Oxfordshire parking standards, April 2026: car free, car light and upper limits.

What has changed

The standards are framed around the Local Transport and Connectivity Plan, including its targets to reduce car trips by 25% by 2030 and by a further third by 2040 (paragraph 1.1). The document is described as a live document, to be reviewed every 12 to 18 months (paragraph 3.1).

The document does not include a schedule of changes, so the following is our reading of the main differences: a new car light category (paragraphs 4.17 to 4.24); specific standards for sites on the edge of Oxford, with a requirement for at least half of parking to be off-plot (section 6); Oxford City's own standards incorporated in Table 1; electric vehicle requirements extended to e-bikes; an HMO standard of 0.5 on-plot spaces per bedroom outside Oxford City (paragraph 7.5); and a default of car free non-residential development in Oxford City and town centres (paragraph 8.5).

Car free and car light

Car free development, meaning no parking other than for disabled users and car clubs, is required where all of the following apply (paragraphs 4.15 and 4.16):

• the site is in Oxford City, on its edge, or in one of the towns listed in Appendix A;
• it has excellent walking and cycling links and is within 600 metres of a bus service running at least twice an hour, or 1,000 metres of a rail service at that frequency;
• a supermarket or shop selling fresh food is within 800 metres, a primary school and a GP or pharmacy within 1,600 metres, and a secondary school and significant employment within 3,200 metres; and
• Blue Badge parking is provided.

A controlled parking zone is required, funded by the developer and in place before adoption under section 38.

Car light development applies looser distance thresholds, including 800 metres to a bus service, 1,600 metres to rail and 1,600 metres to a supermarket and primary school. Reduced parking is placed in remote or communal areas, and a controlled parking zone and a travel plan with fixed monitoring are required. Where both car free and car light conditions are met, car free takes precedence (paragraphs 4.17 to 4.24). Appendix B sets out a 100-metre grid method for measuring the walking distances.

Area standards

• Oxford City (Table 1): expressed as maxima, including one space per dwelling, none for student accommodation and lower ratios for older people's housing. HMOs are assessed case by case.
• Edge of Oxford (Table 2): up to one space for one and two-bedroom homes and up to two for larger homes, with at least half of spaces off-plot in designated areas and capable of reallocation (paragraphs 6.3 to 6.6).
• Towns (Table 3a): up to one space for one and two-bedroom homes and up to two for three bedrooms or more.
• Rural Oxfordshire (Table 3b): up to one, two, two and three spaces for one, two, three to four and five or more bedrooms respectively, justified in the transport submission.

Visitor parking is not required where at least half of parking is unallocated. Otherwise 0.2 spaces per dwelling is expected, or at most one per five units where that is not feasible (paragraphs 7.7 to 7.9). For non-residential uses, Table 4 sets upper limits that will not be accepted without justification, starting from operational need (paragraphs 4.10 and 8.6).

Other requirements

• Garages: to count as parking, internal dimensions of at least 6 metres by 3 metres (paragraph 7.10).
• Electric vehicles: active on-plot charging for cars and e-bikes, and at least 25% active points, minimum two, in off-plot and non-residential parking, with ducting to the remainder (paragraphs 4.22, 4.28 and 4.29).
• Cycle parking: residential provision to LTN 1/20 Table 11-1, with Sheffield stands rather than toast-rack stands and space for cargo and adapted cycles; non-residential rates in Table 4 (paragraphs 4.13, 4.14 and 4.33).
• Disabled parking: within 50 metres of the dwelling entrance, and 6% of unallocated spaces in flats (paragraphs 4.30 and 4.31).
• Parking surveys: Lambeth method, overnight for residential sites, over 200 metres for residential and 500 metres for commercial measured along walking routes, with the study area agreed with the county council (section 9).

Points to note

The car free test is mandatory in its language: where the criteria are met, car free development is required, not merely encouraged. That places considerable weight on how the distances are measured, and the Appendix B method should be applied with care from the outset of site appraisal.

The document uses "maxima" in some places and "up to" in others. In practice both point to upper limits, but applicants seeking to justify provision at the top of the range in towns or rural areas should expect to evidence it.

The controlled parking zone requirement for car free and car light schemes has cost and programme implications, since the zone must be in place before adoption. Its delivery depends on a traffic regulation order process that the developer does not control.

Practical points

• Test the car free and car light criteria early, using the Appendix B method, before a layout is fixed.
• Allow for a controlled parking zone in cost plans and programmes where either category applies.
• Plan off-plot parking on edge-of-Oxford sites from the first layout, given the 50% requirement.
• Agree survey scope with the county council before commissioning parking surveys.
• Check garage dimensions before counting garages towards provision.