BLENHEIM SET TO CHANGE LAND PROMOTION WITH NEW APPROACH TO PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT

Blenheim Estate has launched Blenheim Strategic Partners which it says will offer a new approach to property development which offers expertise in land promotion, master planning and development to landowners throughout the country.

The model offered by Blenheim Strategic Partners enables landowners to retain a long-term involvement in the development of their land. Rather than selling land to a developer this enables landowners to benefit from ‘patient capital’ – the higher land values achieved as developments reach completion.

Blenheim Strategic Partners is the official formation of a long-term collaboration between Blenheim Estate and Vanderbilt Strategic Ltd, bringing together the knowledge of Blenheim Estate’s Property

Oxford University secures planning permission for £150m Radcliffe Observatory project

Oxford University has secured planning permission for the construction of a new £150 million humanities building to include academic faculty space, concert, theatre and lecture halls at the Radcliffe Observatory quarter on Woodstock Road.

Director Roger File and founder of Vanderbilt, Edward Spencer-Churchill, together with leading planner Nigel McGurk as Head of Planning and Pye Homes as development partner.

Dominic Hare CEO of Blenheim Strategic Partners, said: “Blenheim has over 300 years of experience in land development, stewardship and investment and an inherent understanding of legacy. From the creation of Blenheim Palace and gardens to the new communities that we have developed locally, the Estate has provided insight and inspiration. Blenheim Strategic Partners offers an understanding of value beyond the financial: longevity, social value and a respect for land, people and place. It also offers a strong financial basis and access to funding, from private individuals and the wider Blenheim finance group.”

Construction will begin in October, and it is due to open in 2025.

Designed by Hopkins Architects, The Stephen A. Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities at the University of Oxford has come to be from the largest single donation the University has received in its history.

It will pull together seven faculties, two Institutes and six Bodleian libraries along with a world-class Concert Hall and three other performance venues, exhibition and film spaces in a unique academic and public building in the centre of the city.

Garden centre grows in Wallingford

Root One Garden Centre in Wallingford has unveiled extensions to its coffee shop and retail areas.

The family-owned centre was granted permission by South Oxfordshire District Council last year for an 8,255 sq ft extension to its plant area and it’s coffee shop, providing additional seating and kitchen space further to planning specialists Malcolm Scott Consultants submitting detailed proposals for the business.

Andrew Burton, of Malcolm Scott Consultants, said: “The Root One team brought us in after carrying out an assessment of their retail operations, keen to capitalise on the spike in visitors to the centre that was born during the Covid pandemic and continued to thrive.”

Jeremy Brudenell, who established Root One Garden Centre in 2001, said: “The newly extended retail area has provided us with the chance to expand our garden leisure range, and we’ve almost doubled the size of our popular plant area to give customers a wider choice for their gardens. We’re hopeful that the increase choice, teamed with the extended coffee shop, will attract new customers to the centre and encourage them to stay longer, exploring the offering and enjoying the wares in the café.”