Commercial Development in Oxford
About This Project
Project Team:
Firoka Group, Pioneer Group, Bidwells, Perkins & Will, LDA Design, Tree Frontiers
Site:
Ozone Leisure Park, Oxford
Introduction:
Tree Frontiers were part of a team putting forward plans to redevelop the leisure complex at the Ozone site in south Oxford. Although not a heavily treed site, key specimens were identified which would influence the plans, particularly around the older Priory buildings. Our advice enabled the design team to put together proposals which both retained and enhanced the arboricultural features of the site, resulting in a successful planning application.
The Team:
The Ozone Reimagined team consisted of Firoka Group as landowner, working with developer Pioneer Group and Bidwells as planning consultants. The architects are Perkins & Will, and LDA Design provided landscape architecture.
The Opportunity:
Tree Frontiers were initially invited to input to the redevelopment of the Ozone Leisure Park in 2023, when proposals were being put together to demolish and rebuild the original bingo hall. We carried out an initial tree survey and an Arboricultural Impact Assessment to be submitted alongside plans to Oxford City Council.
The following year we were approached by Bidwells and invited to tender for the arboricultural works involved in an extended redevelopment of the whole Ozone site, and were successfully appointed as part of the team. The new plans proposed to transform the current site by creating new lab and office space, together with continued provision for a cinema and bowling alley and the restoration of the Grade II* listed pub which forms part of the old Priory.
We subsequently carried out an updated tree survey which identified a number of key trees that would need to be factored into the amended plans, including a mature walnut in the vicinity of the Grade II* listed building.
A key factor in any application submitted to OCC is the canopy cover assessment, and together with input from the landscape architects we were able to demonstrate that through significant and targeted replanting, the site would benefit from an increase in canopy cover from 9% to 28% over a 30-year period.
The Results:
Our data helped guide the design team in the development of their plans, which were submitted alongside our reports to OCC in June 2025. Since then, the design team have continued to refine the proposals through ongoing dialogue with the city council’s planning officers – including our own responses to detailed queries raised by the Council’s tree officer on root protection and tree survey accuracy – and a unanimous decision was reached in July 2026 to grant planning permission for the proposed scheme.
If you are part of a larger development scheme seeking arboricultural input to guide your plans please contact us at info@treefrontiers.com
Find out more: Trees, Structures & Development