Character and placemaking

Throughout our work we have been considering what it would be like to live at Water Eaton. We have progressed this through character studies and the feedback received during the Enquiry by Design and previous consultations.

Because this is an outline planning application, the final appearance and character of the area will be decided later on. For the outline application we will be submitting indicative guidelines for character and appearance in the form of colour palettes and character areas based on the adopted Development Brief for the site. We are seeking your views on how we could make this place special, and related to the local area.

We have identified three character areas, one adjacent to Oxford Road and others adjacent to the green corridor on the eastern edge of the site (divided into north and south areas). Broadly, we propose the following: -

Oxford Road Frontage

• Responds to requirements for Oxford Road corridor, with existing planting retained in parts, together with new formal planting
• Active frontages to Oxford Road
• Mainly 3-storey with some 4-storey and 5-storey gateway buildings

Valley View (north)

• Views open out to countryside
• Existing trees and drainage paths become features
• Formal Primary street gives way to loose-knit edge

Valley View (south)

• Responds to Croudace scheme
• Reflects historic Oxford ‘Victorian grid’ with formal street grid
• Regular formal building line
• Dense terraces on Primary street give way to lower density looser patterns at parkland edge

We have also created some illustrative views, and would love to hear your comments on them:

These are images designed to prompt comments. We welcome your thoughts on the type and style of dwellings we provide across the site, and how the streets and spaces in the scheme should be designed when we submit future detailed applications.

Colours palettes

The following colours are suggested as colour palettes for the character areas, and have been drawn from the colours found in surrounding areas of Oxford, Kidlington and Cherwell villages.