Statement of Community Involvement
South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse district councils have adopted a joint Statement of Community Involvement (SCI) to cover both districts.
The SCI sets out how we will consult on planning applications and planning policy, including the joint Local Plan.
The SCI was adopted in December 2021. We have made four minor amendments to the SCI and republished the updated version, now dated December 2022. The amendments are factual corrections. The changes made are:
1. Replace the word ‘draft’ with ‘emerging’ in reference to consulting on an emerging plan at Regulation 18 stage (page 7)
2. Remove reference to preparation and consultation on a preliminary draft charging schedule, in accordance with Regulation 15 of the CIL Regulations (page 11). Regulation 15 was deleted from the CIL Regulations in 2019 so we go straight to our Regulation 16 public consultation on the draft Charging Schedule.
3. Remove paragraphs 2.23-2.25 as these refer to the Oxfordshire Plan 2050, which is no longer being prepared.
4. Delete part of a sentence that refers to working practices during the COVID 19 pandemic (page 3) to bring in line with current practices.
We want to make it as easy as possible for people to get involved in the planning process. The SCI contains details of how we work positively and proactively with our communities to ensure their voices are heard.
The SCI also sets out how we make sure you can access the right information as easily and early as possible to help you come to your own conclusions.
Please note in paragraph 1.15 of the SCI there is a link to register on the council’s ‘have your say’ database. We have now moved to a new consultation system so this link will no longer work for sign-ups. To make sure you don’t miss out on consultation news, you can use this link to register on the council’s consultation database and hear from us directly.
We’re committed to ensuring you know what we’re doing – we strive to be clear and transparent in our processes – and the SCI reflects this too. We held a six-week public consultation on the SCI ending on 20 October 2021. The consultation Statement summarises the results of the survey and all of the comments received.
The joint SCI replaces the South Oxfordshire SCI adopted in 2017 and the Vale of White Horse SCI adopted in 2020. The joint SCI was adopted by South Cabinet on 2 December 2021 and Vale Cabinet on 3 December 2021.
Supporting documents:
Contact us - Planning policy
01235 422600
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South Oxfordshire District Council
Abbey House
Abbey Close
Abingdon
OX14 3JE
