Ozone Leisure Park redevelopment plan set for approval

Planning officers have recommended Oxford City Council approve the major Ozone Leisure Park project on Tuesday, July 14, despite “objection” and “concerns” shared by the Environment Agency and Thames Valley Police.

Firoka Group, Pioneer Group and Bidwells’ proposals for the site by the Kassam Stadium have been subject to years of planning battle.

New visualisations of plans for Ozone Leisure Park in Oxford have been revealed (Image: Ozone Reimagined)

Ozone Leisure Park visualisation July 2025 (Image: Ozone Reimagined)

In 2023, plans to demolish the existing Vue Cinema and Hollywood Bowl for labs were met with petitions collecting thousands of signatures – new proposals were resubmitted in July 2025.

Revisions have been continuously made, and recent updates have included explanations of when different parts of the development would be built, starting with a new cinema and in June 2026, it was confirmed that a derelict pub, ‘The Priory’, will be revamped.

It had suddenly closed in 2013.

The plans said: “The vibrant southern community hub is anchored by the historic Minchery Farmhouse, which will be restored as a public house with medicinal gardens reflecting the site’s heritage.”

Based in the 600-year-old farmhouse built as part of Littlemore Priory in the 15th century, it was also previously a country club and started operating as a pub from around the 1960s.

The Priory building in 2015 (Image: Damian Halliwell)

Vandalism inside the derelict Priory Pub building (Image: Purcell)

Developers said the Ozone facilities in their current form are “no longer sustainable” and “must evolve to ensure a vibrant future – securing jobs, attracting investment, and delivering a place for local communities to enjoy”.

Proposals state that the current tenants’ leases are “coming to an end”.

Ozone Leisure Park (Image: Ozone Reimagined/Oxford City Planning Portal)

A new four-screen cinema with up to 510 seats is included, with potential for an outdoor cinema and food market in the wider site.

There will also still be an arcade and bowling alley, along with the electrical substation and a transport hub to support “future connectivity to the proposed Cowley Station”.

A city council report states: “The proposal would generate additional employment and a boost to the local economy.”

The plans say the development could support at least 1,700 jobs.

The planning officer concludes with a recommendation “to grant planning permission for the development proposed subject to addressing any comments made by the Environment Agency”, with several conditions in response to concerns about habitat destruction and police fears about a lack of information on crime mitigation.

Their report states legal agreements would see £4.225M funding handed over by developers for future parking, transport, roadworks, and bus services, with over £8M required as a levy to support infrastructure around the new development.