Heyford Park Area Strategy
Heyford Park Area Strategy
Cherwell Local Plan Review 2040 - Chapter 7
Heyford Park Vision 2040
7.1. Heyford Park will continue to make a significant contribution to delivering homes and jobs in Cherwell.
7.2. By 2040, Heyford Park will be a distinct place with its own facilities and employment opportunities but well related to Bicester and the wider rural area in Mid Cherwell.
7.3. The new community will grow and prosper, taking proper account of the area’s sensitive environment and the importance of its heritage legacy.
7.4 New development will be supported, if able to boost infrastructure and deliver sustainable transport links. Our vision for Heyford Park is:
- The approved (2022) masterplan for Heyford Plan will be delivered;
- Additional development on land the to the south will be well integrated with the 2022 masterplan vision and help secure further infrastructure and improved transport links;
- Heyford Park will be a local service centre for the wider community in Mid Cherwell well connected to Bicester;
- New services, community facilities, and cultural and recreation opportunities will be delivered;
- The area will be an attractive location for business and a focus for creative industries in Oxfordshire;
- Public transport will have improved;
- New and improved walking and cycling routes will be created within Heyford Park and to the wider countryside;
- Preservation of the historic environment and environmental improvement of the former airbase will be secured;
- Environmental and recreational improvements to the wider area beyond Heyford Park will be delivered, including to the Canal and River corridors with improved public access and an enhanced natural environment.
Core Policy 82: Heyford Park Strategy
Heyford Park Policies
7.5 To achieve this vision, our strategy for Heyford Park is as follows:
Overall Spatial Strategy
- Ensure the implementation of the committed growth at Heyford Park to fully establish the new settlement already planned;
- Provide for the future expansion of Heyford Park to meet future housing and infrastructure needs should highway capacity limitations be resolved.
Heyford Park Area Strategy
- Successful implementation of the approved masterplan (2022);
- Delivery of further transport investment to avoid unacceptable impacts on the highway network and support sustainable modes of travel;
- Helping to improve the range of employment, community facilities and infrastructure and further enhance the sustainable transport and connectivity credentials of the area;
- Recognise the potential for additional development to strengthen the long-term sustainability of the new community at Heyford Park;
- Providing the future potential for additional development later in the plan period on land south of Heyford Park to provide approximately 1,235 new dwellings.
Question 55 - Do you have any views on our aspirations for Heyford Park?
Housing
7.6. A masterplan was approved in 2022 to guide the delivery of the 2015 Local Plan allocation and ensure the planned new settlement responds sensitively to the environmental and heritage context of the site.
7.7. This Plan provides an opportunity to further improve the sustainability, connectivity and infrastructure associated with the development in the longerterm. However, it is recognised that further development will be dependent on the successful delivery of the development already approved and further investment in sustainable transportation.
7.8. We will also need to consider the relationship of the new community at Heyford Park with other places in Cherwell.
7.9. Further work will be needed before we can take a formal view on the proposal, but it is unlikely we would be looking at delivering this further development before 2031.
7.10. We will explore further any opportunities to maximise development in the adopted Heyford Park site before formally proposing land for allocation. Notwithstanding, we do not consider that intensification should be considered at the expense of protecting the environmental and heritage value of Heyford Park.
7.11. However, we think it is reasonable to explore a new role for Heyford Park as a local service centre well related to Bicester and supporting services and facilities for its own needs and those of the nearby rural communities.
Question 56 - Do you agree with the local service role for Heyford Park proposed in Core Policy 35?
The Economy
7.12. Heyford Park has proved to be an attractive business location and the 2020 Oxfordshire Local Investment Plan earmarks its potential to become a hub for creative industries.
7.13. Our 2015 Local Plan proposed some 120,000m2 of floor space for commercial uses supporting the residential allocation in Policy Villages 5.
7.14. We do not have enough information at this time to take a view on whether further employment land is needed at Heyford Park and make no recommendations for further employment allocation but may need to revisit this approach once more detailed employment evidence is available.
Question 57 - Do you think we should be considering employment uses alongside the potential allocation for more homes in the longer term at Heyford Park?
Delivery of Green and other Strategic Infrastructure in the Heyford Area
7.15. Existing community facilities at Heyford Park include a secondary school, nursery and a village centre. The approved 2022 masterplan application for the site has helped secure further leisure and education provision and food and non-food retail opportunities.
7.16. The existing local centre is expected to provide for the majority of the needs of the new community with higher order services located in the nearby settlements of Bicester and Oxford.
7.17. Our Green Infrastructure Strategy (2022) has identified areas near to Heyford Park for green infrastructure improvements linked to the river Cherwell corridor and Oxford Canal which provide an opportunity to serve the residents of Heyford Park as well as providing for ecological, ecosystem services and public access enhancement.
7.18. The study describes a larger cluster of protected habitat lies further to the east at Upper Heyford - including the Ardley Trackways SSSI, the linear Ardley Cutting and Quarry SSSI, as well as multiple local wildlife sites at the former RAF Airfield and at Stoke Wood.
7.19. The following opportunities have been identified for the Heyford Area:
- Preventative upstream flood mitigation, including nature-based solutions, which would minimise impacts downstream;
- The creation of a nature-rich “green lung” through the central part of Cherwell, enhancing access to the landscape along the green-blue spine of the River Cherwell and allowing for landscape-scale nature recovery;
- The creation of a landscape-scale River Cherwell Waterway Park;
- Restoration of the health of the River Cherwell and Oxford Canal -enhancing water quality through vegetation, floodplain restoration, and the removal of barriers;
- New spaces for habitat and recreation - connecting Steeple Aston and Lower Heyford, providing a Gateway to Upper Heyford, and nature-exploration park at Somerton near Bestmoor SSSI;
- Green corridor connections - connections provided to Ardley Trackways SSSI, between the Oxford Canal and Upper Heyford and Lower Heyford Station with enhanced canal access.
Heyford Park’s Historic Environment and Landscape
7.20. The former RAF Upper Heyford airbase in its entirety is designated as a conservation area, reflecting the role that the airbase played in the Cold War years. It contains a number of Scheduled Monuments identified as ‘Cold War Structures’ at the former Upper Heyford designation as well as five listed buildings.
7.21. Heyford Park is surrounded by open countryside in an area containing historic rural villages, important landscapes, views and vistas. Rousham Conservation Area also lies partly within this area and includes the designated landscape to the north of Rousham House.
7.22. The 2007 RAF Upper Heyford Planning Brief is still relevant document today. It provides detailed heritage and landscape information and sets out key principles to maintain the central open character and functional appearance of the site’s former flying field and the preservation of buildings of international and national importance on site.
7.23. The proposed extension to Heyford Park extends into a small part of the Rousham Conservation Area and lies adjacent to the Heyford Park Conservation Area.
7.24. New proposals within the Heyford Area will therefore need to take account of important views and vistas, seek to limit of the impact of development on the surrounding countryside and preserve and enhance the historic environment.
Heyford Area Strategy Map
Heyford Area Strategy Map highlighting points of interest. If you need more detail please contact us
Core Policy 82: Heyford Area Strategy
Our over-arching priority for this area is to secure the aligned delivery of housing and employment together with the infrastructure required to achieve sustainable development as part of a comprehensive approach.
Development in the Heyford Area should be in accordance with the Settlement hierarchy set out in Core Policy 35.
Housing Delivery:1,235 dwellings will be delivered through a new strategic site allocation:
| Site | Housing numbers 2020-2040 | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| South of Heyford Park | 1,235 | New site allocation |
The following existing strategic site policy is retained and will not be replaced:
- Policy Villages 5: Former RAF Upper Heyford
Development will be supported on the newly allocated site after 2030 in the interests of:
i. First ensuring the delivery of the approved (2022) masterplan under Saved Policy Villages 5, and
ii. Securing further sustainable transport infrastructure investment necessary to support the additional homes.
Question 58: Do you have any comments on the potential allocation at Heyford Park?
Question 59: Do you have any views on the principle of phased development at Heyford Park subject to implementation of the approved masterplan and the delivery of transport infrastructure?
Core Policy 83: Delivery of Strategic Transport Infrastructure within the Heyford Area
7.25. The development of a further 1,235 homes at Heyford Park could help improve the long-term sustainability of this new community but will need to be designed around a clear transport strategy and it is likely to require a significant package of transport and other infrastructure.
7.26. We need to undertake more work in consultation with the County Council and other infrastructure providers before we firm up Local Plan proposals, but we consider there is merit in exploring further growth at Heyford Park if public transport infrastructure can be delivered.
7.27. We propose additional growth at Heyford Park should be contingent on the delivery of the necessary infrastructure, coming forward later in the Plan period.
7.28. There are planned improvements to the bus services between Heyford Park and Bicester and the additional development provides opportunities to deliver improvements to this service and to other destinations, including Banbury.
7.29. New development should be designed to encourage walking, cycling and use of public transport and minimising the need to travel by private car. Layouts should enable a high degree of integration and connectivity with the existing and planned communities at Heyford Park and which maximise the potential for walkable neighbourhoods with a legible hierarchy of routes.
Core Policy 83: Delivery of Strategic Transport Schemes within the Heyford Area
Transport infrastructure for the development of the additional 1,235 homes at Heyford Park will include:
i. Extended walking/cycling provision including eastwards along Camp Road and westwards connecting to Lower Heyford station through public rights of way improvement utilising the canal towpath;
ii. A new spine road within the new proposed allocation to accommodate buses and to provide for active travel;
iii. Walking/cycling connections through the new development linking Lower Heyford Road to Camp Road via Tait Drive;
iv. A commuter cycle route to Bicester linking to an improved bridleway to Bicester to the east of Heyford Park;
v. Mobility hubs with cycling provision and electric car charging points;
vi. Appropriate contributions necessary to capacity upgrades to M40 Junction 10 along with wider highway capacity improvements, and
vii. Upgrading of the access road to the B430 to the east of Heyford Park.
Core Policy 84: Safeguarding of Land for Strategic Transport
Improvements within the Heyford Area
7.30. Our transport evidence to date lists the strategic transport improvements currently identified in the Local Transport Plan area strategies, and Oxfordshire’s Infrastructure Strategy for the Heyford area. We will need to test the impact of our Local Plan proposals on the transport network and take a view in consultation with Oxfordshire County Council on whether the schemes should be delivered during the lifetime of this Plan. At this stage we are just highlighting their potential for safeguarding.
Core Policy 84: Safeguarding of Land for Strategic Transport Schemes in the Heyford Area
Land is safeguarded to support the delivery of the following identified transport schemes:
- A new spine road within the new proposed allocation to accommodate buses and to provide for active travel;
- A commuter cycle route to Bicester linking to an improved bridleway to Bicester to the east of Heyford Park;
- Capacity upgrades to M40 Junction 10 along with wider highway capacity improvements, and
- Upgrading of the access road to the B430 to the east of Heyford Park.
Development will not be permitted should it prevent the use of land for the delivery and implementation of the identified schemes (Appendix 5).
Question 60: Are there any other areas of land that you think should be safeguarded for transport schemes in the Heyford area?
Core Policy 85: Ardley Railway Station
7.31. The Heyford area is already served by a railway station at Lower Heyford on the line between Oxford and Banbury. However, there was originally a station at Ardley on the Chiltern main line that runs between Birmingham and London, which closed in 1963. To ensure that opportunities for sustainable public transport and connectivity in the area is maximised, especially in the longerterm, land is safeguarded for a railway station at Ardley on the railway line to the south of the settlement of Ardley.
7.32. Reinstating Ardley’s railway station is a long-term aspiration promoted by the developers of Heyford Park. We do not know at this stage Network Rail’s position on a business case for the station. Nevertheless, we consider this Plan should not preclude any opportunities for supporting strategic sustainable transport and where possible it should help their delivery. The potential location of the station is shown at Appendix 5.
Core Policy 85: Ardley Railway Station
The reopening of Ardley Railway station for passenger services will be supported. The Council will work with Network Rail and others to ensure opportunities to deliver a new passenger railway station are brought forward during the plan period.
Land at the original Ardley station is safeguarded to support the delivery of a new station and suitable access to it.
Development will not be permitted should it prevent the use of land for the delivery and implementation of the identified scheme (Appendix 5).