Detailed designs for three new, prestigious laboratory and office buildings which total 458,100 sq ft (42,549 sq m) and will be built as phase 2 of Oxford North, the new £700 million life sciences innovation district, have been resolved to be approved by Oxford City Council’s planning committee.

Since building works started in August 2021, Oxford North, the new innovation district in Oxford, has created 448 new construction jobs of which 22% were filled by people based in Oxfordshire and eight new apprentices have been employed through the project’s construction partners.

An ambitious new Community Employment Plan has been published to set out how Oxford North will maximise the opportunities created for local people and businesses during the next 18 months of construction which includes a target to create more than 50 new apprenticeships.