EXOq: Planning Application by Exeter College for a huge “Innovation District” at Frieze Farm.

1st July 2026

Exeter College has submitted a planning application for a huge “Innovation District” at Frieze Farm and the land on the opposite side of Frieze Way. The application would create floorspace three times as large as that being built at the Oxford North site (south of Peartree), almost twice as big as the major development planned for the Begbroke Science Park area and about seven times as large as Oxford Technology Park on Langford Lane.

 

It is hard to see how there can be a demand for this development on top of those other plans. It is also important to remember that employment development such as this would in future be used to justify more housing.

 

As you will know, more than 5000 houses (originally 4400) have already been planned for the area.  Local transport networks, services and infrastructure are already struggling to cope.  Adding yet more pressure on these, as this proposal would, is sheer folly.

 

What is more, the proposed site is already allocated in Cherwell’s Local Plan for a golf course to replace North Oxford Golf Course which has been forced to close by Exeter College (and the other owners) in order to make way for a new housing development there.

 

KDW thinks that this new proposal represents massive and damaging over-development and recommends that you object to it. We have suggested some points you can make HERE

 

Note that this is an Outline application only, so many of the details may change. The applicants make a point of stating that the development would be phased, with completion not until 2040 and that construction of future phases will depend on conditions at the time. It is therefore very difficult to tell what this proposal might end up as, but it would effectively take this land out of the Green Belt for ever and prevent its use as a Golf Course. 

How to object

 The details of the application can be found on the Cherwell website:

https://planningregister.cherwell.gov.uk/

 

using the Application Reference 26/00720/OUT

 

There are a large number of lengthy documents. Perhaps the most useful are the “Planning Statement” and “Design and Access Statement” but even these are lengthy. We provide some more information (including an indicative plan) HERE.

 

The closing date for comments (at the time of writing) is 23rd July 2026.

 

We recommend sending your comments in an e-mail to: [email protected].

 

When you do so it is important to quote the reference number 26/00720/OUT, to give your name and address and to include a statement that you OBJECT along with the reasons why.

 

You can also submit comments on the online form that can be found with the application details (click the “Comment on this Application” button). If you do this we recommend typing your comments in a separate document and then copying them into Cherwell’s form. This is to avoid the possibility of accidentally losing your comments in the form before finishing them.

 

You should confine your comments to “material planning considerations”. Cherwell includes a helpful list of these at:

https://www.cherwell.gov.uk/info/115/planning/308/planning-application-consultation