SEVERAL sites and buildings across Oxfordshire are no longer deemed at risk of neglect or decay, according to a report.

Historic England, formerly English Heritage, said two churches and nine scheduled monuments in the county had been removed from its At Risk Register.

However, two buildings have been added – the 14th Century Church of St Mary the Virgin, in Cropredy, near Banbury, and grade II listed Church of St Margaret, Hinton Waldrist, in south Oxfordshire.

The Historic England report also highlighted the “good progress” at the two sites that make up RAF Bicester and said they were likely to be declared no longer at risk in the “near future”.

The former Bomber Command training base, which was used by the military from the First World War until 2004, was split into two sections – 23 acres of offices and former accommodation blocks, called the domestic site, and the airfield, called the technical site.

Buildings and monuments across the site were deemed at risk in 2009.

The site was bought by consortium Bicester Heritage in 2013, which has since restored 30 buildings bringing them back into use as part of its vision for a specialist business park for heritage motor and aviation firms.

Philip White, of Bicester Heritage, said: “Our former RAF base was previously described as ‘the most at risk of all defence estates in the UK’, we have turned this around with guidance from Historic England and through hard work and diligent restoration.

“As such Historic England has chosen to remove the conservation area of RAF Bicester from their At Risk Register.”

Bicester Heritage took on the former RAF base in April 2013 to help preserve the First World War and Second World War site and create the UK’s only business park for historic motoring and aviation. Contractor Beard is restoring the old buildings at the site and last month revealed nearly a quarter of the base’s 60 buildings had been completed.

It currently houses 17 companies such as Harry Fraser Vehicle Upholstery and specialists in vintage and classic cars The Motor Shed Ltd Historic England said it had carried out “sensitive conversion of over half of the 36 grade II listed buildings on the site”.

Clare Charlesworth, heritage at risk principal adviser for Historic England in the South East said: “There’s still a lot for us and our partners to do in order to preserve the historic buildings and places in the South East for future generations.”

REMOVED

Across Oxfordshire four buildings or structures are at risk and 33 scheduled monuments (archaeology).

Items removed from the at risk register are:
* One of a pair of bowl barrows 370m north west of High Lodge, Cornbury and Wychwood
* Ring ditches, cursus, enclosures and settlement site, Dorchester/Warborough
* Sites discovered by aerial photography, near Foxley Farm, Eynsham
* Ring ditches, Grafton and Radcot
Beaconsfield Farm Roman villa, Great Tew
* Enclosures 1500m south east of Little Faringdon, Little Faringdon
* Callow Hill Roman villa, Stonesfield / Wootton
Roman villa east of Cornhill Farm, West Challow
* 90m section of the north Oxfordshire Grim’s Ditch 350m south of Grim’s Dyke Farm, Wootton