The Oxford Green Belt is a

green belt A green belt is a policy and land-use zone designation used in land-use planning to retain areas of largely undeveloped, wild, or agricultural land surrounding or neighboring urban areas. Similar concepts are greenways or green wedges, which hav ...

environmental A biophysical environment is a biotic and abiotic surrounding of an organism or population, and consequently includes the factors that have an influence in their survival, development, and evolution. A biophysical environment can vary in scale f ...

and

planning Planning is the process of thinking regarding the activities required to achieve a desired goal. Planning is based on foresight, the fundamental capacity for mental time travel. The evolution of forethought, the capacity to think ahead, is consi ...

policy that regulates the rural space in

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

, within the

South East The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each se ...

region of

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. It is centred on the city of

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, along with surrounding areas. Its core function is to control urban growth and development in and around the Oxford built-up area. It is managed by the local planning authorities on basis of guidance from central government.

Geography

The green belt was first proposed in 1958, but only formalised and approved by central government in 1975. Land area taken up by the belt is , 0.5% of the total land area of England (2010). All the Oxfordshire district council areas contain some portion, and it extends for some five miles from the city's limits. The smallest tracts are within the city and

West Oxfordshire West Oxfordshire is a local government district in northwest Oxfordshire, England, including towns such as Woodstock, Burford, Chipping Norton, Charlbury, Carterton and Witney, where the council is based. Area The area is mainly rural downland ...

districts, with

South Oxfordshire South Oxfordshire is a local government district in the ceremonial county of Oxfordshire, England. Its council is temporarily based outside the district at Abingdon-on-Thames pending a planned move to Didcot, the district's largest town. The a ...

containing the largest expanse. Key suburbs, villages and towns within the realms of the green belt include

Dean Court Dean Court, currently known as the Vitality Stadium for sponsorship purposes, is a football stadium in Kings Park, Boscombe, a suburb of Bournemouth, Dorset, England and the home ground of AFC Bournemouth. History In 1910, Boscombe F.C. was gi ...

Kennington Kennington is a district in south London, England. It is mainly within the London Borough of Lambeth, running along the boundary with the London Borough of Southwark, a boundary which can be discerned from the early medieval period between the ...

Kidlington Kidlington is a major village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Oxfordshire, England, between the River Cherwell and the Oxford Canal, north of Oxford and 7 miles (12 km) south-west of Bicester. It remains officially a village ...

Wheatley Wheatley may refer to: Places * Wheatley (crater), on Venus * Wheatley, Ontario, Canada * Wheatley, Hampshire, England * Wheatley, Oxfordshire, England ** Wheatley railway station * Wheatley, South Yorkshire, England * Wheatley, now Ben Rhydding, ...

, and

Yarnton Yarnton is a village and civil parish in Oxfordshire about southwest of Kidlington and northwest of Oxford. The 2011 Census recorded the parish's population as 2,545. Archaeology Early Bronze Age decorated beakers have been found in the pa ...

. Landscape features and facilities within include

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...

, Cherwell and their flood-meadows,

RSPB Otmoor Otmoor RSPB Reserve is a nature reserve, managed by the RSPB, between Beckley and Oddington, within the wider area of Otmoor, in Oxfordshire, England. The reserve was established in 1997 and restored large areas of marshland from what had pre ...

Culham Science Centre The Culham Centre for Fusion Energy (CCFE) is the UK's national laboratory for fusion research. It is located at the Culham Science Centre, near Culham, Oxfordshire, and is the site of the Joint European Torus (JET), Mega Ampere Spherical Toka ...

Cutteslowe Park Cutteslowe Park is a public park in Cutteslowe in North Oxford, England. It was established in 1936 when Oxford City Council acquired land of the former Cutteslowe Manor farm, whose house still stands at its centre. More land was acquired in ...

and the mini railway attraction,

Shotover Country Park Shotover Park (also called Shotover House) is an 18th-century country house and park near Wheatley, Oxfordshire, England. The house, garden and parkland are Grade I-listed with English Heritage, and 18 additional structures on the property are ...

Farmoor Reservoir Farmoor Reservoir is a reservoir at Farmoor, Oxfordshire, England, about 5 miles (8 km) outside the city of Oxford. It is close to the east bank of the River Thames. Like most of the reservoirs in the Thames Valley, it was not formed by ...

, and St Margaret's Church and well. Due to the belt lying wholly within the county border, responsibility and co-ordination lies with the district councils as these are the local planning authorities.

References

{{reflist

External links

Interactive map of green belt land
1975 establishments in England Green belts in the United Kingdom Environment of Oxfordshire Geography of Oxford

Geography

See also

References

External links