Brice Road Green Space Statement
Brice Road Green Space
The much-valued Green Space has been held by Heyford Park Parish Council for several years as a space for community use and enjoyment. Heyford Park Parish Council recognises the strength of feeling around the site and is committed to managing it safely, lawfully and in the interests of the whole community.
As leaseholder, Heyford Park Parish Council must ensure that lease requirements, health and safety obligations and planning conditions are met at all times.
The lease signed in 2022 allowed the Parish Council, at its discretion, to permit the Community Garden Committee to use the land, provided relevant rules, regulations and lease requirements are followed.
Lease contraventions were raised with the Community Garden Committee in June 2025. The Committee was also advised not to carry out works or hold events on the land without an appropriate health and safety risk assessment, in order to meet insurance requirements.
Some major contraventions remain unresolved. A recent health and safety risk assessment has also identified concerns that must be addressed within a three-month timeframe.
To allow the required works to be carried out safely and within that timeframe, items currently on the land need to be removed.
There is no plan to bulldoze the site, and no outdoor gym equipment is being installed at this time. The immediate plan is to return the land to the form approved under the original planning permission (at the end of this document), while taking account of the health and safety recommendations received.
Background to the Brice Road Land and Garden
Prior to the formation of Heyford Park Parish Council in 2019, Upper Heyford Parish Council held the lease for the Community Garden land from Dorchester Living.
That lease was brought to an end by mutual agreement in 2022 through a deed of surrender. A new lease was then granted by Dorchester Living to Heyford Park Parish Council in August 2022.
The 2022 lease identified Heyford Park Parish Council as the leaseholder. It also recognised that the Parish Council may, at its discretion, allow the Community Garden Committee to use the land, provided the relevant rules, regulations and lease requirements were followed.
In June 2025, the Parish Council shared a document with the Community Garden Committee setting out a number of lease contraventions. This was sent before the June 2025 monthly Parish Council meeting, which was attended by the Chair of the Community Garden Committee.
At that meeting, the Community Garden Committee was invited to work with Councillors through a working group to help improve the area. The offer was repeated twice by email after the meeting.
The Community Garden Committee was also advised not to undertake works or hold events on the land without an appropriate health and safety risk assessment, in order to meet insurance requirements.
In July 2025, a health and safety risk assessment was undertaken on the land at the request of the Parish Council’s insurer. The Community Garden Committee attended the meeting to conduct the risk assessment with their own Health and Safety advisor. This report was not shared with the Parish Council. The attending councillors followed the Community Garden advisor during his inspection and produced a risk assessment which identified some major concerns.
With lease contraventions still unresolved, and the Health and Safety issues not addressed, the Parish Council agreed at its monthly meetings from September 2025 to seek residents’ views on the future of the land, subject to the consent of the landowner.
A residents’ poll was prepared alongside a flyer for the Parish Council Open Day on 25th October 2025. These were distributed by an independent company to every household on Heyford Park on Saturday 6th October 2025. The poll included a postcode question to help verify responses.
The poll closed 33 days later, on Wednesday 8th November 2025.
Although the number of responses was limited, which is not unusual for parish council consultations, the majority of responses supported the addition of outdoor gym equipment. Funds were subsequently earmarked for this green spaces project as a possible prototype, while further green spaces for residents were also being considered.
In early February 2026, the Parish Council was made aware of an online post advertising an event on the land. A letter was sent to the Community Garden Committee reminding members of the previous advice not to use the land for works or events without the required health and safety arrangements.
The letter also set out the timeline of how the Parish Council had reached the decision to return the land to its original state and included an image of the original planning permission. The letter was later shared on social media without the planning permission image, which meant the full context was not visible.
Following discussions with the landowner, and with the lease contraventions still unresolved and no health and safety risk assessment having been received by the Parish Council, it was agreed that the land should be returned to its original state in line with the planning permission granted by Cherwell District Council.
At the April 2026 Parish Council meeting, the draft lease, a solicitor’s quote and a health and safety risk assessment were all agreed unanimously.
At the May 2026 meeting, it was confirmed that the lease had been returned by the appointed solicitor firm. It was unanimously agreed that the new lease be approved and signed following a deed of surrender.
A health and safety risk assessment of the land was carried out on 19th May 2026, with the report received on 29th May 2026. This report is now available to view at the end of this statement.
The deed of surrender was signed by a solicitor from Brethertons in Bicester on Friday 12th June 2026. The Parish Council and a witness also signed the lease, and all signed documents were returned to the landowner on the same day.
Before the June 2026 Parish Council meeting, a resident contacted both the landowner and the Parish Council about a tree on the Brice Road land affecting overhead lines. This required urgent attention and fell under the responsibility of the leaseholder, Heyford Park Parish Council.
A local tree company attended, provided a quote for the required works, and this was taken to the monthly meeting and agreed.
The following week, the landowner confirmed that all parties had agreed and signed the lease, which was then with their solicitor to be stamped, copied and returned to both the landowner and the leaseholder.
In light of that confirmation, and the recent health and safety risk assessment identifying a number of changes required for compliance, the Parish Council gave the Community Garden Committee two weeks’ notice to remove its items from the land.
A letter setting this out was emailed and hand delivered to the Chair of the Community Garden Committee on Friday 19th June 2026, with a request that it be circulated to members.
The Parish Council understands that the Community Garden has been important to residents. The Council also has a clear duty to act when lease requirements have not been met and health and safety concerns have been identified.
The land must now be brought back into a safe, compliant and properly managed condition. The immediate plan is to return the land to the form approved under the original planning permission, while taking account of the health and safety recommendations received.
This approach enables the Parish Council to meet its legal and practical responsibilities as leaseholder while keeping the long-term use of the land focused on the needs of the whole community.
Heyford Park Parish Council will continue to seek input from the wider community; we will keep residents updated and we will continue to work to ensure the land can be enjoyed by everyone across Heyford Park for years to come.
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