A FINAL go-ahead is set to be given to a new 190-home housing estate in North Oxford.

City councillors will be asked to rubberstamp final matters for the new development on the site of the Wolvercote Paper Mill.

Officers working for Oxford City Council believe CALA Homes have come up with a ‘bespoke approach’ fit for the ‘unique location’. They also note that there are ‘significant gains for the wider village’ – including improvements to roads, pathways and green spaces nearby.

The site was first earmarked for development 13 years ago. The entrance to the development would be in-between the White Hart and Jacob’s Inn pub.

Oxford Mail:

Once the homes are built, half are expected to be marked as affordable. Of the 190, 74 would be flats in four blocks, while 116 would be houses.

The development would be enhanced by a new GP surgery and a new community centre.

The surgery would be at the heart of a new village square; a community centre would be closer to the entrance.

In a council report, planning officers note ‘the majority of affordable units are located in the south of the site, with almost all of the apartments being affordable units rather than market housing’.

They add: “However, the southern part of the site is considered to be a desirable location, close to village amenities and the heart of the development.”

Paul Buckley, Wolvercote and Summertown county councillor, said the project design ‘embodies an agreeable compromise between packing in as many new homes as possible to meet the extreme demand and creating an attractive place in which to live.’

Earlier this summer, police officers had said they worried the back gardens to some of the homes would make it easier for would-be burglars to steal from them.

But following work by CALA Homes, those fears appear to have been allayed.

There is now a proposal that gates are installed to ensure those gardens are secure.

Officers conclude in a council report that will be seen at the meeting next Tuesday: “The proposed development would make an efficient use of a site which has been allocated for housing as part of the council’s five-year housing supply and therefore deliver much needed affordable and market housing to contribute towards Oxford’s housing need.

“The development would help establish a balanced and mixed community.”

The city council’s West Area planning committee will look at the Paper Mill application from 6pm on Tuesday at Oxford Town Hall.