Green Light for £90m Oxford Technology Park

Hill Street Holdings and Bloombridge have been given the go ahead by Cherwell District Council for Oxford Technology Park, a new research and development (R&D) park at Langford Lane, Kidlington. The £90 million scheme will create 434,457 sq ft (40,362 sq m) of much-needed commercial and R&D space on the northern outskirts of Oxford.

The park will comprise two flagship Grade A, three-storey buildings with office, R&D and innovation space totalling 81,015 sq ft (7,527 sq m) along the front of the site, plus a range of two-storey R&D buildings behind, which will vary in size to suit individual occupier requirements.

The park is designed as a campus development with buildings set in landscaped surroundings to create a high quality working environment and deliver a new gateway to London Oxford Airport and Kidlington’s established employment area.

The two flagship buildings will provide floor plates of over 10,000 sq ft (929 sq m) as well as space for conferencing and an innovation hub for start-up businesses.

The R&D buildings will provide bespoke combinations of office, laboratory, production and storage. This will provide hybrid space to meet the needs of the high-tech industry, including grow on space for businesses wishing to expand beyond what the University’s nearby Begbroke Science Park offers. All units will be supported by facilities including; storage yards with loading bays, secure parking and external storage for volume equipment, gas tanks and deliveries.

Angus Bates, CEO of Hill Street Holdings, said: “Oxford Technology Park will deliver top quality office and R&D space for businesses of all sizes, set within 20 acres of landscaped grounds. Each unit will be modelled as bespoke units and we are able to offer ‘design and build’ solutions to suit individual occupiers.

“It represents a multi-million pound investment in the local economy with the potential to create 1,250 new jobs and satisfy local and international demand in the area for space of this kind. We expect the technology park to rapidly become a significant contributor to Oxford as a leading, global centre for research and development.”

Richard Cutler, Partner of Bloombridge said: “This project has taken 13 years to come through the planning system, with a recorded loss of 352,000 sq ft of enquiries for space from R&D businesses in the last five years. We are delighted that Cherwell District Council has supported the Local Plan Inspector by confirming that very special circumstances exist for the grant of this planning permission in the Oxford Green Belt.

“As George Osborne said in his Autumn Statement, in the modern world one of the best ways you can back business is by backing science, and this is exactly what Oxford Technology Park does”.

The units are available for pre-let and the leasing agents are VSL and Partners, and Benedicts Consultant Surveyors.

Construction will start in early 2016.