New plans for Bicester Gateway

New plans have been submitted for the Bicester Gateway development after the previous scheme was found to be unviable.

The site, which is split into three-acre Phase 1A (where a Holiday Inn is under construction), and seven-acre Phase 1B (which has consent for 161,166 sq ft of offices, R&D and hi-tech space).

However, Bloombridge LLP has now submitted a new application to Cherwell District Council to change Phase 1B to a ‘co-living, co-working’ space with 47,502 sq ft of offices, 273 flats with gym, café, plus 8,550 sq ft co-working area, multi-storey car park, multi-use games area (MUGA) and amenity space.

A market report by VSL shows demand in the office market is for smaller units of 2,000 – 15,000 sq ft rather than the 30,000 sq ft formats in the consented scheme.

The application’s planning statement by Maddox Planning states: “The focus of the current application is to deliver a scheme to build the ‘knowledge economy’ potential of Bicester by seeking to accommodate entrepreneurs and young professionals, including those who want good accessibility to central Oxford but who cannot afford accommodation in the city.”