Golfers criticise Oxford University college over development plans
Campaign group unhappy with statements in plans for £900 million research district
A golfing campaign group has slammed “misleading statements” in an Oxford University college’s plans for a £900 million new research ‘district ‘ as a consultation on proposals comes to an end.
Greenway group of former North Oxford Golf Course members, a 118-year-old club which was shut in 2025 to make way for over 1,000 homes, has said it is “appalled” by the conduct of Exeter College as it plans more development on a farm, earmarked for a replacement course.
Oxford University, Merton College and Exeter College, the course owners, had come to an agreement with the club offering them £4.3 million to leave the site.
Greenway had tried to stop the development plans, but was not successful, and in the Cherwell District Council Local Plan an alternative course site was proposed at Frieze Farm.
Earlier this year, Exeter College submitted plans for a supercomputer innovation district, EXOq, on the green belt farm south of Kidlington, and Greenway described the situation as a “betrayal” – now it has gone further, alleging “inaccuracy” in proposals.
Greenway spokesperson David Young said: “Exeter College’s planning statement claims that it never suggested or proposed that Frieze Farm was available to mitigate the redevelopment of the North Oxford Golf Course.”
He described this as “simply not true and in fact the college gave assurances that Frieze Farm could be used if necessary as a replacement site for the golf course”.
David said: “That is important as it was pivotal in the public inquiry decision to allow housing on the golf course.”
“We expect more from Exeter than this.”
He said the statements mean the consultation was “based on a wholly inaccurate picture” and without updating the plans the college is allowing “a flawed process to continue without immediate correction of fundamentally untrue elements”.
A spokesperson for Exeter responded, saying “the college accepts that some elements of the recent EXOq planning statement do not accurately represent evidence in the prior local plan inquiry”.
They said: “The college has a wide range of consultations that are coming through and we will draw these together and then make a single set of updates to the application and the environment statement as necessary at the appropriate time.”
The golfers’ group is also “aggrieved” by what it says are “inaccurate statements” implying members were “content to see their golf course closed”.
David said: “Again this is not true – I do not know of any golfer who was content.
“The course had to close simply because college and university landlords refused to renew the lease.”
The college spokesperson responded: “Discussions with the club led to a proposal involving the payment of £4.3m in return for vacant possession and a small strip of land owned by the club.
“Whilst the landowners did not attend, we understand this proposal was put to golf club members at a general meeting who voted to accept it and vacate the site by a significant majority.
“We also understand that rather than use this money to invest in an alternate site or an existing alternative club, the money was shared among the membership.”