Woodstock Masterplan
Today, approximately 3500 people live in the historic town of Woodstock in Oxfordshire, which first became a documented settlement in the 13th Century. Development in such a characterful and historic setting is famously difficult from a town planning point of view. As such, the scale of developments that come forward in this context are often smaller to mitigate risk and to help win public opinion. Ironically, such a conservation-led mindset has created the conditions for a piecemeal and less coherent expansion to this historic town. Through this project we explored the ambition of a joined-up, landscape-led vision for Woodstocks next 3500 residents to live in. According to the Office for National Statistics, the average UK house occupancy is 2.36 people and at this rate, doubling the population of Woodstock would involve the design of 1500 homes.
In further assessing the needs of the existing population of Woodstock, it was clear from demographic data that there would be strong demand for accommodation designed for older people – an area of particular expertise here at WWA Studios.
“Comparing the age profile of Woodstock and Bladon ward in 2019 with the district, county,
regional and national averages, shows a slightly higher proportion in the younger age group (0-
15) and a significantly higher proportion of over 65s”
Woodstock Health and Wellbeing Profile Oxfordshire JSNA 2020, p9.
On behalf of Vanbrugh Unit Trust and lead developer Pye Homes, WWA prepared and submitted a hybrid planning application for up to 1500 new homes, a care village, a primary school and a new football club facility for Old Woodstock Town. The housing, amenities, and care village were skillfully knitted together in a landscape-led masterplan vision.
The Woodstock Masterplan was presented to local Councillors, interest groups and the wider community through various public engagement events, culminating in a two-day exhibition in Woodstock. Comments from these exhibitions were integrated into the final masterplan design.
The southwestern corner of the Woodstock masterplan development site, which was the part closest to the existing centre of Woodstock, was designed by our team in detail. The major design driver for this particular corner of the wider development site, was to pay respect to the setting of the nearby Blenheim Park through the sensitive use of landscaping, vernacular design and the selection of local materials.
WWA acted as a lead consultant, providing planning, masterplanning, urban design, architectural, heritage and environmental impact assessment services for the client. The landscape-led masterplan was designed to respond to the important heritage and surrounding context of Woodstock, including key features on-site such as the scheduled Roman Villa, historic hedgerows and historic common land.
