DEVELOPING a city so that it can not only cope, but flourish, as it expands through the decades is fraught with difficulty.

Just look at how Oxford’s historic city centre snarls up with traffic.

However, it is not a shortage of ideas but a shortage of cash that holds us back.

Huge housing estates come with hefty “developer contributions” and the localised schemes they pay for can be worked in at the building stage.

But Oxford’s expansion is characterised not by a handful of sprawling new estates, but by many hundreds of smaller infill developments and garden grabs.

Oxford’s blueprint for development until 2026, contains 8,000 new homes but just one new estate of any note — the 1,000-home Barton West.

The cumulative impact of small developments has not been recognised in the cash they contribute to the city’s coffers for new roads, schools and services. We hope the new Community Infrastructure Levy addresses the problem.

In a buoyant property market like Oxford, developers should pay their fair share and ensure the buildings they profit from add to the quality of life of all residents.