The strategic masterplan for Heyford Park is set to transform the former RAF Upper Heyford airbase into one of the UK's most ambitious new communities. The project, which has been recognised by the Government’s New Towns Taskforce as one of 12 key locations for future development, will sensitively expand the existing neighbourhood across 500 hectares. Rooted in a strong sense of place, the design seeks to celebrate the site's heritage as an American airbase during the Cold War, while creating a dynamic and sustainable 21st-century settlement.
The masterplan will regenerate the brownfield site, delivering up to 10,000 new homes. Community, educational, and commercial facilities will build on Heyford Park’s existing businesses and its position within the Oxford-Cambridge Growth Corridor, helping to create a hub for clean and green technologies.
Central to the masterplan is the innovative reuse of the existing airfield infrastructure and historic structures. Former runways and taxiways will be transformed into movement corridors and public parks. This approach not only preserves the site's character but also creates a unique urban landscape that reflects its past. The design team examined the layered history of Heyford Park, drawing inspiration from ancient routes and integrating the Iron Age Aves Ditch and the Roman Port Way— ensuring the site's heritage is embedded in the masterplan.
The masterplan is structured around a series of distinct neighbourhoods, each designed to foster a unique identity while defining the edges to the new town. Pedestrian and cycling accessibility has been prioritised while connections to surrounding areas has been enhanced through improved transport links.
With over 60% of the site allocated to green infrastructure, the project will enhance biodiversity and offer extensive areas for recreation. The new Central Runway Park, designed by Kim Wilkie, will create a mosaic of orchards, allotments, wood pasture, grazed limestone meadows, reed beds, and native woodland. Water will be carefully managed and retained on site with an expansive boating lake beside the runway and a network of attenuation canals.
The long-term ambition is for Heyford Park the UK's first energy surplus town, generating more energy than it consumes through a combination of solar and wind power generation, energy-efficient design and low-carbon transport.
"Our goal is to deliver something exceptional and exemplar for Oxfordshire, and a national blueprint for how towns can and should be delivered in the UK, a place that not only provides homes and jobs but supports a way of life that is healthier, greener and genuinely future proof.” Paul Silver, CEO, Dorchester Living
