Meeting Place and Dandara hosted a roundtable at Milton Park, bringing together some of South Oxfordshire’s most influential voices to tackle a pressing question: how can we unlock sustainable growth that truly benefits everyone?

The roundtable welcomed the region’s local government, business, development and property leaders to explore the task at hand and how we can work together to drive regional change.

Sponsored by Dandara and facilitated by Meeting Place, attendees included: Advanced Oxford, atlp Consulting, CBRE, Enterprise Oxfordshire, Milton Park, Oxfordshire County Council, Vale of White Horse Council, South Oxfordshire District Council, Tokamak Energy and Wantage Chamber of Commerce.

Leafy perceptions, but a challenging reality on the ground

Meeting Place’s Social Value Lead, Ruth Skidmore, kicked off the session with comprehensive research which tackled the perception of Oxfordshire as a leafy, affluent county.

The data painted a more nuanced picture of a region with significant strengths, but also clear challenges. Across South Oxfordshire:

• Education outcomes are lagging behind regional benchmarks
• Apprenticeship starts have fallen by 14%, with completion rates dropping 27.8% year-on-year
• Loneliness affects 23.6% of the population in South Oxfordshire, rising to 28.8% in Vale of White Horse, whilst anxiety levels remain high at 28.8%
• Just 14.8% of adults walk to work regularly, compared to 18.2% regionally
• Only 17% of children have access to natural green spaces close to their home

The data sparked immediate recognition around the table. These weren’t just abstract statistics but reflected real-life experiences that attendees encountered daily.

Where closer collaboration can make the difference

The discussion surfaced four key areas where coordinated action to tackle these challenges could prove transformational for South Oxfordshire’s communities.

1. Healthcare – Healthcare provision emerged as perhaps the region’s most pressing challenge. The lack of adequate GP and dental services were seen as a symptom of sporadic, short-term approach to development. Small-scale housing developments have prevented the holistic approach needed to deliver decent healthcare infrastructure.
2. Skills and education – South Oxfordshire’s colleges often feel disconnected from local towns; creating skills gaps affecting everything from construction to care work. Whilst the area benefits from strong STEAM opportunities, attendees emphasised the need to support the backbone of the economy (trades, services and care roles). The upcoming reservoir construction was cited as a massive opportunity, but only if skills keep pace with demand.
3. Transport and connectivity – High car dependency emerged as both a climate concern and an access issue limiting opportunities across training, employment and stifling growth. However, the discussion revealed innovative approaches already working locally, such as Milton Park’s contribution to the bus network, which was cited as a pragmatic way of addressing the issue.
4. Planning and development coordination – Rather than viewing the planning system as broken, attendees focused on how better collaboration could unlock potential. The fragmentation of S106 contributions and communication gaps between private-public sectors were identified as solvable problems requiring coordinated effort. Milton Park’s Local Development Order, delivered in collaboration with the Vale of White Horse District Council, was cited as another area where an innovative approach to long-term strategic development can deliver growth and jobs.

Throughout the roundtable, a central theme emerged repeatedly: the need to move beyond consultation to genuine co-creation with communities and a need to adopt a “have you ever thought about…” approach that helps residents, developers and councils explore the possibility of development they might not have even thought possible.

Dandara cited one of its developments in Tunbridge Wells, where land was gifted to the local primary school upfront, as an example of the opportunity co-creation and open dialogue could deliver.

From conversation to action

What struck us most was how quickly the conversation moved from identifying problems to exploring solutions. The energy was focused on practical steps that could be taken collaboratively, building on existing strengths rather than starting from scratch.

The consensus was clear: whether through its innovative businesses, engaged communities, forward-thinking councils or developers ready to deliver, South Oxfordshire has all the ingredients for sustainable growth.

What seemed to ring clear as one of the biggest challenges wasn’t one of capability, but rather, a need for closer collaboration and better coordination.