Plans filed for £340m science park off M40
The developer says more than 2,000 workers could be based at the new site
A proposed £340m science park for Oxford’s green belt would be used by thousands of workers, according to the company planning it.
Waterstock Science and Innovation Park would be built by Oxford-based Greystoke on the site of the current Waterstock Golf Club, off the M40.
Pegasus Group, which submitted the plans on Greystoke’s behalf, said the project would have a “limited effect on the wider landscape” and that its buildings would have a “positive and coherent identity”.
The development, close to junction 8a of the M40, would take four years to build, the application states.
Pegasus said between 2,300 and 2,700 full-time workers could be based at the 41.4 hectare (102.3 acre) park. It could generate about £4.2m in business rates for South Oxfordshire District Council (SODC) every year, the company said.
But the authority said it is unlikely to grant planning permission.
It told Greystoke the project is “likely to be contrary” to SODC’s planning strategy and “likely to be considered inappropriate development in the green belt”.
Pegasus said the project would be a “unique opportunity to create a new world-class science and innovation campus, embracing the distinctive character of the site”.
It said it would be a “highly desirable place to work for the 21st century and beyond”.
The application was filed with the council in July, with some notifications being sent to interested parties earlier this week.
Opponents to the project have already started to send objections to the council.
One said the plan to "create an island of commercial/scientific development in the middle of a green agricultural location seems to be random".
Another said the proposal is "totally unacceptable".
A golf club member said any approval would "destroy a valuable recreational resource" on an "entirely unsuitable" site.
The authority hopes the application will be decided by early November.