AFTER four years of planning and negotiating, Oxford is one step closer to having a city farm.

The farm’s steering group has reached a lease agreement with Oxfordshire County Council for land in Florence Park.

Members of the group have said for the next 40 years they can work on the 2.3 acres of land off Cornwallis Road, which is currently derelict, for a nominal ‘peppercorn’ rent.

They want to keep animals and grow crops and trees on the East Oxford land to help educate people and encourage a healthy lifestyle.

The group’s chairwoman Lucie Mayer said: “We are absolutely delighted. I keep having to pinch myself to remember it’s real.”

The land used to belong to St Gregory the Great School in Cowley, but was taken over by the county council when it became an academy.

Last summer the steering group sent postcards to the council every day to pressure them into completing the paperwork, after first looking to rent the land in 2012.

Ms Mayer, a nurse at Helen and Douglas House hospice, said: “It’s fantastic, we kept the pressure up in a positive way and it worked.

“It took a long time, which was frustrating, but the council really understands the project and what we want to do with it.

“They saw we needed a long-term lease to make this really work and embed it.”

The Florence Park resident, 42, said: “We will still need to get planning permission for the farm, but now we can move on.

“We need more volunteers and fundraising so we can talk to residents, the parties that we need to please to get planning permission, work the land and make this happen.

“No one is saying we can’t do this, but there are still a lot of hoops to jump through.”

The steering group is planning on holding a launch party in the spring to let more people know about the project and celebrate their success.

County council spokesman Paul Smith said: “A lot of hard work has gone into getting the stage where an agreement can be signed. All parties are pleased with the progress that has been made.”

Contact Ms Mayer on oxfordcityfarm@yahoo.co.uk to get involved with volunteering.

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