While OCLT awaits the final planning permission to proceed with Dean Court we are delighted to announce another project which got formal approval from Oxford City Council’s Cabinet last night.

Earlier this year local architecture practice Transition by Design (TbD), who are national leaders in talking about and researching issues around citizen-led housing, came to OCLT with a proposal.

TbD had pitched to Oxford City Council to prototype a form of co-operative affordable housing on tiny sites using off-site manufacturing techniques, a first for the city and an idea which was proposed in the Oxford Routes to Delivery Report (2018). TbD would put the work in bidding for the funding if Oxford City could help them find a site and, if it all worked out, Oxfordshire CLT would be in line to take on the long-term lease. It was an exciting project with lots of potential.

Oxford City Council proposed a small vacant garage site in Littlemore and supported TbDs bid to the Community Housing Fund. Fast-forward to April 2019 and TbD had secured money to get the site to planning permission, and the team began working on the designs. Since then OCLT has received monthly updates at our Board Meetings and continue to contribute ideas and time to the project.

On Wednesday 13th November the proposal went to Oxford City Council’s Cabinet to make the decision on transferring a long lease at nil cost to a community group, with the intention of that organisation being Oxfordshire CLT but not locked into being so.

Having worked with Transition by Design on the Wolvercote Paper Mill and Irving Building projects, we are very happy to be partnering with them once again.

We will be formally launching both the Routes to Delivery report and announce plans for Community Led Housing in the city and beyond on Thursday 16th January in the Town Hall at 6.30pm with Oxford City Council and the CoHoHub.