Given the traffic problems in Headington, the university has had a comparatively easy ride as it progresses with the development of the Old Road and Park Hospital site into a global science and research centre of excellence.


It has perhaps been helped that it is all taking place close to the Churchill, on the site of a former children’s hospitals and in stages over the next 20 to 30 years. Make no mistake what is proposed will be massive, securing Oxford’s place at the forefront of medical research and drug development, as David Cameron predicted.


It will also provide hundreds of new jobs. Happily, consultation looks like being extensive, in part because of the recommendations of the inquiry into how another Castle Mill planning debacle can be avoided.

Dare we hope lessons have been learnt and systems are in place to ensure designs are properly discussed before they are being finalised? The signs in Headington for the time being look good. The real test is whether local residents are listened to.