Oxford City Council has approved Oxford North, a new £500m innovation district, after it was called-in.
The proposals by St John’s College’s development company Thomas White Oxford comprise 480 homes, of which 168 (35%) will be affordable, alongside shops, a hotel, and 23 acres of open spaces.
Councillors called in the plans following a meeting of Oxford City Council’s West Area planning committee in late November where it was resolved to approve the planning application.
Eight reasons were put forward as reasons for the call-in. These included the amount of affordable housing, the impact on local heritage, energy efficiency and the design of buildings on the site.
On the question of affordable housing, one councillor requested the proportion should be increased to 50%.
However, the council responded by saying it had “robust evidence that 35% affordable housing is the most that can justifiably be provided with this development”.
William Donger, director at TWO, said: “This is another significant milestone for the project to deliver a shared vision. The committee’s decision secures the delivery of a new and exciting sustainable district for Oxford and investment in walking, cycling, bus and roads and £15.9m of national government infrastructure funding.
“Our next step is to work with the city council to secure planning permission.”
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