CONCERNS have been raised about plans submitted for Oxford’s Northern Gateway business park by a Government inspector.

Oxford City Council’s “area action plan” (AAP) sets out what type of buildings will go in the North Oxford site and is due to be scrutinised in March.

But planning inspector Christine Newmarch said she had concerns about the number of proposed homes and changes to the Green Belt boundary.

In the council’s main development plan for the whole city - the core strategy - the number of houses was put at about 200, a figure increased to up to 500 in the AAP.

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In a letter to the city council Ms Newmarch wrote: “The housing provision figure for the Northern Gateway given in the core strategy should not be regarded as a maximum and there is a high level of need for housing.”

The city council has proposed the Northern Gateway to be built on a triangular-shaped piece of land bordered by the A40, A34 and A44.

It is expected to create thousands of jobs and includes up to 500 homes, offices and a hotel.

Plans were sent to the Planning Inspectorate in October and will be considered in a public inquiry starting in the first week of March.

The council has also proposed using land south of the A40 as well, but it would need to remove it from the Green Belt.

But Ms Newmarch wrote: “The AAP [should only] consider small scale, minor changes to the Green Belt boundary... if exceptional circumstances are shown to exist.

“It is not clear how this amounts to a small scale, minor adjustment to the Green Belt boundary.”

Ms Newmarch added: “My initial examination of the AAP identifies possible difficulties which would be best addressed through a two-stage approach.”

This would mean that the inquiry would take place at two different times of the year.

But in a letter of response head of city development Michael Crofton-Briggs argued that the council’s methology was sound and had been used in a plan approved for Barton Park last year.

And city council leader Bob Price told the Oxford Mail: “The inspector is wisely picking up on comments that have been made by objectors and asking us to respond before the inquiry.

“We think our plans are consistent and that it will be a high-quality site with a good balance of employment and housing.

“There is no reason why it needs to have a two-stage approach that goes beyond March.

“The size of the change to the Green Belt is a matter of opinion, but we think – when you compare it to the Green Belt as a whole – it is a pretty tiny area.”

Oxfordshire Campaign to Protect Rural England director Helen Marshall said: “The vastly expanded Northern Gateway proposals, including building on the Green Belt, are not consistent with Oxford City’s existing core strategy.

“We are hopeful the inspector will continue with the two-stage process she has suggested.”

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