Councillors agreed to back the inclusion of the north west Bicester location in the government's list of potential eco town sites but only if its ten caveats were recognised. The decision to promote a new deal for Bicester was taken at a special meeting of the council's executive, devoted to the issue of eco towns.
Cherwell District Council will only support an eco development at North West Bicester if alternative proposals for a larger eco town at Weston Otmoor are dropped. Key to the ten point plan is the idea of a 'new deal' for Bicester. In return for supporting an eco development Cherwell District Council wants assurance from the Government that substantial and continuing financial support will be made available to Bicester. The council wants guarantees that 'growth point funding' (money given to areas earmarked for expansion across the UK) will be channeled to Bicester ahead of any expansion of housing numbers. The new deal would also require public sector organisations to work together to deliver major projects on Bicester's infrastructure, such as junction nine of the M40.
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Proposals for an eco development in north west Bicester were submitted by Cherwell District Council in response to the Government's consultation on eco towns, as a way to provide a direct alternative to another potential site in Weston Otmoor. The council believes the Weston site would damage the future success of Bicester and the surrounding area and has opposed the Weston idea since it was announced in April 2008.
(CD/JM)
