MasterplanningBegbroke Science Park

A living laboratory in the heart of the Oxfordshire countryside.

A collaboration with Hawkins\Brown, OKRA, OOZE and Murray Twohig, the Begbroke Science Park masterplan—which has now secured outline planning consent from Cherwell Council—will create 1,800 new homes and a million square feet of research space around Oxford University’s existing science campus north of the city.

Won via an open international design competition, the masterplan includes three new residential neighbourhoods with a new civic quarter, known as the “farmstead”, centred on an existing Grade II-listed Jacobean farmhouse.

RCKa led on the residential masterplanning and design coding for the new homes, introducing innovative “living streets” which promote active travel and healthy lifestyles, with easy access to nature and the wellbeing benefits of open green space. All of the new homes have been designed around the principle of “the car as a guest”, with walkable, playable public realm on the doorstep.

A series of green arteries, designed by Dutch landscape architect OKRA, link each of the residential neighbourhoods to the heart of the new campus and out into the wider countryside. A large part of the masterplan area will be rewilded and maintained for leisure, zero-mile food growing and flood mitigation.


“The team offered a very strong response to the design challenge, proposed creative integration of different uses, as well as sensitive consideration of existing communities and those who will come to use the spaces.”

Competition jury, April 2022

Vital new social infrastructure serving the wider community

In addition to the new homes and research space, the scheme will include three new schools, farm shop, allotments, restaurants and four new parks. Every home will be within five minutes’ walk of green open space.

The masterplan secured unanimous outline consent at Cherwell’s planning committee in September 2024.


1,800 new homes, half of which are affordable

1.6m sqft of flexible workspace

50% of the site dedicated to restorative landscape



Client
Oxford University Development

Status
Outline Planning Permission Granted 2024

Location
Cherwell, Oxfordshire

Project Team
Alan Beveridge
Chris Barnes
Daria Szmucer
Quincy Haynes
Rhiona Williams
Samuel Letchford
Shalini Tahalooa
Russell Curtis

Team Lead & Masterplanner
Hawins\Brown

Landscape
OKRA (Netherlands)

Sustainability, Transport, Civils
Buro Happold

Collaborating Designer
Ooze (Netherlands)

Project Manager
Turner & Townsend

Place Vision
Murray Twohig

Planning
Quod

Strategic Transport
KMC

Community Engagement
Kevin Murray Associates

Project list