Oxford City Council is beginning the third stage of consultation on a planning document that will shape the future of the new neighbourhood west of Barton.

The document, known as the Barton Area Action Plan (AAP), outlines the draft planning policies for the development of new homes and community infrastructure on the 90-acre site.

The public is invited to comment on these policies for a six-week period, from Friday 10 February until Friday 23 March 2012.

The policies are based on detailed financial and technical studies, including traffic and drainage modelling reports, which are available for the public to view along with the AAP itself on our Barton Development pages.

There have been two previous rounds of public consultation, in 2010 and 2011, which have strongly influenced the policies and detail within the AAP.

Councillor Bob Price, Leader of Oxford City Council, said: "Earlier rounds of consultation helped us to identify the important issues and how best to address these.

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"Last summer, we invited people to have their say on our preferred options for the site. The response from the local community was extremely encouraging and has helped us shape the plans as they are now."

This stage of consultation is different from the previous two rounds in that the public is asked to comment on whether they think the policies in the AAP are 'sound'. The sorts of questions people will need to think about now are whether the policies are based on strong and credible evidence and how they compare with reasonable alternatives.

Comments and feedback are to be sent direct to the City Council and will be submitted to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government in spring 2012.

The Secretary of State will then appoint an independent Planning Inspector who will hold a formal examination of the AAP in summer 2012. Members of the public who have commented can attend the examination and will have the opportunity to ask the Inspector to hear their representation.

At the end of the examination the Planning Inspector will prepare a report for the Council which may propose amendments to the AAP before it is finalised (or 'adopted') in late 2012.

The Barton development is the largest residential opportunity in Oxford for many years, with around 900 homes planned - many of them family-sized and at least 40% affordable.

The development is also expected to bring regeneration benefits for neighbouring communities, such as improved public transport, better links to the city and surrounding areas, new public open space, a primary school, and a new local centre with a supermarket and multi-purpose community building.

(CD/GK)