Cherwell District Council has said it is looking into how to include an extra 6,000 homes in its planning strategy.

The announcement follows the suspension of a hearing into the district council’s local plan on Wednesday when a planning inspector said more homes than the 16,000 proposed were possible by 2031.

A study commissioned by all of Oxfordshire’s councils – called Strategic Housing Market Assessment or SHMA – found Cherwell needed to build 22,000 by that year.

District councillor Michael Gibbard, lead member for planning, said: “While this delay is disappointing, it is not a failure or a rejection. Once the plan has been revised, the modified document will go out to public consultation in the autumn and the public hearings will start again in December. ”

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