Enstone Business Park
The outline planning application to increase and upgrade the Enstone Business Park has been submitted to West Oxfordshire. You can find the application on the normal WODC planning portal - search for 25/02141/OUT.
The Enstone Business Park is roughly 1 mile from the crossroads of the B4030 and the B4022 (Banbury Road) outside of Church Enstone in the Gagingwell direction. The most obvious business in the park is the ABN pig and poultry feed manufacturing unit. That's unaffected by the proposals. Devcomms on behalf of the Business Park's owners held a public consultation at Enstone Parish Hall on 16th June 2025. The plans outlined there were to modernise the site, Devcomms stating:
'Many structures are outdated, inefficient, and in some cases, present health and safety concerns. The site has developed organically, resulting in an inefficient layout and infrastructure that does not support modern business operations or sustainable travel. Without investment, the park risks long-term decline. Our goal is to create a modern, flexible, and sustainable business park - a place that meets current and future needs, supports local businesses, and attracts new investment'
Behind the fine words, the plan is to more than double the footprint of the park from 20,000 m2 to 47,000 m2. Enstone Parish Council has supported the application but has requested that four key areas are prioritised when the application reaches the detailed stage, namely:
- Access
- Landscaping
- Drainage works
- Light pollution
There is inevitable anxiety around traffic given existing high traffic levels and the up-coming construction traffic from Mullin and then its visitor volumes. What does not appear to be the case is that - outside the construction phase - there will be significant HGV movements to and from the business park. The plans for the site are for it to become a hub for industrial, mid-tech and innovation-led occupiers. The proposed footprint of the units appears to support that claim. It is inevitable, though, that there will be increased car and van traffic through the villages.
The balance here for Enstone Parish Council and for residents of the affected villages is whether another form of development on the existing business park's site could be worse. Put more positively, can the regeneration plans - which appear to have high regard for improved biodiversity - bring high quality additional employment to the area at, relatively, minimal social cost. In other words, if there is going to be development whatever happens, can the new Enstone Business Park be regarded as 'good' development. On balance the answer would seem to be yes.