The UK Administration announced it removed Heyford Park from the New Town roster “to ensure credible delivery of the programme in the long-term.”
Over the past 15 years, Dorchester Living has constructed 1,200 residences out of the proposed 13,000 on the former military installation close to Bicester, representing a £5 billion undertaking.
The proposal for 9,000 additional dwellings at that location was eliminated when officials reduced the new towns inventory from twelve to seven earlier this week. Nevertheless, development could still proceed should Cherwell District Council give its approval.
The six locations still included are projected to provide no fewer than 10,000 residences, with several anticipated to exceed 40,000 homes in the coming decades.
The Department of Housing, Communities and Local Government stated: “To ensure credible delivery of the programme in the long-term, the government has prioritised those places that demonstrate the strongest evidence of impact.”
Heyford Park will be excluded from receiving Government funding toward an affordable housing allocation and a newly established investment body designed to stimulate residential construction.
However, officials have affirmed the Government will “continue to look at further ways they can be supported through existing housebuilding programmes.”
No definitive determination regarding sites or implementation will occur until the Strategic Environmental Assessment is finalized, anticipated by late 2027.
The MHCLG commented: “This requires the Government to assess the environmental impacts of the proposed locations and to consider and assess the environmental impacts of any reasonable alternatives to achieve the programme objectives.