Up to 60 social rent homes could go on part of Woodford Way car park in Witney, with Soha Housing. A planning application is pencilled in for July 2027.
Up to 60 social rent homes could be built on part of Woodford Way car park in the centre of Witney. West Oxfordshire District Council is being asked to move the scheme on to detailed design. It will also consider a contract with Soha Housing to build and manage the homes.
The council announced the step in a news release on 7 October. The proposals go first to its Overview and Scrutiny Committee and then to the Executive. The council’s report on the scheme is filed under 21 October on its meetings site.
No homes are approved yet. If the Executive agrees, the council will draw up a detailed design and a planning application. Its estimated timeline has that application going in during July 2027.
What the council is proposing
The council says the site “has long been designated for housing”. It calls Woodford Way “the only viable site the council owns where it can develop social housing by itself”.
What the release sets out:
- up to 60 homes, all for social rent
- Soha Housing as the partner to deliver and manage them, subject to a contract the council will consider
- funding sought from Homes England grants and unallocated Section 106 money, which developers pay the council under planning agreements
- the aim of putting “all investment” into “the maximum amount of social rented homes”
The number, size and type of homes are not fixed. The council says the full planning application “would set out all the details of the scheme including numbers and types of properties, parking provision, access and other requirements”.
The district’s infrastructure plan counts Woodford Way at 80 homes, as we reported in September. The figure the council now gives for this scheme is up to 60.
Why the council says Witney needs them
The release makes the case with the district’s own numbers. Average house prices in West Oxfordshire are “almost ten times average earnings”. They sit “around £80,000 higher than the national average”.
The number of homes in the district has nearly doubled in 40 years, from around 27,000 in 1981 to more than 48,000 in 2021. Over the same period, the council says, affordable rented homes fell, from about 6,500 to 6,300.
Its estimates of need:
- over 2,800 local households need affordable housing
- over 1,800 are on the housing waiting list
- more than 110 new local households a year will need affordable housing they cannot get on the open market
One and two bedroom homes are in most demand. The council says the people who need them are often “young people needing their first home, working adults on low incomes, people with disabilities and no income, single parents and older people on state pensions”.
What the housing lead says
Councillor Geoff Saul is the Executive Member for Housing and Community Safety. He said:
“We have a housing crisis in West Oxfordshire. The need for social housing in West Oxfordshire has never been clearer.
“Every week we hear from local people and families who are struggling to find a home they can actually afford, and our housing register shows just how significant that demand has become after decades of underinvestment in social rented homes, exacerbated by the cost of living crisis.
“By bringing forward this development on council-owned land, we have the chance to deliver high-quality homes for local people in a sustainable location close to jobs, services and public transport.
“This is about putting residents first and giving more people the security of a home they can afford. While there is still work to do through the design, consultation and planning process, we are pleased to be moving forward with proposals that could provide up to 60 much-needed social rent homes for our communities.”
What happens to the parking
Woodford Way is a free car park with a 12-hour maximum stay. Our parking guide lists 246 standard spaces there, plus disabled, electric vehicle and motorcycle bays.
The homes would take part of the car park, not all of it. The council says it will “consider car parking provision” during design. It expects public spaces to remain on the site, “with the number to be confirmed as plans progress”.
The council points to spare capacity elsewhere:
- Witney has over 1,800 free parking spaces in the town centre
- surveys show average occupancy of around 72%
- Marriotts Walk, opposite Woodford Way, has 590 spaces and “operates under capacity”
The council proposed more 12-hour spaces at Marriotts Walk in September, which we covered at the time.
What it means for you
- If you park at Woodford Way: nothing changes yet. No spaces go until a planning application is approved, and none is due before July 2027.
- If you are on the housing register: these would be social rent homes for local people, managed by Soha Housing if the contract goes ahead. No allocation details have been published.
- If you want a say: the council says any application “would be subject to public consultation and consideration through the formal planning process”. You can also watch the Executive’s decision on the council’s meetings site.
We will report the Executive’s decision when it is published.
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