PLANS to build a main road as part of a major overhaul of northern Oxford are to be decided this evening.

The application for a ‘spine road’ will allow access to a section of the Oxford North development.

Oxford City Council’s planning committee is recommended to approve the reserved matters application for the road, which will consist of two junctions onto the A40, to the west of the Wolvercote Roundabout.

READ AGAIN: Oxford North application submitted as report questions number of homes being built in county

The proposed works are directly related to an application for 317 homes at the Canalside part of Oxford North.

That application was submitted to the city council earlier this year and is yet to be determined.

Oxford North is seeking to become the city’s ‘new innovation district’ and to be a ‘unique home and workplace for scientists, technologists and inventors’.

Split into three areas, Canalside will take up a large section of the 480 homes proposed at Oxford North.

The other locations are Central (to the north of the A40 and west of the A44) and Eastside (east of the A44).

Hybrid planning permission was granted for the wider Oxford North site in March 2021, while works commenced on site in September.

A council report on the proposed road states: “The provision of the spine road is essential in terms of facilitating a means of vehicular access into the residential development which would be delivered to the south of the A40.

“The works to form the junction accesses have already been carried out by Oxfordshire County Council as part of the A40 improvement works consented under the hybrid planning permission.

“The spine road would form the only means of access into Canalside for vehicles.

“The road layout would consist of a loop road in a U-shaped arrangement between the two constructed junctions onto the A40, which were approved under the hybrid planning permission and have been constructed as part of highways works being undertaken by Oxfordshire County Council.

“The eastern arm of the spine road joins the A40 in a position to the west of the Jurys Inn hotel. This would consist of a left in, left out arrangement only and therefore vehicles would not be able to turn right at this junction onto the eastbound carriageway of the A40.

“The western junction consists of a three-way signalised junction, which would allow access to the right and left, as well as access across the central parcel of the Oxford North site via the approved link road to the A44.”

To view the application, visit the city council planning portal online, using the reference number 20/00081/RES.

Read more from this author

This story was written by Liam Rice, he joined the team in 2019 as a multimedia reporter.

Liam covers politics, travel and transport. He occasionally covers Oxford United.

Get in touch with him by emailing: Liam.rice@newsquest.co.uk

Follow him on Twitter @OxMailLiamRice