Oxford City Council prepares to rubber-stamp final plans with Network Rail to rebuild Oxford Station

A total overhaul of the city's 1970s station, with the addition of a bus interchange, multi-storey car park, housing, offices and a hotel, has been a long running saga a decade in the making.

A public arrival square has taken inspiration from the wide, open space seen at London's Kings Cross Station.

And now a detailed 116-page document on the scheme is set to be approved by Oxford City Council.

Planning bosses would not be drawn on either costing or the some of the finer details, saying the supplementary planning document (SPD) laid out the project in 'broad brush strokes'.

It is hoped the plan will be ready to put into action by the autumn, with efforts to secure funding for the ambitious project already under way.

Oxford City Council leader Bob Price said: "What this does is put previous proposals together into a planning framework. It gives us more control over the scheme.

"Westgate is nearing completion and we are getting along the tracks with Oxpens. From our point of view this is a next step in the regeneration of the West End."

The SPD is likely to be passed by the council's scrutiny committee on Wednesday and City Executive Board the following day before going to public consultation on June 30 with Oxford's Local Plan.

It includes a new building fronted by a public square inspired by King's Cross in London, with a new track installed and another platform built.

This would be flanked by shops, offices and a hotel, while a 480-space car park and bus interchange for up to 18 buses would be constructed further along in Becket Street.

It is hoped the widening of the bridge over Botley Road will allow for passenger services on the Cowley Branch Line and offer better pedestrian and cycle access.

Mr Price said: "The key to it all is Botley Road bridge and the funding of it. It will affect the physical layout of the area.

"You can't design a car park and an interchange without thinking about the bridge. But as soon as we get that, we can move forward."

UNDERGROUND CYCLE PARKING

THE number of cycle parking spaces at Oxford Station could more than quadruple as part of the plans.

In its current format the revamped station would include a long-stay underground cycle parking facility running beneath the main station square and Botley Road.

It would feature a minimum of 2,450 covered cycle stands in the form of Josta-style double stacking stands, or similar.
Josie Procter, co-organiser of the Oxford Bike Week festival, cycles up to the station every day and said new spaces were urgently needed.

She said: “More bike parking, and parking that’s under cover, is always an extremely good thing.

“It’s very difficult to find a space at certain times of day, particularly in rush hour in the mornings, and a lot of bikes are often abandoned there.
“This should encourage more people to use the train, rather than drive to Oxford.”

Plans state the facility should have a ‘clearly visible, legible and prominent’ access point from in front of Oxford Station.

WHAT NEXT?

The council is beginning to set to lobby stakeholders, from the Department for Transport to National Rail and Great Western Railway, for funding.

Last year Mark Langman, Network Rail's western managing director, said rebuilding Oxford Station - which could cost £75m - was a 'priority'.

The council's board member for planning Alex Hollingsworth said: "Everyone acknowledges Oxford's railway station is not really fit for purpose.

"There has been talk about this over a number of years now and an architectural competition with some really exciting designs created the broad brush strokes.

"The intention is to have this embedded as part of our local policy over the next period of months, rather than years."

Plans are likely to meet opposition as they include the demolition of the Youth Hostels Association (YHA)'s building on 'strategically important' land in Botley Road.

Three years ago YHA chief executive Caroline White asked the council for proper timescales, saying the lack of clarity made forward planning 'very difficult'.

And council officers also admitted that widening the Botley Road bridge and adding new cycle lanes beneath would cause 'disruption to access routes'.

Oxford Taxi driver Sajad Khan said traffic could prove to be a concern, telling the Oxford Mail: "This area is very, very busy. Between 5pm and 7pm the traffic builds up and it's absolute chaos."

Father Jonathan Beswick, parish priest at the Church of St Thomas the Martyr in Becket Street, was cautiously optimistic about plans for the car park and interchange.

He said: "If it's a worthy gateway to a fantastic city it's got to be good - depending on quite how high it is. We would have concerns about loss of light.

"Obviously we would want something that's well-designed, and Oxford hasn't got a brilliant history in terms of what has been built; some extraordinarily ugly buildings have slipped through the net."

BUS INTERCHANGE

A PROPER bus interchange would finally be constructed within central Oxford as part of the plans.

The new structure would accommodate between 15 and 25 buses at the corner of Becket Street, with the passenger concourse along the street.

The county’s two major bus companies have supported the idea although Martin Sutton, managing director of Stagecoach Oxfordshire, expressed misgivings on the location.

He said: “Many people make their way to and from the station by bus and bus stops are currently located conveniently outside the station entrance.

“It is regrettable that buses are proposed to be some little distance away, and will no longer be immediately visible on leaving the station.”

Mr Sutton said the layout and design of the facility needed much thought to avoid safety issues and the design in the SPD (supplementary planning document) was for ‘indicative purposes’ only.

He added: “There should be adequate platform space for waiting bus passengers, separate setting down bays, layover space and sufficient departures bays.

“Any requirement for buses to reverse and potential conflicts between moving buses and pedestrians should be eliminated at an early design stage.”

Phil Southall, managing director of Oxford Bus Company, said the new interchange would lead to a boost in the number of services run.

He added: “It is crucial that the interchange is located as close as possible to the main station entrance. 

“It is equally important to retain existing bus access to the city centre to ensure that the city centre economy isn’t damaged.”