Context 166 - November 2020

C O N T E X T 1 6 6 : N O V E M B E R 2 0 2 0 29 Oxford GILL BUTTER Intensifying development in Oxford After a long history of restriction, a new approach to planning reflects a belief that in the right places tall buildings might make positive contributions to the city’s skyline. Oxford’s distinctive skyline has been captured in words and images for many centuries. It is acknowledged locally, nationally and inter- nationally as a valuable asset for the city and something that it is important to protect. This significance was first really identified as needing to be protected through planning policy in 1962 when the first high buildings and view- cones policy was written and adopted by the city council. The aim was to protect the important views of the city, seen from its surrounding open countryside, from the then post-war demands for housing and other development. This policy, in an adapted form, is still very much used today as the basis for understanding the important viewpoints around the city from where the skyline can be seen and appreciated. As part of the raft of measures available to protect the ‘dreaming spires’, the city council adopted as part of its local plan a policy measure named ‘the Carfax Rule’ for the surviving tower of St Martin’s Church, which sits at the historic crossroads at the centre of the city and therefore importantly within the group of historic towers and spires that makes up the skyline.The previous (2001–16) local plan policy was tight, stating that ‘planning permission will not be granted for any development within a 1,200-metre radius of Carfax that exceeds 18.2m (60ft) in height or ordnance datum (height above sea level) 79.3m (260ft) (whichever is the lower), except for minor elements of no great bulk.’ While this version of the policy has been extremely effective in protecting the historic skyline, it has left no room for nuance. In some cases it has restricted height where it might be considered to have no harmful impact on views of the skyline and would be a positive addition to the city’s built heritage. Subsequently, a Study of Oxford in its Landscape Setting, undertaken in 2002, identi- fied 16 viewpoints, and in 2015, in collabora- tion with the Oxford Preservation Trust and Historic England, the OxfordView Cones Study was undertaken to provide a more quantifi- able methodology for the assessment of impact on the skyline. The study included but also A view from Carfax Tower, including Radcliffe Camera, All Souls and Lincoln Library spire Far left: A view through stonework of St Mary’s tower, looking south-east