ONE of Oxford’s largest and wealthiest colleges is set to submit a planning application for a new neighbourhood this autumn.
Christ Church plans to build the new estate and primary school south of Oxford Parkway station.
Although exact numbers are yet to be decided, 690 homes have been allocated for the area in the Cherwell Local Plan.
The latest consultation stage closed at the end of July, with the Oxford college confirming a final stage of public consultation will take place before an anticipated outline planning application being submitted to Cherwell District Council this autumn.
If approved, construction would start in late 2024, before finishing in 2030 or 2031.
Located to the east of Oxford Road, Christ Church owns the site south of Oxford Parkway, and is adjacent to the northern edge of Cutteslowe.
The University of Oxford college owns additional land to the east of the site, known as PR6a.
The recent consultation invited views on the location of the primary school, a movement strategy which prioritises walking, cycling and public transport, plus access to and across the site.
Christ Church says it is now reviewing feedback submitted to the consultation, in order to help refine plans before the final stage of public consultation and draft planning application.
The college held an initial public consultation last autumn.
James Lawrie, treasurer at Christ Church, said: “We would like to thank everyone who has taken part in the recent design development consultation on our proposals for Water Eaton.
“From early in the project development process, Christ Church has been committed to realising the benefits of early engagement with community and stakeholders, giving them the opportunity to contribute to the development of the masterplan and help us better understand any potential concerns and possibilities so we can take them into account.
“Having conducted a first stage of consultation on our initial ideas for the site in 2021, we were keen to seek views on various aspects of the emerging design for the scheme, to aid the finalisation of the outline planning application for Water Eaton.
“We will be taking into consideration all the comments received during this recent consultation to inform our draft application for the scheme.
“We will then hold a final stage of consultation in autumn 2022, ahead of submitting an outline planning application to Cherwell District Council.”
Anyone wishing to receive updates and information about the autumn consultation is encouraged to register their details on the project website: water-eaton.co.uk
Read more from this author
This story was written by Liam Rice, he joined the team in 2019 as a multimedia reporter.
Liam covers politics, travel and transport. He occasionally covers Oxford United.
Get in touch with him by emailing: Liam.rice@newsquest.co.uk
Follow him on Twitter @OxMailLiamRice
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