Oxford North housing development wins final approval on review

Councillors voted in favour of the project at a special meeting on Monday night to review the planning permission which the council originally granted last month.

Developer Thomas White Oxford (TWO) won approval for the new estate between the A40, A44 and A34 north of Wolvercote, at the end of November, but 13 councillors‘called in’ the decision for another look.

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The £500 million proposal was scrutinised by the city council’s planning review panel on Monday at Oxford Town Hall where all except one councillor voted to approve the project one last time.

Oxford North promises 480 homes, 4,500 new jobs, 23 acres of open space including three new parks, 2,500sq m of small shops, restaurants and bars, and 87,000sq m for businesses and commercial floorspace.

The plan also includes more than 850 electric car charging points, 5.7 miles of new and improved cycle paths, one nursery, a hotel of up to 180 bedrooms and one new central street.

While even councillors who were worried about the effect of the project on the local community voted for the approval of the project, councillor Roz Smith was the only attendee who abstained.

Ms Smith said: "I am the only one who remains to be convinced.

"I abstained from voting because there are issues I am worried about but I also recognise we do need more affordable housing."

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While Oxford City Council has a target of 50 per cent affordable homes at all major housing developments, TWO agreed with the council to set 35 per cent as the lower limit on this development.

Ms Smith said her other main concerns were over biodiversity, the pressure on public services and the increased traffic in the surrounding area.

She said: "One also has to think of the knock-on effect on the A34 – it's over capacity anyway.

"One incident means delays on the road for hours."

This was also one of the two main concerns when Oxford North was first approved on November 27.

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The councillor added: "Not everyone who will work at the building site will live nearby."

Ms Smith also raised questions over poorer air quality as result of increased traffic.

While Oxford North housing will provide homes for more than 1,500 people, the councillor said this would definitely have pile extra pressure on the city's public services, particularly the NHS.

Ms Smith said: "I think we are stretching our public health services and this has to be considered."

Councillors Elizabeth Wade, Stephen Goddard, Mike Gotch, David Henwood, Paul Harris, Andrew Gant, Tom Landell Mills, Mick Haines, Craig Simmons, Dick Wolff, Roz Smith, Stef Garden and Mohammed Altaf-Khan were those who asked for Oxford North to undergo further scrutiny.

They raised eight major issues about the planning proposal.

Those included the capacity of the A40, A44 and A40 through the development, the amount of affordable housing, the impact on local heritage, the impact on Oxford's view points, the design of buildings on the site, energy efficiency, air quality and a mechanism governing how many affordable homes could be built on site.

Also read: Oxford North development called in for another look

William Donger, director at 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.

"Our next step is to work with the city council in order to secure planning permission."

Oxford North 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.