Ben Holgate finds that congested roads and lack of affordable housing are big issues

Oxfordshire business leaders have nominated infrastructure as a priority issue for the new Conservative government to tackle in the county.

Congested roads, the lack of affordable housing in Oxford and inadequate broadband are among the key infrastructure concerns raised by the county’s business elite.

The prospect of a potential British exit from the European Union, as a result of the Prime Minister's David Cameron’s pledge to hold a referendum by the end of 2017, is also at the forefront of local private sector minds since many Oxfordshire-based businesses have significant exports.

The Tory government, which was elected with a majority of seats on May 7, has a strong presence in Oxfordshire, with five of the six electorates falling to the Conservatives. This includes Mr Cameron, the member for Witney.

Timon Colegrove, chairman of the Oxfordshire Institute of Directors, said: “Infrastructure is absolutely vital. Oxfordshire is one of the most expensive places to live [in the UK].”

He said continued improvement of roads, rail transport and affordable housing was necessary.

Mr Colegrove, who is also chief executive of Kidlington-based printing, marketing, design and technology company Hunts, said the Government should promote the idea that making a profit was good for society.

“Profit should be embraced by all parties and all people,” he said. “Businesses need to generate wealth so they can spend it.”

Estate agent Mark Charter, partner and head of the Oxford office for Carter Jonas, said: “From an employer’s perspective it is all about more housing and infrastructure, in terms of the two being aligned.”

He said the city faced a “conundrum” because there was a lack of affordable housing “in and around Oxford where the jobs are” while people living outside Oxford had difficulty coming into the city to work due to congested roads.

He added that the amount of new houses being built in the city was “negligent”.

“We need more houses in the area because there are more people and more demand. We’ve got to allow new housing in our backyard.”

Robyn Bourne, Thames Valley development manager for the Federation of Small Businesses, highlighted broadband as a critical infrastructure issue.

“All over Oxfordshire generally is very bad for broadband,” she said.

Some households in the county suffer from Internet speeds of less than one megabit per second (mbps). The Government already has a policy in place to roll out “superfast” broadband of 24 mbps to 95 per cent of the UK by December 2017, and pledged before the election to deliver “ultrafast broadband” of at least 100 mbps “to nearly all homes in the country”. Miss Bourne also called for the Government to reassess how business rates, which local councils charge businesses that operate in on non-residential properties, are assessed.

She said business rates were too high because they were set before the recession.

Peter Smith, president of the Oxfordshire Chamber of Commerce, echoing the views of his membership, said infrastructure improvements should include “irreversible commitments to new airport capacity in the South East of England”, as well as “the delivery of the positive road, rail, energy and communications enhancements announced during the last parliament”.

Mr Smith called for a resolution on Britain’s position in the EU. “We continue to support the search for a new settlement for Britain in Europe. Business wants fundamental reform of the UK’s relationship with the EU, safeguards that prevent decisions on our economic interests being taken by the Eurozone, and a referendum on that settlement.”

Mr Colegrove said he was “anti-referendum” because he was concerned that many people would vote “emotionally”. “It’s a much bigger decision than nationalism,” he said.

“The Government’s wish to renegotiate and realign everything in Europe is important. That’s a good thing.

But he added: “We should stay in [the EU]. That’s perfectly obvious with globalisation.”

Some local business leaders had specific issues they wanted the government to address.

Dairy farmer David Christensen, who is a member of the board of representatives for Arla Foods, a dairy farmer cooperative, said: “I’d like more progress on dealing with tuberculosis in cattle. That’s a real headache for cattle farmers.”

He said bovine TB “can make cattle farming much more complicated and expensive.”. Farmers are not allowed to either buy or sell cattle while they have an affected herd, and must test their cattle every 60 days until they are cleared The number of new incidents of bovine TB in Oxfordshire increased from 37 herds in 2013 to 55 herds in 2014, according to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Mr Christensen, who owns Kingston Hill Farm in Kingston Bagpuize, also said the Government should minimise red tape and encourage exports. “There’s still a lot of red tape out there.”

Frank Nigriello, chairman of the business network Oxfordshire Business First, said that the Conservatives should prioritise improving productivity across the UK.

“Productivity is the main driver for creating wealth,” he said. “It’s about the ability for organisations to continually do more with less. That’s not about austerity. That’s about being able to be innovative and being able to produce more, not with less people, but with less resources.”