Bloombridge LLP has achieved planning permission for a new innovation community at Bicester Gateway, comprising 273 apartments to rent or buy (including 30% affordable) and 47,500 sqft (4,400 sqm) of office and R&D space, with a mixed use co-working hub of 8,550 sqft (800 sqm).
Bicester Gateway represents a shift in working and living patterns that began before the pandemic and which has been accelerated and reinforced through it.
Located in an optimal location on the southern edge of Bicester, opposite the Park & Ride, the development provides excellent accessibility to Oxford and the M40 as well as local amenities such as M&S, Tesco, Bicester Village, two train stations and two new schools, all within walking distance of the development.
The related business space at Bicester Gateway offers commercial occupiers a prominent, self-contained site fronting a major highway.
Bicester Gateway was conceived to provide a place that allows people to mix and balance work with their social and home life. The scheme includes an ancillary gym, approximately 180 sqm of café space, multi-storey car park, and a large area of beautiful parkland amenity space for recreational enjoyment and fitness.
Tom Darwall-Smith of Maddox Planning said: “Flexible living and working environments, as well as employers locating close to employees to avoid long-distance commuting, is a growing market and is likely to further accelerate as a result of Covid-19. This is also highly sustainable and will help to promote healthy lifestyles.”
The scheme, approved last week, delivers a modern design and finish with careful consideration given to architecture, layout and public realm, fostering a sustainable community that provides high quality space in which to live and work.
