Oxpens, A New Quarter for Oxford

KMA were appointed as independent facilitators by OXWED LLP (a joint venture between Nuffield College and Oxford City Council) to facilitate and record the community engagement process alongside the work of their wider planning and design team. The overall strategy aimed at reaching as wide a demographic as possible within the Covid-19 restrictions, which were only beginning to ease in summer 2021.

The site is located in a part of the city known as the West End which is designated as an ‘Area of Change’ in Oxford’s Local Plan. The wider West End area around the railway station is viewed as a priority sustainable location for jobs and innovation.

At the time of the main stages of our engagement process the Government policy did allow for in-person public engagement with the correct precautions in place. Parallel digital inclusion involved a simple web page for sharing information and providing feedback on proposals.

Between July 2021 and September 2022, approximately 2,000 people participated in person in the various Oxpens Masterplan engagement events. The techniques included site visits, exhibitions with explanatory panels at multiple venues, two scale models and aerial floor maps, as well as in person and online questionnaire feedback. (Intensive meetings such as classroom sessions and workshops were not permissible at that time).

The scheme was adapted and refined after each cycle of engagement and statutory consultation, with a final version lodged as an outline application in late 2022. This was for a mixed-use scheme comprising residential and student accommodation; commercial, business and service, and hotel uses, with public realm, landscaping, associated infrastructure and works, including pedestrian and cycle routes, some linking to a new bridge over the River Thames. A major feature of the scheme is a new waterfront public space, an amphitheatre at the heart of the new quarter.