Councillor Fouweather, Rehman and Hunt sent apologies.

None.

Recommendation: to approve the minutes of the meeting held on 20 January 2026 as a true and accurate record.

The Committee resolved to approve the minutes of the meeting held on20 January 2026 as a true and accurate record.

Site address: Oxfam, 2700 John Smith Drive, Oxford, Oxfordshire

Proposal: Erection of a rooftop extension to create an additional floor and roof plant area with balcony, to enable research and development and office use with ancillary facilities (Use class E). Relocation of building entrance to the southern elevation and insertion of a colonnade. Alterations to fenestration, insertion of louvres and cladding. Installation of a goods lift to the northern elevation. Provision of external plant compounds and enclosures. Alterations to landscaping and associated infrastructure, provision of bin and cycle storage. (Amended description).

Reason at Committee: Major development

RECOMMENDATION

Oxford City Planning Committee is recommended to:

1.             Approve the application for the reasons given in the report and subject to the required planning conditions set out in section 12 of this report and grant planning permission; and subject to:

• the satisfactory completion of a legal agreement under section.106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 and other enabling powers to secure the planning obligations set out in the recommended heads of terms which are set out in this report; and

2.             Agree to delegate authority to the Director of Planning and Regulation to:

•                finalise the recommended conditions as set out in this report including such refinements, amendments, additions and/or deletions as the Director of Planning and Regulation considers reasonably necessary; and

•                finalise the recommended legal agreement under section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 and other enabling powers as set out in this report, including refining, adding to, amending and/or deleting the obligations detailed in the heads of terms set out in this report (including to dovetail with and where appropriate, reinforce the final conditions and informatives to be attached to the planning permission) as the Director of Planning and Regulation considers reasonably necessary; and

•                complete the section 106 legal agreement referred to above and issue the planning permission.

Site address: Oxfam, 2700 John Smith Drive, Oxford, Oxfordshire

Proposal: Erection of a rooftop extension to create an additional floor and roof plant area with balcony, to enable research and development and office use with ancillary facilities (Use class E). Relocation of building entrance to the southern elevation and insertion of a colonnade. Alterations to fenestration, insertion of louvres and cladding. Installation of a goods lift to the northern elevation. Provision of external plant compounds and enclosures. Alterations to landscaping and associated infrastructure, provision of bin and cycle storage (Amended description).

The Oxford City Planning Committee resolved to:

1      Approve the application for the reasons given in the report and subject to the required planning conditions set out in section 12 of this report and grant planning permission; and subject to:

·       the satisfactory completion of a legal agreement under section.106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 and other enabling powers to secure the planning obligations set out in the recommended heads of terms which are set out in this report; and

2      Agree to delegate authority to the Director of Planning and Regulation to:

·       finalise the recommended conditions as set out in this report including such refinements, amendments, additions and/or deletions as the Director of Planning and Regulation considers reasonably necessary; and

·       finalise the recommended legal agreement under section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 and other enabling powers as set out in this report, including refining, adding to, amending and/or deleting the obligations detailed in the heads of terms set out in this report (including to dovetail with and where appropriate, reinforce the final conditions and informatives to be attached to the planning permission) as the Director of Planning and Regulation considers reasonably necessary; and

·       complete the section 106 legal agreement referred to above and issue the planning permission

The Committee considered an application for the erection of a rooftop extension to create an additional floor and roof plant area with balcony, to enable research and development and office use with ancillary facilities (Use class E). Relocation of building entrance to the southern elevation and insertion of a colonnade. Alterations to fenestration, insertion of louvres and cladding. Installation of a goods lift to the northern elevation. Provision of external plant compounds and enclosures. Alterations to landscaping and associated infrastructure, provision of bin and cycle storage. (Amended description).

The Planning Officer gave a presentation outlining the details of the location and the proposal. This included site photos and existing and proposed elevations and plans:

• The application sought planning permission to extend an existing building on the Oxford Business Park for research, development and office use with ancillary facilities. The site comprised of a three-storey office building with associated car parking, located on the western side of John Smith Drive, with the Business Park situated north-west of the Eastern Bypass Road as the south-east of the Cowley District Centre.
• Officers considered that the proposed development appropriately responded to the existing and emerging site context, resulting in a high-quality scheme that preserved the existing building. The sustainable design approach included improved pedestrian connectivity and legibility across the site and the wider Business Park, along with reduced car parking, increased bicycle parking and enhanced tree canopy cover. The scheme would cause no adverse impacts on residential amenity, drainage, biodiversity, highways safety, health and safety, air quality, land quality and utilities.
• Subject to conditions and a Section 106 legal agreement, the development was considered acceptable and concurred with the relevant Policies of the Oxford Local Plan 2036 and the NPPF.

The Committee asked questions about the details of the application which were responded to by the officers.

On being proposed, seconded, and put to the vote, the Committee agreed with the officer’s recommendation to approve the application for the reasons listed on the report.

The Oxford City Planning Committee resolved to:

1.           Approve the application for the reasons given in the report and subject to the required planning conditions set out in section 12 of this report and grant planning permission; and subject to:

•       the satisfactory completion of a legal agreement under section.106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 and other enabling powers to secure the planning obligations set out in the recommended heads of terms which are set out in this report; and

2.           Agree to delegate authority to the Director of Planning and Regulation to:

•       finalise the recommended conditions as set out in this report including such refinements, amendments, additions and/or deletions as the Director of Planning and Regulation considers reasonably necessary; and

•       finalise the recommended legal agreement under section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 and other enabling powers as set out in this report, including refining, adding to, amending and/or deleting the obligations detailed in the heads of terms set out in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 55.

Items currently expected to be considered by the committee at future meetings are listed for information. This is not a definitive list and applications may be added or removed at any point. These are not for discussion at this meeting.

The Committee noted the list of forthcoming applications.

Future meetings of the Committee are scheduled at 6.00pm on:

24 March 2026

21 April 2026

26 May 2026

The Committee noted the dates of future meetings.