DOZENS of Oxfordshire’s property professionals gathered at Harwell science campus for the launch of the second annual Oxfordshire Property Festival.

Last year, hundreds of people took part in the county’s first major property and development festival.

Now, for a second-year running, Oxfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership has announced it will be partnering with organisers UK Property Forums ahead of the event on Thursday, April 11.

OxLEP chief executive Nigel Tipple said: “We are delighted to once again be partnering with UK Property Forums to showcase the world-class investment opportunities that exist across Oxfordshire, as well as celebrating property success within the county at the same time.

“With a number of outstanding, globally-significant assets, including being home to the number one 2018 Times Higher Education’s globally-ranked university, and the largest concentration of science research facilities anywhere in Western Europe, there is much for us to shout about.”

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The 2018 festival centred around two famous Oxford locations – the Bodleian Library and Corpus Christi College – featuring walks, property discussions and debate, awards and music. This year’s festival is expected to adopt a similar format, with the awards being held at another Oxford university college, Keble.

Categories for this year’s awards include; the Best Property Consultant/Agent/Estate Agent, Best Use of Land and an award for overall Project of the Year.

The festival will again be an opportunity for delegates to focus on the changing landscape of the Oxfordshire property scene, with key representatives attending from across a number of sectors.

Each festival talk is set to feature a panel of carefully-selected representatives, all with key roles within the Oxfordshire economy or property scene.

Tuesday’s event also kick-started the awards nomination process too. Nominations are set to close on March 8 at 5pm.

Matthew Battle, managing director at UK Property Forums, added: “The Oxfordshire Property Festival once again gives us a great opportunity to recognise the diverse range of highly-impressive projects that exist across the Oxfordshire property market.

“The relationship between the land, growth and design is fascinating – and in many respects, Oxfordshire is at the forefront of this national debate.

“We were really excited to have created such a successful event last year and we are again really pleased to brings all parts of the property community together once again.”

The Oxfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership champions Oxfordshire’s economic potential, acting as a catalyst and convener to drive a dynamic and growing economy.

Its vision is for the county being ‘a vibrant, inclusive, world-leading economy – driven by innovation, enterprise and research excellence’.

Since its launch in 2011, OxLEP has secured more than £600m of central government and European funds, supporting the creation of around 43,000 new jobs between 2011/12 and 2015/16, representing almost 50 per cent of a 2031 target of 85,600 new jobs for the county.

OxLEP oversees a £2.2bn growth programme for Oxfordshire.

For more information on the property festival and awards visit oxpropfest.com and for more on OxLEP visit oxfordshirelep.com