St John's College Oxford plan to replace burnt down building

St John's College is testing the waters for the new forestry building at Bagley Wood in Oxford Road in Kennington.

It has asked the Vale of White Horse District Council whether prior approval is needed to build at the site in the same position as the "dilapidated building" which it hopes to demolish.

The old building burnt down. (Image: Vale of White Horse District Council.)

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The 570-acre Bagley Wood is owned by the college but previously witnessed a blaze in 2020, believed to be started by someone's BBQ, which reduced parts of the building to rubble.

An application covering letter states: "There was historically a smaller storage building at the site that has largely burnt down.

Bagley Wood fire 2020

"The proposed building is modest in scale, sited on the footprint of a dilapidated building to be removed, well related to existing built form and designed to be in keeping with the neighbouring building.

"The building would therefore be entirely in keeping with the site's rural location."

St John's College, Oxford University. (Image: Google Maps)

St John's College historically felled trees and dried timber at the old sawmill in Bagley Wood, which was sold to commercial operators.

The applicant notes prior approval had not been required for a steel framed forestry building at Bagley Woods in 2011 which provides log storage and a small machinery store.