The Vision

Our vision is to create a distinct new green neighbourhood. A welcoming place with a strong identity to cultivate and foster, drawn from its location on the edge of Oxford on the flanks of Northfield Brook.

We want to enable lifestyles that are kind to the environment. Garden squares, greenways, pocket parks, open spaces and places to grow your own food will make it easy to live in harmony with nature.

Establishing a healthy and safe community is key to our vision. Creating a well-connected place where walking, cycling and public transport are the most convenient and attractive ways to travel. Northfield will be a calm place not dominated by traffic and with access to green spaces.

This will be a neighbourhood that will be well-served by facilities, providing for people's day-to-day needs including a local high street, primary school, cycle paths and bus route.

Ultimately, we want to create an attractive place where people can thrive. A beautiful place that complements the wider area. A place to call home.

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The Masterplan

The aim of the proposals is to create a new community that meets the needs of the future, not only in providing the homes needed, but also the environment that people want to live in. The team have worked hard to design a development that meets this fundamental need.

The homes delivered on this site will be a lifeline to many households and families looking to take their first step on the housing ladder in Oxford and the surrounding villages. 50% of the new housing will be affordable properties providing options for shared ownership, and affordable/social rent, all to be agreed in conjunction with local housing providers.

It’s not just those starting out that will be helped. Options for older households to downsize and prepare for retirement will also be provided, while keeping a connection to the wonderful Oxfordshire countryside.

Oxford Road runs through the southern part of the site. This will be used to create a fantastic active travel corridor. The current road will be converted to a high-quality cycle and pedestrian route available to all. The removal of vehicular traffic will make it friendlier for wildlife, along with retaining the existing hedgerows where possible. A new access road will be routed north, through the development, with a bus-only shortcut to maintain and enhance the existing bus routes.

Parking barns will be provided across the site with spaces for residents to park their cars off the street. This helps to keep residential streets quiet, attractive and most importantly safe. This innovative design will create streets that are safe for children to play in, something that used to be much more common. The development will be laid out to discourage rat-run journeys. Green spaces throughout will be linked, without the need to travel along a road.

Building on this car-lite approach, local mobility hubs will be incorporated into several parking barns across the site. A short walk from anywhere in the development, these hubs will provide convenient options to travel actively. This could include car clubs, scooter or cycle hire or secure cycle storage. Providing these options will help to encourage people to reduce their reliance on the private car, where possible, without restricting the use of cars.

Recent years have brought home the value of having open and green spaces to enjoy. This is why we want to create large green spaces along the boundaries of the development. These boundaries will create a sense of separation without isolation. They will ensure Garsington maintains its own identity whilst creating an excellent space for residents and wildlife to enjoy.

In addition to creating a development we can all be proud of; we want to leave a lasting legacy for the new and existing community. We want to work together to create a legacy organisation that will involve local residents, businesses and groups to own and manage community assets. You can read more about this legacy organisation below.

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Legacy

We want to build more than this new development. We want to leave a legacy for the new and existing residents. We will work with local residents, businesses and groups to create a great place that will own and manage the community assets. This could include the Community Hub building and the extensive areas of open space throughout the development. This legacy organisation will be professionally staffed to ensure these assets are well managed and not a burden to those living locally. It may be one organisation or separate organisations for each community asset. We will explore new organisation(s) such as Charities or Community Interest Companies or deliver this in association with the Parish Council.

info Click on the map markers to view illustrative images of how Northfield could look.

Northfield Community Hub

The Community Hub will be at the heart of the development in the local centre. It will be a flexible building that will be home to a wide range of uses serving the new and surrounding community. We want it to become the heart of the community, with uses that enrich people’s lives, within a short walk of their new homes. It could provide flexible workspace, community classes (yoga etc.), a creche or nursery, community kitchen, exhibition areas and health consultation rooms. It will house the legacy organisation that will own and manage the building. The hub will showcase the best of low carbon building and stand out as a key feature of Northfield. The initial cost will be funded by L&Q Estates with ongoing revenue generated to ensure it is self-sustaining.

Northfield Open Space

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Planning Context

In 2021, six Oxfordshire Councils adopted the Oxfordshire Strategic Vision. This sets out a vision for the growth of all of Oxfordshire. A part of this plan is the delivery of the new homes that the area needs. The population of Oxfordshire is expected to grow, and the Councils think 100,000 new homes are needed before 2031. Oxfordshire also needs to address the existing unmet need for new homes.

info Click on the map markers to see the key areas of our site. The following sections will explore these areas in more detail.

The cost of housing across Oxfordshire is not only discouraging people from moving here but is driving locals out of the area. House prices are way above the England average. Rental prices are all above average too, with the exception of studio homes. This unaffordability has led to just over 11,500 households across Oxfordshire waiting on the Council housing list.

This site, named after the Northfield Brook, has the potential to deliver 1,800 of the much-needed homes. Every new home built helps address the affordability crisis. The land is allocated in the adopted South Oxfordshire Local Plan, and was removed from the Green Belt. It is also part of the draft Joint Local Plan being developed between South Oxfordshire and Vale of Whitehorse Councils. It is located on the edge of Oxford, next to Blackbird Leys.

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The Site

The five district councils and the county council have come together to work towards a common plan for the County. This is the driving principle behind South Oxfordshire Local Plan and the allocations within it.

info Click on the map markers to find out more about the site ownership.

The Northfield site is bordered to the east by Northfield Brook, by the B480 Watlington Street to the south and by existing commercial uses and the Unipart site to the west and north west.

A part of the Northfield site is owned by Oxfordshire County Council with the rest owned by Brasenose College. The two are collaborating to deliver the development on the site.

To assist, L&Q Estates have been brought onto the team to manage the design team that are producing the comprehensive masterplan.

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Oxford Road Corridor

Currently, Oxford Road is a national speed limit road and is very unfriendly to anyone not in a vehicle. The half mile stretch between the Northfield Brook and the entrance to Unipart has no footway and is fairly narrow. The city11 bus service uses the road to link Garsington and other rural areas to Oxford.

info Click on the map markers to view illustrative images of how Northfield could look.

In the East of the site, a new link will be created between Watlington Road and Oxford Road. This will allow Oxford Road to be transformed into an active travel highway. A link that is suited for everyone looking to walk or cycle. Better, cleaner, access to shops and services in Cowley and Oxford more widely will benefit new residents in Northfield and existing residents in Garsington. Providing more active options helps to reduce congestion and as a result, air pollution.

The hedgerows lining Oxford Road will be protected and enhanced where possible. Protecting the habitats that exist is important. This will create a green highway for people and wildlife to enjoy and create a permeable link between the south side and the rest of the development.

The city11 service will be routed slightly to the north, through the community heart of the development and past the school. This will be a bus only route, to prevent drivers using the new new road as a cut through. The new road will loop to the northern section before dropping back down along the eastern side of the development.

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Community Heart

The centre of the development will become a community heart for the whole development. A small local centre with dense housing and apartments over commercial units will create an active, pedestrian street. A square will provide space for events and markets to be held, within a 10-minute walk of the whole development.

info Click on the map markers to view illustrative images of how Northfield could look.

Also to be found in the community heart will be a central mobility hub which will house cycle and scooter hire, flexible hire vehicles and bus options. As with the square, this will be within a short walk of those living on the development and will act to encourage them to use these more active travel options.

A key component of the development is the delivery of a new primary school. This school will provide spaces for all those living on the site, without adding pressure to Garsington, or other primary schools in Blackbird Leys. This will be a new modern school building with space for children to play outside and remain safe.

Like any other heart, this centre will be linked to the entirety of the site to create a focal point for the new community. With green walking and cycling routes snaking to the east and west sides, and crossing the Oxford Road corridor to the south, residents will easily be able to make use of the shops and services available here.

Of critical importance will be the Northfield Community Hub, to be owned and managed by the new legacy organisation. This will be home for a range of facilities and services that will help to deliver a thriving, sustainable community. This Hub could include flexible workspace, community classes (yoga etc.), or health services space. The initial cost of this will be part of the development and a self-sustaining income will be generated to secure its long-term future. We are right at the beginning of this idea and would like your thoughts on how to shape this community hub.

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Westside Edge

The west of the site is bordered by the Unipart site. This industrial edge to the development will be reflected in our design. Careful consideration of the properties that are along this edge will put more active uses towards Unipart and quiet uses (like bedrooms) towards the centre of the site.

info Click on the map markers to view illustrative images of how Northfield could look.

This border is quite harsh and an aim of our designs is to soften the look and sound. Maintaining existing trees and planting more will create a visual barrier, blocking the industrial and replacing it with nature. This will also help to reduce the sound that crosses over. This will create a green corridor from the northern tip down to the edge of Oxford Road.

This green corridor will provide a highway for wildlife and creating more habitats. For people, a relaxing, natural walking and cycling route will ease people into a healthier environment. Taking care of your physical and mental health is important and we want to make that easier for people living here.

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Southside

The southside of the site is the entire area south of Oxford Road, except Guydens Hamlet which is outside our site. This area will sit between the Oxford Road active travel corridor outlined above, Watlington Road to the south and a new link between Oxford and Watlington Road to the east.

info Click on the map markers to view illustrative images of how Northfield could look and to read more information about our plans.

Heading out of Garsington to the west, Oxford Road is diverted south for approximately 100m, via the new connection with Watlington Road. The junction with Watlington Road is likely to be in the form of a roundabout. This retains access for residents of Garsington, without having to go through the centre of the site. It also ensures flexibility for future bus services. This will be agreed in conjunction with Oxfordshire County Council and will include pedestrian and cycle paths.

With the conversion of Oxford Road to an active travel corridor, this part of the site will feel part of the whole, rather than an isolated section. It will be easy to walk or cycle to the school or the urban heart, without restricting those who need to use a car for longer journeys. We also want to improve the links towards Blackbird Leys so that community can also use the facilities we are proposing.

For those in Guydens Hamlet, vehicle access will be preserved for them along part of the active travel corridor as a resident’s only arrangement. This will reduce the traffic noise and pollution for these homes, enhancing their surroundings.

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	More Information

Eastside Edge

The Eastside of the development is the most important for our design. Facing into the Green Belt, this section will create a defined edge to the Green Belt. Ranging from 150 to 200m, a significant green corridor of open public space will be created.

info Click on the map markers to view illustrative images of how Northfield could look.

The boundary of the site is the Northfield Brook, a small watercourse with fields reaching within a few feet of the water. These fields are likely to flood, being in flood zone 2 and 3. Water will be channelled into purpose-built basins that will hold water and release it gradually. During heavy rains, this will help control flooding downstream and also create beautiful habitats for wildlife to thrive in.

This significant green corridor has the potential to create lots of outdoor amenities. A space could be put aside for the new primary school to use as a forest school. Trim trails will create natural play spaces for children to enjoy the outdoors. Meadows, wetlands and woods will diversify the insects and animals that can live there. Considerate paths will allow people to breathe the fresh air and hear the sound of nature.

Importantly, this will be the edge of the Green Belt. The Northfield Brook will form a natural boundary to the Green Belt. Beyond the brook, the Garsington identity will be protected both by the green corridor on the development and the Green Belt itself. Maintaining this identity is important to many of those who live in the village and we want our plans to reflect that.

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Give Us Your Thoughts

Thank you for taking the time to read more about our plans for the land off Oxford Road, Northfield. We would now love to hear from you.

Click on the button below to answer the survey.

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