MCS pupils joined the Oxfordshire Schools Sustainability Network (OxSSN) last night to discuss housing and communities at the University of Oxford’s Earth Sciences Department. OxSSN is open to all pupils in Year 10 and above in Oxfordshire Schools, who are welcome to attend a series of meetings on a variety of sustainability issues and talk to experts and local leaders.
Pupils from across the county conferred about Oxford’s housing needs with Mark Child, lawyer and Chair of Oxfordshire Community Land Trust; Natalie Duffus, a DPhil student researching policy and conservation, and Councillor Louise Upton, Oxford neuroscientist and Oxford City Council cabinet member for planning.
Some fantastic questions were asked by pupils at the meeting, including some from our MCS contingent: “How can we balance the need to deregulate affordable housing development with the need for tighter controls on biodiversity net gain?” and “Do developers have a responsibility to build third spaces to build community?”. Food for thought indeed!