Devonshires advises Peabody on Oxford regeneration

We're pleased to have acted on behalf of Peabody on its planned regeneration of the Blackbird Leys site in Oxford.

Work will shortly begin to deliver hundreds of affordable homes, retail spaces and community facilities across Blackbird Leys, now formal planning permission has been granted by Oxford City Council. 

The plans by Peabody (formerly Catalyst) and development partner Oxford City Council include 294 homes across two sites, which will help to tackle Oxford’s housing shortage. 

A new district centre will include 210 homes, 83 percent (174 homes) of which will be for social or affordable rent and 17 percent (36 homes) for shared ownership. A further 84 houses for shared ownership will be built at Knights Road.   

The district centre is also set to provide new high-quality facilities to support the Blackbird Leys community and others that live and work in the local area.  This will include green spaces, shops and a community centre, as well as improved roads with a segregated cycle route. 

Simon Barry, Managing Director, Development at Peabody said: “We’ve come a long way since we first engaged with the community in 2019 about our proposals for Blackbird Leys, so I’m delighted to now see work beginning on site.  This marks a critical step forward in our programme to rejuvenate this area with much-needed affordable homes and purpose-built high-quality public spaces. 

“The next stage is to finalise our plans for the Community Centre, and we’ve had brilliant engagement from local residents and organisations over the past few months – that’s thanks to the fantastic energy of this community.  We’re looking forward to building on these conversations in early 2024 as we move through the final design stage.” 

The Devonshires team comprised Partners, Katie Fung (Property), Hannah Langford (Planning) and Asif Patel (Construction). 

Katie Fung said: “We are delighted to have assisted Peabody in this deal which will provide much needed regeneration of the Blackbird Leys site. In addition to the usual complexities of projects this size, the scheme raised some interesting legal considerations which required careful consideration and collaborative discussion between all parties to ensure its completion.

“Peabody will carry out vital work in the provision of both housing and community facilities and we are proud to have been able to help make this project a reality”.