Proposal:
Application number 24/02372/FUL. Demolition of existing retail buildings and erection of a laboratory and office building for research and development (Use Class E). Provision of a cycle parking store, access, a plant, landscaping and associated works.
Units 2-5 Botley Retail Park Lamarsh Road Oxford Oxfordshire OX2 0HA
Our Response:
The application site is located centrally on Botley Road, one of the principle routes into the City Centre from the West. The site sits on a plot which currently houses a number of retail units and an area of parking, set back from the main Botley Road frontage.
Botley Road itself is home to a number of uses, including residential (two storey), and a variety of commercial uses which are mainly located within established retail parks. The majority of the commercial development located within these retail areas is two storey in height – so whilst relatively large in terms of footprint they are low and sit comfortably alongside the adjoining residential development.
Due to the Botley Road sitting outside the West End Spatial Strategy Framework area and not being allocated for any specific use within the Local Plan, the City Council produced a Technical Advice Note (TAN) in October 2022 to provide a material consideration in decision making for any proposals that come forward within the Botley Road area. The application site sits within the area covered by the TAN.
In paragraph 8.7 of the TAN (TAN17: Botley Road Retail Park Development Brief) it is cited that the proposed application site constitutes the “Formal Edge” of the city, and as such, new development should not exceed 75.33m above ordnance datum (AOD) or 17.33m above finished floor level (FFL). The above application exceeds this. The main bulk of the building sits at approximately 20.8m above FFL. The proposed extraction chimneys are just under an extra 4m in height. Overall, therefore, there are elements of the building which will be just under 25m in height.
OPT have not been able to find any justification in the supporting information to depart from the height guidance set out within TAN17. Paragraph 8.7 within the document is clear in its advice “the heights” should inform further rigorous testing and analysis to support individual development proposals” this is not a green light to so significantly breach the proposed maximum heights, rather that development of even 17.3m will need to demonstrate a rigorous assessment of the potential impacts. There is a reason that the height guidance was provided within the TAN and this was due to the potential for taller buildings to impact views both in and out of the city. It is frustrating that this scheme, and the associated application on the neighbouring plot (24/02371/FUL) have ignored this height guidance and proposed a building which sits significantly higher than the suggested 17.3m threshold.
It is undeniable that the introduction of a four-storey building, with plant at roof level and extraction chimneys will set a precedent and change the current character of the Botley Road, which needs very thoughtful consideration. The Townscape and Visual Impact Assessment confirms that the development will be visible from a number of raised publicly accessible vantage points within the city including St Georges Tower and St Michaels at the Northgate.
OPT do not object in principle to the redevelopment of this site, but do have concerns regarding the height of the building (mainly the roof at plant level and extraction chimneys) and how these will sit in views both from the city centre out, and from the adjoining western hills in towards the city centre. With three applications current submitted for the redevelopment of sites along the Botley Road (24/02361/FUL & 24/02371/FUL) it is clear great change is imminent for this key route into the city. A Technical Advice Note has been produced by the City Council to help manage the level of development and the scale of change – if this guidance is not applied to the first applications that come forward within the area and its immediate surrounds then it is likely to be ignored for other future sites coming forward.
OPT urge officers to consider whether the overall height, massing – especially of the plant and extractions chimneys – could be reduced to mitigate against any potential impacts on sensitive views across the western side of the city.