Council to create affordable business space in East Oxford

Oxford City Council plans on creating affordable business space for entrepreneurs and start-ups, through a £9.7m scheme to demolish Standingford House and redevelop the site.

The Oxfordshire Local Enteprise Partnership (OxLEP) secured £1.13m of investment towards the project via the government’s Local Growth Fund and is helping support the proposal for 30% of the workspace to be let at 80% of market rates.

Standingford House currently houses 14 businesses and organisations, but the building is in need of repair and modernization to meet current and future efficiency standards.

The Council explored refurbishing the existing building but concluded that redeveloping the site was the best use of funds.

Cllr Susan Brown, leader of Oxford City Council, said: ‘Oxford’s economy is one of the best performing in the country, but we cannot rest on our laurels. We need to make sure that talented local businesses have the space in which to start up and grow and we hope this investment gives them the leg up they need.

‘We have been supporting existing tenants to help them find alternative premises during the construction, and look forward to welcoming many of them back once the new building is complete.’

The new workspace will see a significantly increased area from 9,700 sq.ft. to approximately 23,000 sq.ft, and will be flexible to enable new businesses to easily scale up from one desk to a self-contained office.

It will offer a range of different spaces, such as breakout spaces, meeting rooms, individual offices and single desks.

The new building is expected to be fully accessible and achieve the highest possible BREEAM (Building Research Establishment’s Environmental Assessment Method) rating of ‘outstanding’.

The Cave Street plans were agreed by the City Council’s Cabinet on Wednesday 10 November. It is anticipated a planning application will be submitted early in 2022, with work due to start later in the year.

In related news, Manchester City Council has secured almost £20m for a project to transform two dilapidated buildings and three railway arches into spaces for the tech and creative industries.

Photo by Christopher Gower