An economist has created a booklet examining a solution to the housing crisis in Oxford…
Retired economist Charles Young said extending upwards in Oxford could solve the housing crisis. In a booklet titled ‘The city that won’t grow up’, he has suggested medium-rise apartment blocks, similar to Barcelona, Spain, could offer the solution. According to the document this could increase the population of the city by at least 600,000.
Speaking to the Oxford Mail, Young said: “I am chairman of a group in Headington looking into transport and realised the problems we have are the other side of the coin of housing problems.”
While some 99,423 people work in Oxford only 57,494 live in the city. This means around 40,000 people commute into Oxford each day. The cost of housing has forced many into cheaper homes outside the city, putting pressure on transport infrastructure and increasing traffic.
He said: “We don’t need to have skyscrapers or tower blocks, but just to go a little bit higher.
“Oxford has a stock of relatively large houses, but the problem is that people can no longer afford large houses.”
Michael Tyce, chairman of the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE), said while the idea was interesting, Oxford was “basically unsuitable” for upward development.
“Although the tower blocks of the 60s were higher, they had to be surrounded by open land for car parking; it’s a ratio,” he said.
“Oxford also is a jewel of listed buildings that are important to the economy of the city. You would have to be careful where you sited them.”
Tyce said the layout of the town would make traffic a problem unless the Oxford University colleges were destroyed. Instead, he believes higher levels of terraced properties would be more effective.
Oxford City Council spokesman Tom Jennings said: “Taller buildings can work well in certain places and where designed well. The council’s policies require developers to make efficient use of land, which will sometimes mean building several storeys upwards.
“However, Oxford’s historic skyline with its ‘Dreaming Spires’ is a world-renowned iconic feature of the city and a setting that affords views of this skyline is all-important.
“Oxford also has 18 Conservation Areas, which together cover a significant area of the city. Oxford’s special character is unique and irreplaceable: it is crucial therefore that it is protected and enhanced. This means that it is not always appropriate to build higher than the surrounding area.”
