Oxford City Council has given the green light to a significant initiative that will deliver 230 new affordable homes on land adjoining a former waste disposal and illegal dumping ground.
The proposal for the affordable housing scheme and fresh riverside community at Redbridge Paddock, adjacent to Redbridge Park and Ride near Abingdon Road, received backing from the city council cabinet on Wednesday 18 March.
The 8.9-hectare plot beside Weirs Mill Stream, previously a landfill operation during the 1960s and 1970s with activities stopping in 1972, has been characterised as both former landfill and brownfield land.
The location also sits less than 800 metres from an illegal dumping hotspot at the Redbridge Hollow entrance, which was labelled a ‘super dump’ back in February 2017, created by unidentified dumpers who cost taxpayers substantial sums during a major cleanup effort.
Historical contamination at the location continues to present a significant obstacle to the new project.
Substantial investment will be required for extensive remediation and contamination preparation work, which will involve locating and eliminating hazardous substances prior to any construction commencing.
Dave Scholes, the council’s senior responsible officer for affordable housing supply, informed the meeting that owing to the remediation requirements, the scheme can only proceed if grant funding is secured.
According to Mr Scholes, the project becomes financially workable only if public subsidy can be secured to support the contamination work, and without such support it cannot currently move forward.
An application will be submitted to access the Government’s National Housing Delivery Fund, a £5 billion capital grant programme for infrastructure and land acquisition, which opens in April.
Council officers report that Homes England has expressed strong optimism regarding the site proposals and is actively involved in discussions surrounding the business case.
Subject to approval, an initial hybrid planning application will be submitted later this year, with construction anticipated to commence in 2029 and residents beginning to move in from 2031 onwards.
Councillor Linda Smith, cabinet member for housing and communities, stated that the Redbridge Paddock initiative, alongside the affordable homes proposal at Sandy Lane also reviewed during the same meeting, represent genuine transformative developments.
She noted that while contributions from private developers and housing associations form an important element, they do not constitute the complete solution.
The council is going further and maximising all available options by constructing council homes through its wholly-owned development company OX Place, Ms Smith continued. These two reports this evening form a crucial component of that strategy.
Of the overall 237 dwellings planned for the brownfield site, 118 will be affordable units, comprising 93 available for social rent and 25 for shared ownership.
The project will be advanced by OX Place, the council-owned development company, with over 860 individuals anticipated to benefit from improved housing conditions.
The scheme will incorporate newly designed green spaces and shared facilities, an approach prioritising pedestrian safety, a cycling corridor, and possibilities under consideration for riverside moorings.