Housing strategy 2025-2030

In 2021, there were 161,800 residents living in Cherwell. This increase from 150,500 in 2019, an increase of around 7%. Bicester and Banbury are the areas that are experiencing the highest population growths as the main areas of employment, commerce and house building.

However, despite some turbulence, the overall trajectory of house prices is that they are increasing. Cost of living pressures, namely high inflation rates (driven in part by household energy costs) and interest rates, have limited the amount of money being able to be borrowed from lenders or the amount of disposable income that individuals have, as wages have largely not increased at the same rate.

The median property price in Cherwell District is around £396,000 (2023), this is significantly higher than the UK average of £282,000 (2024). The Cherwell level is however lower than the Oxfordshire wide and South East wider level. Sold houses data from 2023-24 suggests that the average price for properties sold in Bicester and Kidlington were around 21% higher than those sold in Banbury. (source: Zoopla)

The estimated median income from a job within Cherwell is £30,749, which is lower than the Oxfordshire median of £34,005 but is higher than the national level of £29,669. The workplace earnings to house price ratio within Cherwell is wider therefore than at a national level. In 2021, the house price to workplace earnings ratio was over 10 times, and this gap has widened. This means that purchasing a home is out of the reach of many working households.

Overall, Cherwell is a prosperous area, it ranks at 220 on the Local Authority rank out of 317 (there are 219 more deprived Local Authority areas) within the Index of Multiple Deprivation (2019). However, it does have some areas of acute deprivation when compared locally and nationally. Cherwell has areas that are within the bottom 20% of most deprived areas nationally. These ward areas are all within Banbury.

Affordability is not just an issue for homeowners and those seeking homeownership. It is a cross tenure issue, and the issues facing the private rented sector are similarly challenging.

The median rental cost per month for a property in Cherwell is £975. This is below the Oxfordshire level of £1100 but higher than the overall national and South East levels (2022). Median rents in Cherwell rose over 11% over the 3 prior years, which is a faster acceleration than the County as a whole.

The private rented sector locally is a challenging market. There is a high demand for accommodation and a buoyant market. Therefore, those that are on the lowest incomes face the most significant challenges in accessing private rented sector tenancies. As Cherwell is adjacent to Oxford City, prices have been pushed up by the Oxford City market and its thriving rental market, driven by its location, commerce and the student market, particularly in Houses of Multiple Occupation. Median rents in Oxford City are around £300 per month more than they are in Cherwell.

As Cherwell has some population centres close to Oxford, such as Kidlington and Bicester, competition is high for properties, and this influences prices.

Cherwell District has two Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates, the Oxford Rate and Cherwell Valley Rate. Local Housing Allowance is the rate up to which housing benefit can be paid within a certain area, this is calculated nationally and is linked to the local market. 

Banbury and Bicester are within the Cherwell Valley Rate, whilst areas such as Kidlington are within the Oxford Rate. The Oxford Rate his higher than the Cherwell Valley Rate, which is to be anticipated. However, Bicester due to its expansion, improving transport links and associated employment opportunities has seen a greater acceleration in housing market and prices than in Banbury, for example. Bicester therefore has acute affordability challenges within the private rental market because of the greater difference between the market and LHA rates than in other areas in Cherwell.

Social housing demand

There are at present just over 2000 households on the housing register, and this has increased by almost 100% in the last 5 years, which is the lifespan of the previous housing strategy.

There were 546 lettings through the housing register during 2023-24. There is an increasing need for 1 bedroom accommodation within the district, with 50% of new applicants within a 12 month period requiring a 1 bedroom property and 84% of new applicants require smaller (1 and 2 bedroom accommodation). However, supply of smaller accommodation is stronger, both through new delivery and through relets, so the waits for this type of accommodation are shorter than for larger 4 bedroom or larger accommodation, regardless of what priority band you are in. The average wait for a larger property (4-bedroom+) through the housing register is 1065 days.

The majority of new applications to the housing register cite their reason for applying and thus their housing needs to be that their current accommodation is too small. This reason is nearly twice as prevalent as any  other single reason. Therefore, this coupled with supply issues of larger accommodation outlined above, there are significant numbers of households that are living in properties that are unsuitable and overcrowded.

Homelessness

Cherwell has a level of homelessness that is similar to the other Districts within Oxfordshire. In 2022-23, of the households assessed as being owed a homelessness duty, Cherwell assessed 419. This is lower as a total number than Oxford (439) and South Oxfordshire (476) as an apportionment of overall numbers, but more in West Oxfordshire (342) and the Vale of the White Horse (415).

In terms of the crisis presentations and those requiring temporary accommodation, Cherwell ranks routinely higher than South Oxfordshire and Vale of the White Horse, both of whom have less than 50 households accommodated in temporary accommodation and reports similar to the levels in West Oxfordshire. Oxford City has considerably more pressure in this area, with nearly 250 households, which is more than the rest of the County combined.

However, Cherwell has a higher number of rough sleepers in the County (outside Oxford City). There are routinely more than 10 people sleeping rough within Cherwell on a single night and this number has risen over the last two years by a third. Cherwell has also seen an increasing trend of those in employment rough sleeping. Support services for those rough sleeping is provided through a County and City “Alliance”. This is where funding and services are pooled. It is one of the only models in the Country where these services are provided in this way as funding is calculated on a local authority area by area basis.

Private rented housing standards

As previously indicated, Cherwell has a buoyant housing market. There are approximately 9300 properties that are private rented within the district, which makes up around 18% of all households within the district.

The Council additionally licences 222 Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO) across the district. The Council however does not have an additional or selective licencing scheme in accordance with Part 2 and 3 of the Housing Act 2004. This is opposed to Oxford City Council, for instance, who require all dwellings that are being used for private rented accommodation to be licenced.

The Council does not hold comprehensive stock condition data for all homes within the district. It is estimated that that 20% of the private rented stock has the presence of Category 1 hazards, 11% suffer excess cold and 13% of the occupants are in fuel poverty.

Local economy

Cherwell has a thriving local economy and has seen growth opportunities in recent decades. Compared to the national and regional average, Cherwell has less unemployment, with 2.6% of people unemployed compared to 2.9 across the South East and 3.7% nationally. Cherwell has a higher rate than the national average of people in skilled professional occupations, but also has an above average proportion of people completing unskilled manual labour occupations.

Cherwell therefore has fewer people claiming Universal Credit across all population metrics compared to the national average, 2.3% compared to 3.9%. (ONS 2021)

Environment and climate change

Like many Councils, a climate emergency has been declared in Cherwell. As part of this declaration, Cherwell has committed to 

• Ensuring our own operations and activities are carbon net zero by 2030 
• Do our part to support the district to become carbon net zero

Since 2008-09, our greenhouse gas emissions have reduced by 40% and in 2022-23, we reduced our emissions by a further 3%. The Cherwell District Council Climate Change Action Plan 2023-2024 outlines 17 goals within an Action Plan which support the Council and the wider district’s ambitions to become carbon net zero. The action plan includes actions for Council buildings, fleet, staff behaviour and procurement as well as supporting transport, housing and businesses to reduce emissions.

Cherwell Local Plan Review

A Local Plan sets out the strategic priorities of the district, addressing the homes needed, and provision for other development, supporting infrastructure and social and environmental considerations. It is underpinned by detailed economic, environmental and social evidence. A Local Plan and the Housing Strategy and their associated evidence basis and objectives have synergy.

Cherwell is in the process of developing a new Local Plan which will cover the period up to 2042. It is now at the pre-submission stage (Regulation 19) and is currently undergoing consultation until February 2025. The new draft Local Plan therefore sets out the vision and proposes homes, employment land, infrastructure and other essential services required to support our local communities over the plan period.

The draft Local Plan has three overarching themes

1. Meeting the challenge of climate change and ensuring sustainable development
2. Maintaining and developing a sustainable local economy
3. Building health and sustainable communities

The plan presents a strategy, policies and proposals for meeting these objectives and delivering the vision.

Oxfords Unmet Housing Need

The Oxfordshire Strategic Market Assessment, published in 2014 identified the need for provision of around 5000 homes a year over the period 2011-31. Following this, it was accepted that Oxford cannot fully meet its own needs outlined, which had a potential requirement of 28,000 additional homes by 2031. There was then collective agreement from Council’s across Oxfordshire to consider the extent how the need might be sustainably distributed to neighbouring districts.

As part of this, Cherwell was asked to consider the accommodation of 4,400 new homes in addition to any other Local Plan commitments. These developments would be concentrated around the area close to the Oxford city boundary, at the southern end of the Cherwell district. The Cherwell Local Plan Partial Review was subsequently adopted in 2020. This Plan identifies sites for 4,400 new homes in the south of the district to meet Cherwell’s agreed apportionment of Oxford’s unmet need.

The affordable housing delivered on these developments to help with Oxfords Unmet Housing Need would be delivered with preference for those applicants with an Oxford City connection. Allocations of these units however are matters for housing and not planning policy. The Council’s housing team will therefore work closely with Oxford City Council and the relevant registered providers to develop any appropriate local lettings plans and allocate the units accordingly.

Housing services in Cherwell

Since the 2019-24, the Council itself and the housing department have undergone a number of significant changes in their structure and operation. The last strategy was written during the reorganisation and termination of the arrangements between Cherwell and South Northamptonshire District Council and the new partnership between Cherwell and Oxfordshire County Council being formed.

As part of these arrangements, the Housing department and service was coupled with Adult Social Care Commissioning and was overseen by an officer that oversaw these two teams. During the lifetime of the previous strategy, these shared arrangements between Oxfordshire County Council and Cherwell District Council also ceased.

Cherwell District Council and its housing functions are therefore now acting as an independent entity, no longer in coupled arrangements with other Council’s. The new Housing Strategy is therefore for Cherwell District Council alone and addresses Cherwell specifically.