Masterplan updates

Pipal Barns

The Water Eaton site contains a number of features that are classified as heritage assets including the remains of two Anglo-Saxon barrows and the Pipal Barns (see photograph below).

The Pipal Barns are a non-designated group of c.19th century and later farm buildings, located on Oxford Road, immediately north of Pipal Cottage. They have been used for storage in recent years and are largely redundant for modern farming activities.

The current layout of these barns and the courtyard fronting on to Oxford Road creates a challenge to the provision of a new coherent and integrated frontage on the Oxford Road. We have therefore investigated various options for this group of buildings. The work has included:

• A protective species survey of the barns.
• A structural condition survey of the barns.
• Feasibility of how the barns could be converted and how the courtyard could be used given the lack of openings and limited heights and depth.

A big consideration is protecting the amenity and outlook for the residents of Pipal Cottage and the usability of the courtyard area given its proximity to Oxford Road and Pipal Cottage.

Based on the above work, and our consideration of feedback to the masterplanning process, we believe that the best option for this area is to demolish the barns (Pipal Cottage will remain) and their replacement with a more coherent design along the Oxford Road, possibly houses or apartments. This has the advantages of:

• Increasing the off-set to the existing Pipal Cottage and therefore protecting the amenity of the occupiers.
• Making more efficient use of the land.
• The replacement buildings will meet current building and sustainability standards.
• Providing a better design and consistent character along Oxford Road.

As such we are proposing to apply to demolish the barns in the outline planning application. At the detailed design stage (via reserved matters applications) there will be the opportunity to revisit whether the barns are retained, or a new layout is proposed.

As part of the options work, we have produced a sketch of how this area could be developed (see drawing), inviting thoughts on this approach as part of the June/July 2022 consultation.