Oxfordshire - Strategic Rail Freight Interchange Development Consent Order Application

Notice pursuant to:

(1) Section 56 Planning Act 2008;

(2) Regulations 8 and 9 Infrastructure Planning (Applications: Prescribed Forms and Procedure) Regulations 2009 (as amended); and

(3) Regulation 16 Infrastructure Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2017 (as amended)

Notice is hereby given that the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government (“the Secretary of State”) has accepted an application by Oxfordshire Railfreight Limited of 2nd Floor Gaspe House, 66-72 Esplanade, St Helier, Jersey, JE1 1GH (“the Applicant”) for a Development Consent Order (“DCO”) under the Planning Act 2008 (“2008 Act”). The Application (Reference No. TR050008) was submitted by the Applicant to the Secretary of State c/o the Planning Inspectorate under section 37 of the 2008 Act on 31 March 2026 and was accepted on 28 April 2026 (“the Application”).

The Application will now move to the pre-examination and examination phases of the procedure established under the 2008 Act, for the consideration of applications for development consent for nationally significant infrastructure projects.

Under section 56 of the 2008 Act and Regulations 8 and 9 of the Infrastructure Planning (Applications: Prescribed Forms and Procedure) Regulations 2009 (“APFP Regulations”) and/or Regulation 16 of the Infrastructure Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2017 (“EIA Regulations”), the Applicant is required to publish notice that the Application was accepted for examination by the Planning Inspectorate on behalf of the Secretary of State on specified persons and organisations.

Summary of the development

The Applicant is seeking development consent for the construction, operation, use and maintenance of a new rail freight interchange, warehousing and associated infrastructure on land adjacent to the Chiltern Main Line Railway, southwest of Junction 10 of the M40 motorway, east of the Upper Heyford Former Air Base, together with highway improvement works to J10 of the M40 motorway, the provision of a bypass to Ardley and a relief road for Middleton Stoney and a new Heyford Park Link Road in Oxfordshire (the “Proposed Development”).

In summary the Proposed Development includes:

• A rail freight terminal served via new connections to the Chiltern Main Line Railway (part of the Strategic Rail Freight Network), including container storage.

• Up to 603,850 sq.m. (approx. 6.5 million square feet) of distribution and logistics floorspace, including ancillary office accommodation, plus up to 201,283 sq.m. of additional floorspace in the form of mezzanines.

• Works within the landfill area adjacent to the Chiltern Main Line Railway to allow a rail connection into the Main Site.

• Works to the Ardley tunnel to provide W8 gauge through the tunnel.

• Demolition of existing structures and new earthworks to create development plateau to accommodate distribution buildings and associated yard and parking areas, drainage attenuation features, and extensive perimeter earthworks bunding which will form part of the screening (landscape and visual mitigation) of the proposed development.

• Improvements to Junction 10 of the M40 involving works on the A43 east of the M40, new slip roads to and from the M40, and including an Ardley Bypass to the east of Ardley which will also form a new site access road to the Main Site.

• A Heyford Park Link Road which runs from Camp Road south-east of Heyford Park and south of the proposed development to a new junction on the B430.

• A Middleton Stoney Relief Road around the north-eastern side of the village connecting from a new junction on the B430 to the existing B4030 which links over the M40 to Bicester.

• The principal access to the Main Site will be from the new Ardley Bypass and from a new roundabout on the B430 in the north-eastern corner of the Main Site, south of the railway line. This primary access will serve all HGV traffic accessing the site. A secondary access to the Main Site for bus, pedestrian and cycles will be via the Heyford Park Link Road at the southern end of the Main Site.

• Highway works to be carried out in connection with the improvement of J9 of the M40 motorway.

• Additional highway works to be carried out at the junction of Camp Road and Chilgrove Drive, Middleton Road, the B430 east of the Main Site, Quarry Cottages, Middleton Stoney Crossroads and Aves Ditch and including potential improvements to the B4030/A4095/Vendee Drive/Middleton Stoney Road roundabout.

• Measures to enable and encourage sustainable travel, including improvements and new links to existing Public Rights of Way, and provision of new foot and cycle links to and within the site, as well as connections to enable bus provision to serve the Main Site via the secondary access to the site from the Heyford Park Link Road.

• Retention of the Grade II listed Threshing Barn at Ashgrove Farm as part of a ‘hub’ of shared and communal facilities for employees and other users of the Main Site, as well as the retention of the Ashgrove Cottages for rail and estate management related activities.

• Retained key landscape features and new landscaping and planting, including on the proposed earthwork bunds within the Main Site, as part of a comprehensive landscaping and green infrastructure scheme across all elements of the proposed development, including habitat creation to deliver ecological mitigation and a net gain in biodiversity.

• Associated infrastructure and engineering works including surface and foul drainage, and utilities, including a foul drainage outfall.

The Proposed Development comprises three separate Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects (“NSIPs”). These are:

1.a rail freight interchange including warehousing which meets the criteria set out in Section 26 of the 2008 Act;

2.the alteration of a motorway exceeding the thresholds set out in Section 22 of the 2008 Act; and

3. the alteration of an All-Purpose Trunk Road exceeding the thresholds set out in Section 22 of the 2008 Act.

The Proposed Development also includes associated development linked to the NSIP which can be authorised by a DCO pursuant to section 115 of the 2008 Act.

The DCO would authorise the compulsory acquisition of land, interests in land and rights over land, and the powers to use land permanently and temporarily.

Environmental Impact Assessment Development:

The Proposed Development constitutes Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) development for the purposes of the Infrastructure Planning (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2017 and accordingly an Environmental Statement accompanies the Application.

Application for and accompanying documents:

The documents relating to the Application (including the Environmental Statement) can be viewed free of charge on the Planning Inspectorate’s website:

https://national-infrastructure-consenting.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/projects/TR050008

The documents will be available on the Planning Inspectorate’s website at least until the Secretary of State makes their decision whether or not to grant the DCO.

Paper copies of the Application documentation can be provided at a cost of £750.00 (or an appropriate, proportionate charge for specific documents) or on USB stick free of charge upon request. To make such a request, or for enquiries in relation to the Application form and its accompanying documents, plans and maps, please contact the Applicant’s Project Team via email: consultation@oxsrfi.co.uk or telephone: 01865 989650.

Representations:

Any representations (giving notice of any interest in, or objection to, the Application) must be made direct to the Planning Inspectorate and on the Planning Inspectorate’s Registration and Relevant Representation Form. The Registration and Relevant Representation Form will be made available online by the Planning Inspectorate once the registration period opens on the Oxfordshire Strategic Railfreight Interchange project page on the National Infrastructure Planning website: https://national-infrastructure-consenting.planninginspectorate.gov.uk/projects/TR050008

If you would like to request a hard copy of the Planning Inspectorate’s Registration and Relevant Representation Form, please telephone 0303 444 5000. You can also email the project case team at: OXfordshireIsrfi@planninginspectorate.gov.uk. Completed forms should be sent via email or to:

The Planning Inspectorate, c/o QUADIENT, 69 Buckingham Avenue, Slough, SL1 4PN.

The Planning Inspectorate’s reference for the Application (TR050008) should be quoted in any correspondence.

The Planning Inspectorate’s Advice Note: How to register to have your say and make a relevant representation (March 2026) can be accessed via the following link: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/nationally-significant-infrastructure-projects-how-to-register-to-have-your-say-and-make-a-relevant-representation

Please note all representations will be made public. In submitting a representation, it should be noted that personal data and correspondence relating to any representation will be made publicly available. If you do not wish personal data to be made publicly available, you should state why when submitting the representation. The Planning Inspectorate will publish the representations with your name removed.

The period for submitting representations will commence on 28 May 2026 and will end at 11.59pm on 19 July 2026.