This week there were 3 community drop in sessions for initial consultation with local community members concerning the planned development inside the Yarnton-Begbroke-Kidlington triangle.

Oxford Uni and Legal & General are the driving force behind the development which they’re calling the Begbroke Innovation District, and which will grow around the existing Begbroke Science Park. The local plan stipulates this designation of land (PR8) will need to host 1,950 homes and something like 600,000 square feet for commercial development (NB – this doesn’t include West Yarnton, Stratfield Brake, Water Eaton and the golf course developments near Oxford Parkway – they’ll be run by different developers and involve different consultation processes etc). The presentation banners they used at this week’s events can be seen here. Have a scroll through.

Ecological / sustainable themes were mentioned a fair amount – and that may be due to increasing public awareness of, and concern about, the environment, but also a consciousness that the land has up until now been protected / green belt, and its release for development has been fiercely contested locally (see e.g. Cherwell Development Watch Alliance and associated action groups).

This week was the first time local residents have seen a timeframe mentioned. Here’s a screen grab of one of the panel displays used at the drop ins :

For those interested in inputting into the masterplan and making sure issues of ecology, biodiversity, and sustainability aren’t forgotten or crowded out by other concerns, watch out for future consultation dates in the Autumn. In the meantime you can fill in the engagement questionnaire here.