feedback confirmed that we were on the right track with what we have set out to do over the next 5 years.  

Through all consultation activities, we also asked respondents to tell us if they had other comments and if there is anything in particular that they think is particularly important for us to deliver under the different priorities. We received a good number of comments, the majority of which reflected our commitments and plans set out in the draft strategy but we have further developed the strategy and made amendments, including:

• Developed the strategy action plan informed by the priorities and insight gained from members of the public and stakeholders through the consultation process.
• Updating the strategy and evidence base with the most recent Census data.
• Incorporated more detailed information in relation to the need for affordable housing.
• Reaffirmed our commitment to provide a face-to-face offer of services to those who need it.
• Further developed our approach to governance and monitoring of the Strategy and Action Plan.
• We have included more context and explanation as to our limitations as a Local Authority in areas where we have limited influence, this includes supporting individuals with no recourse to public funds and implementing rent caps in the private rented sector.

We did

The consultation and the subsequent refinements of the strategy itself, has enabled us to develop a comprehensive action plan. This action plan outlines details on how we will implement the ambitions and plans set out in the strategy, incorporates feedback we received through the consultation, and includes:

• Plans for a review of the Council’s private rented sector access schemes, in order to make sure that we can offer affordable and sustainable housing solutions in the future.
• Reduce the number of privately rented homes that contain serious home hazards.
• Monitoring of the need for affordable homes in the City and having arrangements in place to ensure that the need for affordable homes drives the development of housing supply. Ensure that steps are taken to meet the high demand for certain affordable housing types, such as 1-bedroom properties.
• Support and identify opportunities for community-led housing developments.
• Continue to deliver investment into our council homes, including improving energy efficiency.
• Continue to work with and support the Oxfordshire Homelessness Alliance and commissioning partners to end the need for anyone to sleep rough in the county.
• Work with commissioning partners and providers to commission supported accommodation that is distributed and dispersed appropriately throughout the city, to ensure that persons living in supported accommodation feel supported and safe where they live.

The action plan will be updated yearly to ensure it remains relevant and responsive to changing context, and progress will be closely monitored and reported on.  A full review of the action plan and progress made will be completed on an annual basis. Revisions to the action plan will be presented to Cabinet for approval. In line with the normal process this report will also be available to the Council’s Scrutiny Committee, and sub committees, to consider and provide recommendations to Cabinet, in line with the Council’s constitution.

The strategy and accompanying action plan are published on the Council’s website.

We asked

Public consultation ran from 10 September until 23 October 2022, a period of just over six weeks.

We asked residents for their views on a proposed ‘masterplan’ to update Oxford’s historic Covered Market for the 21st Century. This includes a number of proposed new measures, including a new ‘public square’ in the heart of the market and a new ‘pedestrian-friendly’ space on Market Street. 

There is a full analysis of its conclusion available on request.

You said

The in-person and virtual consultation was seeking to gather the widest possible public response.

• We received 476 responses to our online consultation survey.
• More than 300 people spoke to officers at one of the public drop-in sessions or at the online event.
• More than 50 stakeholders, including Covered Market Traders, attended group or individual sessions or filled out the consultation.
• Historic England, Oxford Preservation Trust, Oxford Civic Society, Cyclox, Brasenose College (on behalf of the retail-owning colleges including All Souls, Corpus Christi, Exeter, Jesus, Lincoln, Oriel and Trinity) shared their views separately over email.
• Several councillors responded.

There was clear support for the masterplan proposals – both at an individual level and when taken together as a holistic plan:

• 66% of respondents strongly agree or agree that the Covered Market needs all these proposals as part of a single plan (versus 15% who strongly disagree or disagree).
• The element of the proposals which had the most support was the proposed change to Market Street: 81% of respondents strongly agree or agree that a more pedestrian-friendly area on Market Street will encourage more visitors to the Covered Market.
• There was majority agreement that our proposals deliver against all six of the project ambitions, apart from for sustainability.
• The people responding to the public consultation were primarily regular customers and visitors, and they come for a variety of reasons, although not many from the less engaged or under-represented groups responded.

The implications of the public consultation results:

• The officer recommendation to take the masterplan proposals to the next stage of work is supported by the public.
• The next stage of work (detailed design and onwards) should review the detailed comments from the consultation portal and stakeholders, so that more attention can be focused in relevant areas, including: the right mix of activities on Market Street and the communal area; more explanation of the value of improving entrances, toilets and cycle storage; more work on improving the environmental sustainability implications of the proposals.
• The next stage of work, which would include at least one period of statutory public consultation, should endeavour to incorporate the views of a more diverse range of people.

We did

Oxford City Council has approved a £6.87m package to revitalise Oxford’s historic Covered Market.

The funding package was agreed by Cabinet at a meeting on Wednesday 8 February.

The project will see the entrances in High Street and Market Street transformed, larger seating areas inside, and a new dwell space outside in a new pedestrian-friendly Market Street.

The regeneration will respect the unique character, heritage and history of the Covered Market, which first opened fully in 1774, while securing the long-term future of the Grade II-listed prized Council asset.

The set of proposals has come together into a “Masterplan”, prepared over a period of two years, involving extensive consultation with market traders, residents and other stakeholders.

There are three main improvements in the Masterplan: 

1. A ‘pedestrian-friendly’ space on Market Street

This will be immediately outside the market entrances in Market Street, with the introduction of planters, seating and outdoor stalls. The public toilets are proposed to be modernised and relocated. The ‘back entrance’ to the Market will therefore be transformed into an attractive, green and accessible space to relax in the city centre. 

The service yard, or loading bay for traders, will stay in its existing location, so the proposal will rely on creating a period in the day when vehicles (apart from emergency services) will not be able to access some of Market Street.

The City Council is working with traders and other Market Street stakeholders, as well as the County Council, in order to establish a practical plan that will both accommodate traders’ day-to-day business needs, while enabling the new communal space to operate. 

2. New communal space opening onto Market Street 

The Market will have a new and much more visible opening from an improved Market Street into a large, welcoming seating area, which will function as a public square during the day and a flexible event space at different times. This will bring more light into the Market and improve the entrance space.

With generous amounts of seating, it will be much easier for visitors to spend more time in the Covered Market. Sympathetic architectural changes, including the addition of glazing, are proposed to reveal and protect the building’s heritage and splendour for future generations of shoppers and traders.​ 

Two existing units in the least historically significant part of the Market will need to be removed in order for this public square to be created, so the City Council is working with the affected businesses in order to review the opportunities to relocate within the Market.

3. Improved entrances on High Street and Cornmarket Street  

Lighter entrances, with better signage and a new floor surface will encourage more visitors to walk through from popular shopping areas nearby. The City Council is seeking ways to improve the entrances which will benefit the Market and the High Street more generally, and is working with the adjacent landowners to action this where appropriate.

Other proposals in the Masterplan include implementing essential improvements to the services of the Market (such as drainage) at the same time as the more visible transformations already summarised. This way, the Market will be able to evolve to meet customer’s needs long into the future.

We asked

We asked for views on plans for a new pedestrian and cycle footbridge to create a new link to enhance the wider walking and cycling network; improving accessibility for pedestrians and cyclists and reinforcing legibility.

The bridge was proposed to be located at Grandpont Nature Park (south side) and Oxpens Meadow (north side) connecting from Osney Mead to the west to Oxford City Centre and the Oxford Train Station and beyond to the wider walking and cycling networks.

You said

290 responses were collected from the online consultation. 42% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed with the need for a pedestrian and cycle footbridge in this location. 55% of respondents would be likely to use a pedestrian and cycle footbridge in this location.

We did

The information from the consultation was taken on board by the design team and used to help shape the next design phase.  Once this is undertaken we will then submit a planning application, targeted for late May 2023. Further consultation will take place as part of the planning process.