What's happening in Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire Strategic Vision
The Future Oxfordshire Partnership has developed a Strategic Vision for Oxfordshire that sets out our ambition for the county and puts us on the right path for long-term change so that we can secure the best possible future for Oxfordshire’s residents.
Oxfordshire Plan 2050 – The plan will set the framework for future planning decisions on housing and infrastructure needs while seeking to protect our natural environment, tackle climate change and improve the quality of life for all.
Oxfordshire Infrastructure Strategy (OXIS) – The Oxfordshire Infrastructure Strategy (OxIS) provides a framework for Oxfordshire County Council, Oxfordshire’s five planning authorities and key partners to deliver a sustainable, clean, and healthy future.
Local Transport and Connectivity Plan
Around the districts and City
Oxford City
Health and Wellbeing Partnerships are covering some of the locality areas within Oxford City which include Barton, Rose Hill, The Leys and Wood Farm. The partnerships work on an asset-based approach, building on what’s happening in the area and collectively adding value. They are attended by a range of different stakeholders. There are also other partnerships in Littlemore and Northway which include a remit around health.
Barton Healthy New Town Barton Healthy New Town (BHNT) was one of ten sites chosen as part of NHS England’s Healthy New Towns programme. The programme aimed to create innovative and sustainable ways for new developments to improve health and wellbeing in communities.
NHS England funded the project from 2016 until March 2019 after which Grosvenor (the Barton Park Developers) funded a new 3-year post for a Community Health Development Officer to work with residents to empower the community to develop their community-led projects that aim to reduce health inequalities. The Barton Healthy New Town Delivery Group continue to meet to sustain and embed the work from the programme within existing and new communities in Barton.
Cherwell District Council
Bicester became a Healthy New Town in 2016, gaining funding from the NHS to develop a range of initiatives to make it easier for residents to live happy, healthy lives. This programme has since developed into a network of individuals, organisations and community groups under the umbrella of the Healthy Bicester Partnership.
There are three core workstreams to the programme: the built environment - making the best use of Bicester’s built environment to encourage healthy living; community activation - helping local people to live healthier lives with the support of community groups, schools, and employers; and new models of care - delivering new approaches to care closer to home and minimising hospital admissions.
One of our most successful projects was the installation of three 5k health routes around the town. The circular paths have a continuous blue line, allowing the user to easily follow the trails, safe in the knowledge they will not get lost. The study “Healthy New Towns, Putting Health into Place” estimated that for every £1 invested in creating the walks, £2.10 would be saved by the NHS over 25 years.
To find out more about the partnership, go to www.cherwell.gov.uk/HealthyBicester or follow @HealthyBicester on Facebook
K5 Better Together programme takes its roots from the successful Healthy Bicester Partnership. Using the three pillars of healthy place shaping we are working in partnership with key local stakeholders to improve the health and wellbeing of Kidlington and the residents of the surrounding villages. Some of the projects we are working on include: creating an LCWIP to improve cycling and walking infrastructure; community garden projects; park run creation; and installing wayfinding routes using animal trails as a theme.
More information on the partnership can be found @K5BetterTogether on Facebook.
West Oxfordshire
Embedding Healthy Place Shaping in West Oxfordshire has been supported by funding from Sport England, which enabled the scale-up of the work that had been piloted in Cherwell. The West Oxfordshire District Council Plan 2020-2024 detailed plans to take a Healthy Place Shaping approach, with a view to facilitating healthy lifestyles and better wellbeing for everyone, and building prosperous local communities. West Oxfordshire plan to champion Healthy Place Shaping, utilising the core principles to influence and underpin all aspects of their work, ensuring that all decisions made, have the best possible outcomes for the short and long term health and wellbeing of all residents of the district.
West Oxfordshire District Council is now governed by The West Oxfordshire Alliance (WOA), which is an agreement between the Liberal Democrats, Labour and the Green Party. The WOA will soon be publishing a set of headline priorities which will inform a new Council Plan, to be developed in the early months of the WOA’s tenure. It is anticipated that the health and wellbeing of local communities (current and future residents) will be a key priority to be addressed as part of the development of the emerging Council Plan. Healthy Place Shaping will be a key consideration for this and the Local Plan review, being the spatial interpretation of Council Plan priorities.
For more information on Healthy Place Shaping in West Oxfordshire, get in touch with Healthy Place Shaping Officer, Jon Clark.
South Oxfordshire and the Vale of White Horse District Councils
Active communities: The active communities team work across both districts to help residents with their physical health and wellbeing – the activities they run and other relevant information about physical health and wellbeing links the council has, are detailed on our website:
Garden communities: Vale of White Horse has two garden communities, Didcot Garden Town and Dalton Barracks Garden Village. South Oxfordshire also has two garden communities, Didcot Garden Town also falls within the district, as well as Berinsfield Garden Village. These garden communities offer the opportunity to create strong and healthy communities, with a mix of housing with attractive green and open spaces with good links between residents’ homes, shops and community facilities and workplaces.
Planning: Both Local Plans include a requirement to submit a Health Impact Assessment as part of a planning application for major development and/or site allocations.