Cash for major Oxpens development is signed off

In separate meetings earlier this month, both shareholders in OxWED, the joint venture between the council and the college which is responsible for Oxpens, agreed to commit up to £1m each to push forward proposals through to the planning application stage.

Work can now move forward to prepare illustrated designs for public consultation later this summer for new homes and office space behind Oxpens Road.

Read again: New homes and offices for Oxpens

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.

Oxpens Road Picture: OxWED

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.

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“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.”

An artists impression from 2018 of the new Oxpens development

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

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Oxpens will deliver both homes and new employment and business space for the city. This could provide more than 3,000 jobs and about 450 new homes.