Oxfordshire, Planning Notice

Oxfordshire Railfreight Limited Section 48 Planning Act 2008

Regulation 4 Infrastructure Planning (Applications: Prescribed Forms And Procedure) Regulations 2009 (As Amended)
The Oxfordshire Rail Freight Interchange And Highways Order 202x
Notice Publicising A Proposed Application For A Development Consent Order

Notice is hereby given that Oxfordshire Railfreight Limited ("the Applicant") of 2nd Floor Gasp<5 House 66-72 Esplanade St Helier Jersey JE1 1GH proposes to apply to the Secretary of State (via the Planning Inspectorate) under Section 37 of the Planning Act 2008 for a Development Consent Order ("DCO") to authorise the construction, operation, use and maintenance of a new rail freight interchange, warehousing and associated infrastructure on land south of the Chiltern Railway line, west of the B430, east of Upper Heyford Former Airfield, together with highway improvement works to J10 of the M40 motorway, the provision of a bypass to Ardley and a relief road for Middleton Stoney and a new Heyford Park Link Road in Oxfordshire (the "Application").
The Application is considered to require an Environmental Impact Assessment and therefore the Application will be accompanied by an Environmental Statement.
The proposed DCO will, amongst other things, authorise the construction, operation and use and maintenance of:
* a rail freight terminal served via new connections to the Chiltern Railway Line (part of the Strategic Rail Freight Network), including container storage;

* up to 603,850 sq.m. (approx. 6.5 million square feet) of distribution and logistics (use class B8) floorspace, including ancillary office accommodation, plus up to 225,000 sq.m. of additional floorspace in the form of mezzanines;

* demolition of existing structures, and new earthworks to create development plateau to accommodate distribution buildings and associated yard and parking areas, drainage attenuation features, and extensive perimeter earthworks bunding which will form part of the screening (landscape and visual mitigation) of the proposed development;
* improvements to Junction 10 of the M40 involving works on the A43 east of the M40, new slip roads to and from the M40, and including an Ardley Bypass to the east of Ardley which will also form a new site access road to Main Site;

* a Heyford Park Link Road which runs from Camp Road south-east of Heyford Park and south of the proposed development to a new junction on the B430;

* a Middleton Stoney Relief Road around the north-eastern side of the village connecting from a new junction on the B430 to the existing B4030 which links over the M40 to Bicester;

* the principal access to the Main Site will be from the new Ardley bypass and from a new roundabout on the B430 in the north-eastern corner of the Main Site, south of the railway line. This primary access will serve all HGV traffic accessing the site. A secondary access into the Main Site for bus, pedestrian and cycles will be via the Heyford Park Link Road at the southern end of the Main Site;

* relocated Severn Trent Green Power In Vessel Composting facility within the Main Site;

* measures to enable and encourage sustainable travel, including improvements and new links to existing Public Rights of Way, and provision of new foot and cycle links to and within the site, as well as connections to enable bus provision to serve the Main Site via the secondary access to the site from the Heyford Park Link Road;

* retention of the Grade II listed Threshing Barn at Ashgrove Farm as part of a 'hub' of shared and communal facilities for employees and other users of the Main Site;

* retained key landscape features and new landscaping and planting, including on the proposed earthwork bunds within the Main Site, as part of a comprehensive landscaping and green infrastructure scheme across all elements of the proposed development, including habitat creation to deliver a net gain in biodiversity; and

* high-quality, sustainable buildings to BREEAM 'Excellent' standards and incorporating EV charging points and solar PV renewable energy generation.

The Applicant will be undertaking its first stage of consultation from 9 May 2022 until 4 July 2022 and copy of a working draft preliminary environmental information report, draft plans and other draft documents showing the nature and location of the proposed development may be inspected from 9 May 2022 free of charge on the Applicant's website at:

and at the following locations during the hours set out below:
1. Cherwell District Council, Bodicote House, Bodicote, Banbury, Oxon, OX15 4AA (Opening Times: 08:45 - 17:15 Monday to Friday);

2. Bicester Library, Franklins House, Wesley Lane, Bicester, 0X26 6JU (Opening Times: Monday 09:30 - 19:00, Tuesday 09:30 - 17:00, Wednesday 09:30 - 19:00, Thursday 09:30 - 19:00, Friday 09:30 - 17:00, Saturday 09:00 - 16:30);

3. Oxfordshire County Council, County Hall, New Road, Oxford, OX1 1ND (Opening Times: 08:30 - 17:00 Monday to Thursday, 08:30 - 16:30 Friday)

The documents relating to the proposed Application will be on display at the above locations from 9 May 2022 to 5 July 2022. Copies of the plans map and documents can be provided on USB or via a file sharing website link free of charge for those without reasonable internet access and in paper copy for a small printing charge (50p per A4 sheet, 75p per A3 sheet and if plans are requested at a larger scale, a charge of £5 per plan will be made). Cases of hardship will be considered on their individual basis and the Applicant may use its discretion on whether or not to charge for hard copies.
Any responses or representations in repsect of the Proposed Application should be sent in writing to the Applicant at

or by post to 'Freepost OxSRFI' no later than 11:59pm on 4 July 2022. Comments can also be made on the Applicant's website, using the comments forms at the public exhibitions or by telephone using the project phone line (charged at standard landline rates): 0333 358 0502.
Please be aware all responses will be made public.