Oxford City Council to approve Oxford North plan

Published by

Nicky Godding

Oxford City Council has resolved to approve the planning application submitted by Thomas White Oxford (TWO), the development company of St John’s College, for Oxford North at its West Area Planning Committee meeting.

TWO has been seeking to realise the vision defined for the site in Oxford City Council’s Area Action Plan of 2015.The company is now aiming for Oxford North to be a new innovation district for Oxford providing 4,500 new jobs, 480 new housing for around 1,500 people, of which 168 will be affordable homes, small shops, bars and restaurants, a hotel, and around 23 acres of open spaces including three new parks, and investment into the walking, cycling, bus and highway networks.

It estimated that Oxford North will contribute around £150 million per year added in GVA to the economy.

TWO is providing up to £100 million of substantial investment into power, utilities, and public space, in addition to the infrastructure improvements to the A40 and A44 alongside public funding support.

William Donger, Director at Thomas White Oxford said: “We have reached a milestone in Oxford North’s project which has been nearly 10 years in the making – dating back to the early draft stages of the Core Strategy, adopted in 2012, and the Northern Gateway Area Action Plan, adopted in 2015.

"We welcome the West Area Planning Committee’s decision on Oxford North’s planning application. From the outset, Oxford North has been a shared vision between Oxford City Council and TWO, about making long term social investment in Oxford, benefitting existing and future generations.

“We believe this project will be a truly transformational and positive addition to one of the world’s greatest cities. It will deliver high-quality workspace for start-ups such as high-tech university spin-outs and businesses, much-needed housing including 168 affordable homes, investment in infrastructure for all forms of transport, new green spaces and a new sustainable community for Oxford in which we can all be proud. This project will help the City Council to secure the £15.9 million government infrastructure funding. We will now turn to working with the city council in order to secure planning permission.”

Acting on behalf of Thomas White Oxford are Savills, Fletcher Priest Architects, Gardiner & Theobald LLP, Peter Brett Associates, Townshend Landscape Architects, Hoare Lea, EDP, AKT II, and BSG Ecology.

Nicky Godding

Nicky Godding is editor of The Business Magazine. Before her journalism career, she worked mainly in public relations moving into writing when she was invited to launch Retail Watch, a publication covering retail and real estate across Europe. After some years of constant travelling, she tucked away her passport and concentrated on business writing, co-founding a successful regional business magazine. She has interviewed some of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs who have built multi-million-pound businesses and reported on many science and technology firsts. She reports on the region’s thriving business economy from start-ups, family businesses and multi-million-pound corporations, to the professionals that support their growth and the institutions that educate the next generation of business leaders.