1. Oxfordshire is ambitious for its economy and is forwards looking. The Oxfordshire Plan seeks to help Oxfordshire to position to meet global challenges and secure new economic opportunities. With significant sector strengths in life sciences, high-performance engineering and R&D, local opportunities include ensuring we are reducing inequalities and ensuring all citizens have an opportunity to access new local jobs as well as advanced skills and education.

1. Economic priorities for Oxfordshire draw on the strategies prepared by the Oxfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership, including the Strategic Economic Plan and the COVID Recovery Plan. The Oxfordshire Plan supports the delivery of those two economic plans, recognising the importance of the wider economy, which the planning system should support and seeks to ensure that the planning authorities across Oxfordshire can respond to the impact of COVID on retail and hospitality sectors through re-imagining the role of our town centres.

1. The Oxfordshire Plan contains proposals to assist with the economic recovery from COVID. These proposals build on the strengths of the economy and seek to harness its capability in the long-term to maintain high level of GVA growth, to secure the retention of young people, and improve access to skills and training resources.

1. The Oxfordshire Plan recognises that the economy will continue to evolve over next 30 years; this Plan seeks to support that evolution and assist it to become less carbon dependent. The Plan also seeks to support economic innovation as well as improved productivity by ensuring that land use is flexible and can adapt to economic change in both rural and urban Oxfordshire.

1. The Oxfordshire Plan looks to take full account of climate change and the need for environmental enhancement to achieve a greener economic future. The use of 5G and the application of new advanced digital infrastructure will help our businesses and institutions position for the future, as well as help to maintain the current high levels of home working.

1. Over the 30-year duration of this Plan, new affordable housing in Oxfordshire will both reduce the need to travel long distances to work, and through the provision of a wider range of house types help to ensure that the workforce of Oxfordshire companies can live in the County and economic success is not held back. Equally, new and renewed business premises will extend the capacity available of floorspace, employment and in Oxfordshire.

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