We want to hear from local people - Could disused garages provide space for new affordable homes ?
Come to our drop in event at Blackbird Leys Community Centre, Jack Argent Room on Saturday 30th October 11-2pm
or …give us your feedback online
Oxfordshire Community Land Trust, Transition by Design and Oxford City Council are working together to identify brownfield sites – like disused council garages – that could be reclaimed for new homes.
Some of the sites being suggested are in Blackbird Leys so we are inviting local people to join and share their thoughts on if this is something they’d like to see happen.
The event will be an opportunity to:
→ Help us look at potential sites
→ Share information about the needs in your area
→ Give feedback about the type of housing or community facilities you’d like to see
There will be an interactive workshop as well as refreshments and food from The Damascus Rose Kitchen.
The event is part of a partnership project funded by the Housing Advisers Programme. The project will develop a strategy for reclaiming underused land for affordable and sustainable housing.
Around 600 of the council’s 2,000 garages are vacant. These sites are often small with some barriers to construction, meaning that they are overlooked for larger housing projects. However with housing in Oxford becoming increasingly unaffordable and over 2,850 households on Oxford City Council’s housing list, new and innovative solutions are desperately needed.
As part of the project, a long list of potential sites across Oxford are being mapped and surveyed to test their suitability for housing - including garage sites in the Blackbird Leys area. Each of these brownfield sites could make space for small-scale developments of several new homes, without losing any community green space.
Transition by Design bring their expertise in low-carbon design and will develop initial plans for up to 30 comfortable and sustainable homes across at least five garage sites. The Oxfordshire Community Land Trust aims to ensure that any homes created in future are permanently affordable and owned by the community.
The project is still in the early stages and the partnership is first gathering support and ideas from the Blackbird Leys community. We invite local residents to participate in the event or share their ideas online.