Land opposite Redbridge Park & Ride

Why is the land opposite Redbridge Park and Ride being proposed for new homes?

Oxford needs homes.  There are more than 3,300 households on the Council’s housing waiting list in need of an affordable home.  There has long been a shortage of suitable land for building housing in Oxford – in part due to flood plains, the adoption of the first Green Belt outside London in 1956 and the fact that the boundary is geographically constrained.

The former landfill site opposite Redbridge Park & Ride is allocated for housing in Oxford City Council’s current Local Plan which was adopted in June 2020.  The site was used as a landfill site in the 1960s and 1970s.  While the site may appear to be a typical green field, the extent of the landfill covers the majority of the site and in some areas is up to 6.6m deep.  The contamination will be dealt with safely involving the Environment Agency and in line with industry requirements.

The site is an opportunity for OX Place to provide much needed private and affordable housing for Oxford and at the same time address the historic use of the land as a landfill.  It is important that Oxford City Council via OX Place provide as many affordable homes as possible, whilst balancing against the need to build sustainable communities by providing a mix of tenures to meet local housing demand. All the profit from the sales of the private homes is used to support the delivery of more affordable homes and help with the provision of essential Council services in Oxford.

How many homes will there be?

We are still in the early stages of considering plans for the site. While feasibility and design works are continuing, Oxford City Council hopes to build at least 200 homes on the site, whilst also providing areas for open space, play and ecology.  The proposals currently being worked up take a landscape led approach to the overall plans for the site in recognition of its key location on the river bank and opportunity to provide an exemplar housing development in a key location in Oxford.

Will the new homes be affordable?

A significant proportion of the homes will be affordable homes either for shared ownership (also known as ‘part buy part rent’) or rent via Oxford City Council.  Within planning policy, for any development over 10 homes there is the requirement to provide a proportion of affordable housing on-site.  Any future planning application will take planning requirements around affordable housing into account.

How will any ecology on-site be affected?

We are working with specialist consultants to develop plans for the site which will seek to provide a rich ecological environment.  This will include dedicated areas for ecology to flourish as well as smaller habitat areas integrated throughout the development.

Will moorings be provided with the development?

Whether moorings can be provided within any future development requires further work to establish the impact these would have on the biodiversity of the river setting and consultation with both Oxford City Council and the Environment Agency.

How will new homes impact traffic in the area?

Our consultants are working with Oxfordshire County Council’s Highways department to model the effect of additional vehicle movements associated with the proposed new homes, to ensure that the surrounding road network can support an increase in movements.  Improvements and alterations to the local road network may be required.  We are also exploring any further impacts on the local area and will be taking forwards these discussions with the necessary statutory authorities as required, as the plans evolve.

Will the site be open to the public once the development is completed?

Yes.  While the site currently provides a visual open space, it is inaccessible to the public.  Within the development proposals, it is our intention is to make the site publicly accessible and provide a central green space, play areas for children and a nature trail close to the riverbank.

How will the proposals affect flooding in the area?

Building near to a watercourse always presents a challenge but we are working with specialist consultants to model the flood risk potential to both the Redbridge site and surrounding area.  This will inform the appropriate ground floor levels of the new homes as well as the overall drainage strategy for the site ensuring no adverse effect is caused by the proposals.

Have you submitted a planning application?

No.  There remain a number of areas that we still need to work through including the remediation strategy, consideration of the overall viability of the project, and other key areas linked to planning matters that will inform when we will be in a position to submit a planning application.

We also intend to hold two public exhibitions before submitting a planning application.  The first will take place on Saturday 12th and Monday 14th October at St. Luke’s Church, Canning Crescent.