A CRUCIAL decision over plans to build 480 homes in north Oxford is set to be made tonight.

Oxford City Council will meet this evening to agree to spend £8.85m on new roads and other infrastructure to support the Oxford North development.

That cash is set to be demanded from the developer behind the plans, Thomas White, in Community Infrastructure Levy – money housebuilders must pay towards local services.

The city council has taken the unusual step of looking to agree the amount and how it will be spent at an early stage in order to start tackling the enormous infrastructure challenges the new housing will pose.

In total, the authority has said the expected infrastructure costs of the estate will amount to at least £100m, meaning that CIL contribution would still be less than 10 per cent.

Thomas White has already submitted a planning application for the Oxford North estate to the city council, and planning officers are now drawing up their recommendation.

A decision is expected in the next few months, but the council has already said it wants home to built at that site – between the ring road and A34 – as a matter of policy.

Tonight's meeting at the town hall starts at 5pm and members of public are welcome to sit in on the proceedings.

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