The Wolvercote Neighbourhood Plan represents the views of the community in local area planning developments. It will be a binding legal planning document. Once approved by local residents and adopted by Oxford City Council, it will constitute a material consideration in all area planning applications.

The text below is the introduction to the full Wolvercote Neighbourhood Plan v8.3 (pdf download).

This Neighbourhood Plan is your plan. It seeks to establish a vision for Wolvercote and to deliver local aspirations and needs from 2019 to 2034. Neighbourhood planning was introduced in the Localism Act (2011) and reflects the Government’s determination that local communities are closely involved in decisions about new buildings and developments that affect them.
Our plan area stretches from North Oxford to Cutteslowe and to the villages of Upper and Lower Wolvercote. Many people have lived here all their lives, many have retired here or have lived here while working in Oxford, and with the planned developments there will be a growing and changing community.
Unlike many Neighbourhood Plans, ours will not be able to affect the designation of major sites for development, because the Northern Gateway and the Mill site were already allocated for development. However, a neighbourhood plan is a statutory document incorporated into the planning framework and can have an impact on the way development happens. It can help to ensure that development is sympathetic.
We have worked to discover the views of the community about what it values and what needs to be done to ensure that Wolvercote will be a place where people will be happy to live in the future and that, whatever changes and developments there are, its essential character will not be lost. None of this would have been possible without the hard work of those who have joined the Steering Committee. The process remains open to all wanting to help in the future. We always welcome help.
We have been concerned to reflect the views of the community regarding, for example: flood risk; pollution; the preservation, development and maintenance of our green spaces; the protection of the Green Belt; the scale and sustainability of building. We know, too, that that our neighbourhood is affected by developments that are outside our area and consequently more difficult to influence. It is, however, our intention to do our best to co-operate with our neighbours to do what we can to ensure that the common interests of all residents are protected.
This, then, is our vision for the future.
Christopher Hardman
Chairman, Wolvercote Neighbourhood Forum Steering Committee

The latest version is Wolvercote Neighbourhood Plan v8.3 (pdf download).