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Oxfordshire Garden Village has a new website

Oxfordshire Garden Village is moving to a new website with a fresh look, additional information and reports, video content and regular news articles. We hope you have found using the Commonplace website useful and continue to engage with us via our new website. The comments and feedback you have provided on this website have been captured and republished on the new website, under the “Previous Comments” section.

https://oxongv.co.uk/

Posted on 13th August 2019

by The Oxfordshire Cotswolds Garden Village team

Design Charrette sketches

Grosvenor worked with the local community to identify key themes and learn lessons from other relevant places via a series of study tours, the next step in the process was to start designing a masterplan framework for the scheme.

While other promoters and developers might have instructed their urban planners and architects to produce a masterplan framework which is then presented to local residents for comment, Grosvenor decided to take a different approach to reflect our commitment to ensuring the local community is involved as much as possible at every stage of the development.

We organised four days of interactive consultation starting with a site visit on 15th May, where we explored the site with local residents. We then held a two-day Design Charrette in partnership with West Oxfordshire District Council (WODC) on 16th and 17th May at Witney Lakes.

More than 100 people attended the Charrette, including local residents and community groups, the tenant farmers, the sponsoring cabinet member and officers from both WODC and the County, Parish Councillors, senior members of the project team and other interested parties, such as StageCoach, Building Better, Building Beautiful Commission and MHCLG.

The Charrette produced creative, ambitious and bold sketches of what the masterplan framework might look like.

The day after the Design Charrette concluded Grosvenor and WODC held a joint public exhibition in Eynsham Scout Hall where over 200 people attended.

This was an opportunity for the wider community to provide their feedback on the materials, designs and sketches produced.

In terms of next steps, we are currently working on producing a final report summarising the key findings from the Charrette. This document will help form the master planning work and will be produced in the coming weeks. It will also provide much greater detail on the work undertaking during the Charrette and the ideas that were generated, the trade-offs and the conclusions drawn.

It has been influenced by the work produced at the Charrette, the feedback we have since received and the feedback we received during the displays of the Charrette materials. Once it is published we will upload it to our website and make it available for residents to be able to read and consider.

What is a Design Charrette?

A Design Charrette is a collaborative meeting between members of the local community and the project team, who work together to sketch designs, explore ideas and develop innovative ways to solve problems.

Above is precise from a book of sketches we had on display recently, it includes all the sketches from the Charrette, along with descriptions of the key moments in the event and explanations of the sketches: https://bit.ly/31OKBaQ

Below you can find the key composite designs which came out of the Charrette:

Composite 1

A consistent approach to green infrastructure at the Oxfordshire Cotswolds Garden Village was evident across the community masterplans. A strong network of green and blue infrastructure is a key driver of the design, celebrating and enhancing existing site features.

Responding to specific ecological, landscape and historical features, the northern edge of the settlement is defined by parkland, this is represented in the following 3 composite options. Option 1 explored a single village centre, strategically located at the heart of the proposed settlement. Commercial uses and community facilities enclose a key public space which is easily accessible by foot and cycle for all residents.

Composite 2

The landscape-led approach of option 2 defines three neighbourhoods within the Garden Village site, with generous green corridors weaving between them. Each neighbourhood has a defined centre.

The eastern and western centres lie on the A40, aiding the integration of the new and existing communities, ensuring proposed amenities are located at the heart of the wider settlement area. Each centre is associated with a primary or secondary school or employment area to promote activity, vibrancy and viability

Composite 3

The third composite masterplan explored the idea of the Garden Village having 3 distinct centres, varying in scale, function and character.

A primary village centre was proposed to the east, associated with community uses and amenities, adjacent to education facilities. An additional centre was proposed within the western employment area with a strong relationship to the park and ride. A village green was proposed to the north, within a lower density, more rural character area.

This challenges the definition of ‘centre’ and allows for a community space at the heart of a neighbourhood without the requirement for the dispersal of facilities and services. The masterplan is again driven by strong green infrastructure.

Posted on 7th June 2019

by Grosvenor