Funding commitment takes Opens forward

Oxford City Council and Nuffield College have both confirmed their funding commitment to enable the Oxpens site to progress.

In separate meetings held on 10 March, both shareholders in OxWED, the joint venture between Oxford City Council and Nuffield College which is responsible for Oxpens, agreed to commit up to £1 million each (total up to £2 million) to progress the indicative proposals through to the planning application stage.

Work can now move forward to prepare illustrative designs for public consultation later this summer.

Additional technical work and studies will also be carried out to inform the emerging proposals and ensure they provide an exciting, deliverable, viable and appropriate re-use of the site.

Kevin Minns, Managing Director at OxWED, said: “Oxpens as it is today is a largely under-used and undiscovered part of the city centre with the potential to do so much more for Oxford. Its redevelopment is needed and necessary to contribute to Oxford’s growth and to address some of its challenges. It’s not a question of ‘if’ but of what, how and for whom – and of doing things in the right way to achieve the best possible regeneration. With the funding commitment now in place, we can get on with developing a great set of proposals informed in due course by conversations with stakeholders and the community, and by comprehensive technical assessments.”

Next, OxWED will be putting in place a programme for consultation and for the methodical development of its current indicative proposals into a future outline planning application. The goal is to submit the outline planning application by early 2022.

Oxpens will deliver both homes and new employment/business space for the city – potentially supporting over 3,000 jobs and the provision of around 450 residential dwellings.

The emerging and early-stage designs are for a mixed-use development, with a range of potential residential uses across a total of 15 acres anchored around high-quality public realm and making the most of its relationship with the river.

The conceptual and preparatory work that has informed the designs to this point will now be expanded significantly. Over the next six months, OxWED will be commissioning further technical studies, appointing experts to come in alongside existing team members including masterplan architects Hawkins Brown and landscape architects Gillespies, and will progress consultation with statutory and technical stakeholders alongside public consultation with the community.

The funding decisions were taken by Oxford City Council’s Cabinet at a meeting on 10 March and by Nuffield College’s Governing Body held on the same day.

OxWED and Oxpens

Oxford West End Development Limited (‘OxWED’) is JV between Oxford City Council and Nuffield College and owns the majority of the land allocated for redevelopment under the Oxford Local Plan on the west side of Oxpens Road.

Current indications are that the site has potential capacity for 70,000 sq m of commercial floorspace as part of a total 120,000 sq m of mixed-use development.

Under the draft and early stage plans, the site could potentially support over 3,000 jobs and contain circa 450 residential dwellings across a range of housing types.

Wider West End investment and Innovation District

On the Arc: More on the Government’s spatial framework for the Arc (announced 18 February 2021) here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-plan-to-transform-oxford-cambridge-arc-into-uk-s-fastest-growing-economic-region

On the railway station: Central Government is expected to announce its decision on a multi-million pound investment in Oxford Station in early March, the first phase of the wider regeneration of the station and associated rail infrastructure. The City and County are now working with Network Rail on the masterplan and business case for next and final phase of proposals. This wider rail industry-led programme is called ‘Oxfordshire Connect’.

On need/demand from business occupiers: The demand for science and tech-led space in the city and city centre is increasing exponentially, with Oxford at the forefront of scientific advancement globally. Articulating the opportunity for investment at a West End scale (through the Oxford West End Innovation District initiative) rather on a site-by-site basis is anticipated to be more powerful and successful.

On Oxford West End Innovation District: The innovation district has the opportunity to provide a new mixed-use district for business growth and innovation as an extension of Oxford’s city centre, encompassing A-Grade office space and R&D HQ facilities for spin-out companies and inward investment along with housing across multiple sites, so forming the largest scale mixed-use development project in generations. This project is focussed on delivering a sustainable, integrated and connected district encompassing Osney Mead, Oxford National Railway Hub and Station, Oxpens, and other development sites with retail, hotel, university, lab and office, and residential spaces. The District will be realised through the coordination of local landowners and partners, and the facilitation of infrastructure investment across key development sites. Together, the sites account for 350,000 sq m, to be brought forward over 15 years with £1.5bn of largely private sector investment.