Plans unveiled for 6,000-home new town on former airfield in Oxfordshire

Developer Dorchester Living has set out plans to build 6,000 homes on a former airbase as part of a new community in Oxfordshire.

An environmental impact scoping report, recently submitted to Cherwell District Council by Pegasus Group on behalf of the developer, reveals the extent of its plans for the scheme.

The application site covers an area of roughly 494ha, just over 5 km north-west of Bicester, and includes a large chunk of the former RAF Upper Heyford air base, which was leased by the United States Air Force between the 1960s and 1994.

A hybrid planning application will set out plans for up to 20,000 sq m of new build office space and 200 assisted living dwellings, alongside the thousands of homes.

It will also include up to 15,000 sq m of industrial space, 15,000 sq m of storage and 16,500 sq m of class E uses, which include medical and sporting facilities, retail, and food and beverage.

Class F1 uses, including new school and library provisions, will constitute up to 22,000 sq m of the scheme, while 4,000 sq m of class C1 (including a hotel), 2,750 sq m of F2 (including a community centre) and 1,000 sq m of sui generis (including a cinema) are also planned.

The developer will also apply for a change of use for listed aircraft shelters, which will be repurposed as community space, indoor sports facilities and employment spaces.

Onsite renewable energy regeneration is proposed, which may include ground and roof mounted solar and a heat exchange. 

Paul Silver, Chief Executive of Dorchester Living said: “In recent weeks the new Government has made clear that it is committed to enabling a major house building and infrastructure programme to deliver the homes and facilities that the country needs.

“A focus on brownfield-first development and the provision of high-quality, mixed-tenure homes sits at the heart of this, and we at Dorchester Living fully support its ambition and we are ready to play our role in helping to achieve it.

Dorchester’s plans for extensive provision of community infrastructure in a relatively rural area seems to reflect the new Labour government’s priorities for housebuilding.

The government recently set out its revised National Planning Policy Framework, which outlined its desire to see increased housebuilding in less attractive parts of the green belt.

>> Read more: The ins and outs of Labour’s new National Planning Policy Framework

It is also hoping to identify locations for a generation of new towns, which it hopes could sustain at least 10,000 new homes each.

Sir Michael Lyons and Dame Kate Barker have been appointed to lead a independent task force which will identify these locations and develop a vision for the construction of these new towns within 12 months.

“There can be few better examples of what can be achieved when you combine a large brownfield site with strategic plan making and the close cooperation and engagement of multiple stakeholders and the local community than Heyford Park,” said Silver.

“Oxfordshire has a crippling housing crisis which is only getting worse.

“Heyford Park is perfectly placed to accommodate more growth – being a disused airfield – and our masterplan would not only deliver thousands of new mixed-tenure homes, but also jobs, commercial space and major new sustainable transport infrastructure. Equally important, it would breathe new life into the site, which has a vibrant military past.

Dorchester Living is already building around 700 homes at Heyford Park, which also lies on the former RAF base.