A new furniture workshop has been given the green light to replace a telephone repeater station.
Applicants Dr David Howlett and Roberto Cidotu have been granted planning permission to pursue their business venture in Banbury Road in the village of Tackley, six miles west of Bicester.
The workshop will lie on 304sqm of land and it will operate for "light industrial use" to produce "hand-crafted, bespoke artisan furniture".
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A market assessment statement reads: "The rental market in Oxford has a lot of space available but it falls into very specific brackets – mostly large scale warehouses or administrative offices.
"The kind of small-scale artisanal workshops that my client requires are in extremely short supply and where they do exist it is rare for them to become available.
"My client has been unable to find a suitable space despite a prolonged search which is why the current proposal for conversion of the former telephone repeater station has been developed.
"The space is suitably sized, sufficiently far away from neighbours not to cause a nuisance and close enough to his home to minimise travel distance."
The statement says the clients live in Wolvercote and Mr Cidotu earned a BA Honours degree after a three-year design and make course.
He is now "trying to develop a small-scale local business crafting bespoke, hand-made furniture."
It continues: "For this he requires a modest workshop space with light and power and sufficient space to manoeuvre and store materials and tools."
Proposed materials for the workshop are Cotswold stone and timber cladding for the walls and it will have a lightweight - extensive green - roof.
There will be no difference in parking as a result of the development and Highways has not raised any objections to the plan.
The application had been received on November 3, 2023 and permission was granted by West Oxfordshire District Council on Wednesday this week.
A condition of approval is that the development permitted must be begun before the expiration of three years from the date of permission.
The sustainability statement for the application noted the site is occupied by a "redundant brick structure" and "is separated from the busy Banbury Road".
Development will involve the extension of the existing uninsulated brick building with the extension being kept compact and small to "maximise internal volume and minimise heat loss surface area".
The statement concludes: "The developer is committed to reducing the environmental impact of the project."
A noise assessment statement said: "The proposed use is predicted to be significantly quieter than passing traffic on the main road, or farm vehicles working in the field."
Hand-held power-tools will be used rather than heavy equipment or automated production.
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