Major plans which include 10 blocks of flats providing 402 homes have finally been signed off after a two-year delay. 

The development near Thornhill Park and Ride was initially permitted by Oxford City City Council's planning committee in December 2022, but has been held up by negotiations over the section 106 agreement. 

The scheme is close to another significant proposal, for 76 homes and a care home on land at Bayswater Farm. 

On September 27 the council published its decision to give the scheme the green light. 

Sandhill Development and Downside Homes will build on 4.8 hectares of land south of the A40, and west of the park and ride and Neilson House.

READ MORE: Bayswater Farm plans: More than 100 objections to 76-home scheme

Map of the site at Thornhill Park (Image: Shavriam Group) The plans include new homes, a 133-bed hotel and a ‘business innovation centre’.

The development will include 10 blocks of flats providing 402 homes, 50 per cent of which will be ‘affordable.’

The four-storey hotel will be built to the north western edge of the site, and will include a café and gym.

A design and access statement submitted as part of the application said that the site will provide the “opportunity to create a high-quality development that announces the arrival into Oxford and acting as a new gateway along London Road.”

Roger Smith, planning director at Savills in Botley, previously told councillors: “It would provide 201 affordable dwellings, which I think is a huge planning benefit for what is one of the least affordable cities in the UK.

“It would provide jobs, in the offices and the hotel, and local facilities, which would serve not only the new residents but will also serve the wider community.”

The development had been opposed by some residents and by Risinghurst & Sandhills Parish Council, who had concerns over increased pressure on services and traffic.

Oxfordshire Architectural and Historical Society also had raised concerns over two buildings that will be partly demolished as part of the development, the Cottage and the Forest Lodge. 

In the council's decision report, it said: “The council considers that the proposal accords with the policies of the development plan as summarised below. It has taken into consideration all other material matters, including matters raised in response to consultation and publicity. Any material harm that the development would otherwise give rise to can be offset by the conditions imposed.

“Officers have considered carefully all objections to these proposals. Officers have come to the view, for the detailed reasons set out in the officers report, that the objections do not amount, individually or cumulatively, to a reason for refusal and that all the issues that have been raised have been adequately addressed and the relevant bodies consulted.”