NEW rules which could see fewer affordable homes built in the city have been called a scandal.

Oxford City Council’s deputy leader Ed Turner said the guidance was an “absolute outrage”.

Under the changes councils cannot force developers to include affordable homes in sites of 10 homes or less.

Previously developers in Oxford had to either pay 15 per cent of the total sale price of the site to the city council, or make half of homes affordable.

Developments of three homes or less were exempt and contributions could have been reduced if they made developments “unviable”.

The Government said the change would encourage housebuilding, but it is thought it could affect as much as half of developments in the city.

Mr Turner said: “You need affordable homes to have mixed communities and our policies have already been approved by an independent planning inspector.

“This is a classic example of the dead hand of Whitehall coming in and interfering.”

And council leader Bob Price said: “This change will make a big difference in our ability to deliver affordable housing.

“Although our need for affordable housing is so great that the small numbers we get from these sites won’t make that problem go away, they are important.

“It is a serious problem and significant shift in Government policy.”

The Department for Communities and Local Government has also said empty buildings set to be redeveloped or demolished were exempt from affordable housing quotas.

In a report to the city council’s housing panel, officer Laura Higgins said the policy secured the council about £550,000 towards affordable housing per year since being adopted in 2013.

But she wrote that the change of rules meant it could no longer be enforced without leaving the council vulnerable to legal action.

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But some smaller developers in the county welcomed the Government’s move.

Planning director David Coates of Kidlington-based firm Kingerlee said: “A shift of focus to small developments is a welcome one.”

Housing Minister Brandon Lewis said: “Our reforms are helping the country’s small house builders and overnight in many part parts of England it will be cheaper to build an extension, a family annex or a home, as well as boosting local jobs.

"On average this will take £15,000 off the cost of building a home, with some councils charging up to £145,000 on a single property."

A High Court challenge against the new policy was announced by Reading Borough Council and West Berkshire Council last month.

Ms Higgins said Oxford City Council would appear as a witness in the case.

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