Oxford North planning application approved following ‘call-in’

Published by

Nicky Godding

The planning application for Oxford North, the £500 million new urban district for the city, made by Thomas White Oxford (TWO) the development company of St John’s College, has been resolved to be approved after it was ‘called-in’ to Oxford City Council’s planning review committee at a meeting held on Monday 16 December 2019.

The ‘call-in’ followed Oxford City Council’s West Area planning committee meeting that was held on Wednesday 27 November 2019 where it was resolved to approve the planning application.

TWO has been seeking to realise the vision defined for the site in Oxford City Council’s Area Action Plan of July 2015. Oxford North will be a new business community for Oxford, with sustainability at its heart, providing: 4,500 new jobs, 480 new housing for circa 1,500 people, of which 35%, the equivalent of 168, will be affordable homes, small shops, bars and restaurants, hotel, circa 23 acres of open spaces including three new parks, and significant investment into the walking, cycling, bus and highway networks. Oxford North will contribute circa £150 million per year added in GVA to the economy.

William Donger, director, Thomas White Oxford said: “We welcome the planning review committee’s decision on Oxford North’s planning application. This is another significant milestone for the project to deliver a shared vision. The committee’s decision secures the delivery of a new and exciting sustainable district for Oxford and investment in walking, cycling, bus and roads and £15.9 million of national government infrastructure funding. Oxford North will provide people with new and affordable homes, high quality workspace for start-ups such as high-tech university spin outs, three new parks and thousands of new trees. It will be a sustainable community for Oxford for future generations. Our next step is to work 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.