UK Property Forums managing director Matthew Battle reports from the first gathering of key stakeholders in the development industry across Oxfordshire, including from both public and private sectors.
Members of the new Oxfordshire Developers Forum (ODF) met in person for the first time on Monday (March 17).
Following an online meeting late last year, around 60 people including developers, investors and key figures from the public sector, gathered at the refurbished Store Hotel in Oxford for a series of punchy presentations including from Oxfordshire county and Oxford city councils, along with developers of significant schemes.
One core message came through all the sessions – the need to have greater collaboration between public and private sectors. If this nettle can be grasped, Oxfordshire could be on the cusp of an ever more exciting period of sustained growth.
Robin Rogers from Oxfordshire County Council (OCC), pictured left, acting as the moderator for the event, made a reference to the recent visit by Sir Patrick Vallance, Minister of State for Science, and his challenge from the Government: How can we help to unlock growth?
This was echoed by Charles Butters, consultant advising OCC, who has been responsible for shaping the ODF, setting out its terms of reference and acting as a conduit to the development community.
A selection of developers then spoke about their experiences – good and bad – of the development and planning process in Oxfordshire and, most importantly, what could be improved.
Speakers included Piers Slater from Reef Origin, Jonathan Dawes from Tritax Big Box and Artem Korolev from Mission Street. Common themes included the various challenges in the provision of utilities, with sewerage and electricity top of the list. As Artem noted, this meant ‘too much time spent on non-development issues’.
Martin Reeves, chief executive of OCC (pictured standing), proceeded in a very succinct manner to outline its response to the White Paper on Devolution and the Local Government Reform Bill which, if implemented, could have an ‘existential’ effect on the current structure of OCC, Oxford City Council and district councils across Oxfordshire.
However, he also emphasised the benefits that a broader spatial discussion would have for the county.
This theme was picked up on by Tom Bridgman from the city council, who outlined the role of the recently-created Growth Commission and what he hopes to achieve in his new role as deputy chief executive.
The final presentations comprised a series of updates from the district councils: Suzanne Malcolm from South & Vale, Phil Martin from West Oxfordshire and Tom Bridgman from Oxford. A summary, prepared by Ian Boll from Cherwell, was presented by Robin Rogers.
Judging by the range of animated question from delegates, the afternoon was a success and laid solid foundations for the next meeting of the ODF on June 23.
If you are a developer or investor in Oxfordshire and interested in getting involved with the Oxfordshire Developers Forum, please contact either Charles Butters at charles.butters@sulgraveadvisors.com or Matthew Battle at info@ukpropertyforums.com.
Image (l-r): Robin Rogers, Phil Martin (partially obscured), Martin Reeves (standing), Tom Bridgman, Suzanne Malcolm, Charles Butters and Piers Slater.
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