Plans for a new 18, 620 sq m business park on land at London Oxford Airport have been approved.
Cherwell District Council’s planning committee unanimously approved the plans by Oxford Aviation Services (OAS) to develop a 3.31-hectare section of its land for five new buildings which could be divided into a total of up to 17 units for R&D and warehouse use. There will be an amenity area which will be open to the public.
Among the employment opportunities will be 300 ‘high quality’ jobs
The site, which is in the Green Belt, is currently home to some vacant former MoD buildings and some cleared space.
Cllr Barry Wood told the June 15 meeting: “For me, the balance of benefit against harm is overwhelmingly in favour of benefit in this application.
“For me, 300 high quality jobs in the life sciences and technology sectors is such that this mini campus will become a centre of excellence in the life sciences and technology sectors across the Thames Valley.
“For me that is a big gain for Cherwell district and a big gain for Kidlington and their local economy. You may ask yourself which houses the 300 workers are going to live in but I won’t digress into that. That’s not applicable today.”
The team on the project includes Avison Young on planning, Spratley & Partners on architecture and Lichfields as market and economics consultant.
At the same meeting four more buildings, already under way at Oxford Technology Park across the road, were unanimously approved.
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