Benefits

Oxford West End will open up this under-used area close to the bustling heart of a world-renowned historic city, connected via waterways and surrounded by green spaces.

The redevelopment addresses an unprecedented demand for businesses to establish and grow in Oxfordshire. Oxford West End is the most sustainable location for this, with opportunities to modernise and intensify existing employment sites. In this central place, jobs can be reached by people living close by, in new and existing homes, or with a direct commute by bike, bus and rail. Vitally, this will minimise car journeys.

We want to create a place that is welcoming to all – to work, live, enjoy leisure time and build on Oxford’s strengths as a world-class city.

Councillor Alex Hollingsworth
Cabinet Member for Planning and Housing Delivery at Oxford City Council

Local benefits

Mixed-use neighbourhoods

Placing jobs in the most sustainable location at the heart of Oxfordshire, alongside the most significant amount of affordable housing in the city centre for decades.

• employment spaces for high-quality, well-paid, green jobs

• restoring housing to the West End. Read more about the areas history

• varied types of housing: maximising affordable housing, and also including suitable accommodation for graduates and hotels

• an imaginative mix of facilities including co-working for new and existing businesses

High-quality public and social spaces

Seizing the sites’ potential to become a much-loved areas of the city, with views and access to the riverside opened up, and new public spaces for local residents to enjoy.

• largest civic space in Oxford city centre being created at Oxpens for cultural and sporting events, with more to come on other sites

• social spaces for new and existing communities

• restaurants, bars, cafes, delis, hotels

• opening up new waterfronts

• rooftop views and enhanced heritage settings

• enriched parks and green spaces

Highly accessible/superior mobility

By delivering jobs and homes in the city, people can live close to where they work and travel sustainably, reducing congestion and carbon emissions. With streets designed for wandering, and infrastructure plans are advancing to connect Oxford to the rest of the country, the plans will make it easier to travel, commute, and support business and investment.

• supporting rail links and station interchanges

• significantly improved cycling and walking experiences

• new bridges to facilitate movement beyond the West End. Starting with a new river bridge.

• car clubs

Social value and economy

Much needed space for commerce and innovation to boost our economy. Oxford West End partners will set out Community Employment Plans and target initiatives to support levelling-up of Oxfordshire and an inclusive economy.

• starting with thousands of constructions jobs

• local sourcing and support for businesses to access the supply chain

• linking employers with local people via schools, colleges, charities to support access to careers, training and apprenticeships

• millions of additional local spend each year from new workers and residents once constructed

• local tax revenues.

Environmental gains

Oxford declared a Climate Emergency in 2019 and has a goal of zero-carbon emissions by 2040 – ten years ahead of the legal deadline set by Government. The Zero Carbon Oxford Partnership outlines a science-based roadmap and targets for emissions and will decide on appropriate additional longer-term actions.

• furthering climate and net zero innovation. Read more about The Energy Systems Accelerator

• jobs in green innovation

• embracing technologies to minimise embodied and operational carbon

• enabling people to live low-carbon lifestyles

• predominantly car-free

• bio-diversity gains

• blue and green infrastructure for climate resilience

UK benefits

Landowners are invested in the West End as a place of curiosity in all its forms (academic, creative, entrepreneurial), to leverage research and innovation to solve the world’s most intractable of problems and become the birthplace of entirely new industries.

Realising the opportunities of Oxford West End helps the nation to prosper.

One of the largest urban transformation opportunities in the UK

Enables a fast-growth city, with strong economic clusters and top-most global reputation

A sustainable location and critical mass for employment growth

Additional jobs for the UK, that would otherwise go abroad

Space for commercial research spin-outs from the world’s best university, that otherwise may not happen

Substantial tax revenues, supporting national recovery and levelling up across the UK

Supports levelling up within Oxford – a city with substantial inequality and deprivation

Leverages substantial private investment

Accelerates entrepreneurship with existing business support, innovation networks and investment

Increasing rail capacity at Oxford Station unlocks network capacity:

• additional and more efficient services to support regional housing growth

• rail freight capacity, linking industry in the north to the ports on the south coast by 2028.

Investment to enable more sustainable journeys

75% of air pollution in Oxford comes from traffic.
Oxford suffers from considerable congestion, with its major road junctions regularly gridlocked.
There is a need to effect a 10% shift away from private vehicle use just to remain at current, unacceptable levels.
Oxford is famous for its high levels of cycling and has one of the highest levels of walking in the UK.
A quarter of commuter journeys are already taken by bike and there are plans for a 50% increase (read more about active travel and commuting)
Growth sustains bus services – a partnership of transport providers and councils working together to achieve improvement plans, including fleet electrification, efficiency and a wider choice of tickets.
Oxford West End has excellent rail links and growth supports the business case for new routes and stations to enable more people to travel by rail.