West Oxfordshire District Council has revealed its approach for boosting affordable housing availability in the town centre.

The local authority is preparing proposals for roughly 55 social rented homes on the Woodford Way car park site in Witney, with the aim of tackling rising housing need across the district.

Design work is currently in progress, and public engagement is expected at some point during the current year.

Councillor Andy Graham, who leads West Oxfordshire District Council, explained that while the site attracts considerable views, the scale of housing need in the area cannot be overlooked. Many residents, particularly young people, struggle to find affordable places to live, and doing nothing is not an option. This represents a rare opportunity to use council-owned land, which has been zoned for housing since 2018, to deliver entirely social rented accommodation for local people in an environmentally conscious town centre environment.

The council emphasised that the location offers a substantial opportunity to provide affordable homes without developer profits, drawing on a mix of national and partnership funding.

The emerging plans include flats and duplex homes, with purpose-designed underground parking for residents.

Following feedback received, the scheme also retains 84 public parking bays to ensure town centre access remains available.

Councillor Geoff Saul, cabinet member responsible for housing and social care, said the team is currently fine-tuning the layouts to strike the right balance between homes, parking and the needs of the wider town, but the need for genuinely affordable housing, particularly for social rent, is clear, and there is a duty to focus on what younger residents require.

The Woodford Way scheme forms part of the council’s wider review of parking provision across Witney.

The council pointed out that the town has more than 1,600 free parking spaces, and the Marriotts Walk multistorey car park, which continues to see low usage, typically has over 230 empty spaces.

As a result, the council believes changes to parking at Woodford Way can be absorbed by capacity elsewhere.

Additional work is under way to lengthen parking time limits and introduce overnight facilities to help workers, including those on atypical shifts.

An initial timeline has been set for the scheme, with pre-application talks scheduled for late spring 2026.

A full planning submission is planned for summer 2026, alongside public consultation exercises.

Mr Graham noted that this delivers benefits for free parking, higher footfall in the town centre, and most importantly, proper housing in suitable places.

The council suggested that a growing residential community in the town centre could support local businesses by generating more foot traffic and urban activity.