A NEW £10m science and education centre at an Oxford green space will be an 'incredible UK-first facility' enjoyed by future generations, its developer has said.

Steve Burgess, chief executive of science charity the Oxford Trust, set out his vision after the project to revamp Stansfeld Outdoor Education Centre in Headington Quarry was approved by Oxford city councillors.

The scheme was given the go-ahead on February 8 and will include an innovation centre providing space for new firms and entrepreneurs as well as an indoor education centre for primary school pupils, together with a café and a 100-seat theatre.

Steve Burgess said this week: “I am really pleased it has been approved, absolutely everything went as well as can be expected and the conditions are all manageable.

“There are no changes to the existing scheme as a result of the conditions.”

The next phase of the scheme, now that permission has been secured, will be the relocation of great crested newts away from the development site and into a new natural habitat.

The re-location will take place in June and is expected to last for at least a month before the task of demolition of some existing buildings and construction of the new centre gets underway.

Mr Burgess said: “Once we have moved the great crested newts we aim to start construction in July.

“It will take just over twelve months to complete the demolition and construction so we are still targeting a launch date of September 2018.

“On a wing and a prayer we are hoping it will all go smoothly.”

It was not all plain sailing for the Oxford Trust, however, and there were concerns raised at the planning committee meeting from Headington Quarry residents including a loss of privacy, and also the 24-hour nature of the new innovation centre.

Answering concerns from residents Mr Burgess said: “We think that the centre is far enough away from the residential buildings that it will not have a big impact.

“We are keeping the cypress trees there so it will screen the houses to maintain their privacy.

“As for people working late it isn’t going to be very common.

“There are the occasional entrepreneurs that will always work late but it won’t be common.”

The plans for the new centre include occasional late-night theatre performances and although Mr Burgess said it was ‘too early to tell’ how frequent these would be he said it would most likely take place two or three times each month depending on demand, calling it an ‘ad hoc’ facility.

He added: “The development is going to be great for local employment in terms of the innovation centre which will give opportunities for growth in the local area.

“As for the science and education centre it will be a fantastic resource for the local schools to have a facility that is unique in the UK to have this indoor and outdoor learning centre."