This decision will allow a design proposal for the reserved matters part of application 23/00405/OUTFUL to be submitted, which will complete the Blackbird Leys regeneration masterplan as originally intended.  The application being submitted includes the Blackbird Leys community centre and adjacent public space in the district centre.

To approve the planning application submission of the outline application for Blackbird Leys regeneration project.  The outline application will be submitted as part of reserved matters for the hybrid application 23/00405/OUTFUL, which was granted planning permission in October 2023.

This decision is necessary to progress the outline application to planning, which needs to be submitted as a planning condition of application 23/00405/OUTFUL.

Officers believe the developer has demonstrated that the outline application scheme complies with the necessary policies, and brief as set out by the Council, including:

·       Proposed Building Size

The new community centre must have a minimum of 1,200sqm per Cabinet approval in March 2020.  The proposed building has a total gross internal floor area of 1,353sqm.

·       Proposed Location

The location of the proposed Community Centre is in line with the permission sought via the hybrid application with the reference of 23/00405/OUTFUL.

·       Sustainability of Proposed Building

The new building will comply with Building Regulation 25B, which states: where a building is erected, it must be a nearly zero-energy building.’

Additionally, the community centre building is on track to achieve a BREEAM ‘Excellent’ rating

·       Budget

The development partner is satisfied the shell and core can be delivered within the budget allowances made within the Development Agreement.

The Council did not consider an alternative, as this is part of a reserved matters for application 23/00405/OUTFUL, and therefore must be submitted as a planning condition.

Furthermore, the outline scheme mentioned here is part of the wider Blackbird Leys regeneration scheme which was approved at Cabinet in March 2020, and therefore must be delivered as a whole.