COUNTY planners face a stark choice when it comes to the future of Oxford and what kind of city it will become.

Today’s story on a new study makes clear the enormous gulf between demand for housing and the shortage of supply, the timeless dynamic that is pushing housing prices sky high.

Research has said 1,400 homes need to be built each year to meet demand, but the latest Centre for Cities report said there is just space for 1,900 within the city boundaries on previously developed land.

After yesterday’s story that Oxfordshire County Council leader Ian Hudspeth believes the city’s road network is at capacity, it is an inescapable fact that Oxford is simply bursting at the seams.

Some want to protect the Green Belt at all costs. Others say the current stranglehold shows the need to expand beyond the city’s borders. We believe it is now time for a thorough analysis and debate on where this glorious city of ours is going. Oxford needs to expand as a city and as a local authority.

Our boundaries need a thorough and urgent review. Why should the city not build on Grenoble Road and provide homes for local people on a waiting list that just gets bigger?

We need to grow, we need homes for our workers so they can afford a place to live here rather than commuting in.

Without this growth, property prices within the ring road will continue to be out of reach for the average person. And they’ll just keep getting higher.

To sit by and allow the situation to continue will simply kill the city. It will be like Monaco, where only the rich can afford.