A new “innovation community” has been given the go-ahead in the Oxford-Cambridge Arc.
Planning consent has been granted for Bloombridge to start the next phase of its mixed-use Bicester Gateway development in Oxfordshire, which will include 273 rental and sale apartments as well as 47,500 sq ft of offices and research and development space, and an 8,550 sq ft co-working hub.
The first phase of the scheme, approved in 2017, comprised a hotel and 160,000 sq ft business park.
In its planning statement for the latest phase, Bloombridge said the proposal should “attract inward innovators from knowledge hotspots such as central Oxford, especially young professionals and entrepreneurs who cannot afford Oxford and Cambridge’s exceptionally high house prices and rents”.
It added: “With the ‘war for talent’ it is reasonable to conclude that knowledge-based inward investment will follow.”
Tom Darwall-Smith of Maddox Planning, which acted for Bloombridge, said: “Flexible living and working environments, as well as employers locating close to employees to avoid long-distance commuting, is a growing market and is likely to further accelerate as a result of Covid-19. This is also highly sustainable and will help to promote healthy lifestyles.”
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