Warneford Park is a unique collaboration between the Trust, the University of Oxford and a benefactor that would see the creation of brand-new facilities that will benefit patients and support the advancement of medical research and mental health and brain science.

At the heart of the plans will be a new mental health hospital to replace the current Warneford Hospital – which is Grade II listed and thought to be the oldest inpatient unit still in use across the NHS. The new hospital will focus on providing modern inpatient facilities, with an emphasis on patient wellness and therapeutic spaces that connect with nature.

The plans, which have been drawn up by a team led by architecture practice Eric Parry Architects, also include a major new facility for the world-leading medical research taking place at the University of Oxford, with additional space for biotech, pharmaceutical and start-up companies.

The project would also see the establishment of the first new University of Oxford post-graduate college in Headington focusing on medical sciences, bio-engineering and related disciplines.

In combination, the proposals would provide a world-class research campus in Oxford that will aim to tackle some of the most important issues in brain and mental health, by discovering new forms of treatment and therapies.

The planning application follows extensive engagement with a range of stakeholders, which included two public consultation exercises. All interested parties will now have the opportunity, until 19 September, to read and comment on the plans as part of the council’s statutory consultation, as well as track its progress.

The Warneford Park planning application is a hybrid application, which combines both outline and full planning applications within a single masterplan submission.

The plans propose a revitalised landscape-led masterplan to create an exceptional environment for healthcare, medical research and education; however, the planning application does not propose any development in the adjacent Warneford Meadow.

Subject to planning permission and funding, a further detailed planning and listed building consent application would be submitted for the existing listed hospital buildings once the new hospital has been constructed and brought into operation. This would be for the detailed refurbishment and repurposing of the current hospital into a new graduate college.

Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust Chief Executive, Grant Macdonald, said:

“Our plans present a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to transform mental health services in Oxfordshire and beyond. It would allow us to provide high-quality care for patients in modern facilities and a therapeutic environment, with on-site research translated directly into clinical practice.

“Our application follows a programme of extensive engagement with a wide range of stakeholders and a great deal of work in collaboration with the University of Oxford to produce detailed proposals for the site that are sensitive to the surrounding area and the local community.

“Our plans are also respectful of the incredible heritage of the site. Through considered restoration of the historic hospital buildings we will give them a new lease of life –  whilst continuing the site’s long history of providing mental health care.”

Professor Irene Tracey, Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University, said:

“This is an exciting moment for our partnership with Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust and our ambitious plans to transform the Warneford Park site into a major medical research campus with a focus on brain and mental health, alongside a brand new postgraduate college.”

“Warneford Park will bring together leading experts from science, healthcare and industry in a world-class, purpose-built environment that is fit for the future.

“As a neuroscientist myself, I know well the importance of research into brain and mental health conditions, and if approved and funded, this new facility will enable us to accelerate scientific discovery into benefits for patients, as well as driving forward positive change nationally and internationally.”

Eric Parry CBE, Founder of Eric Parry Architects said:

“Warneford Park presents a unique opportunity to realise the full benefits of research collaboration through the long-term partnership between the Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust and the University of Oxford.

“By providing shared facilities for the significant concentration of expertise located here in Oxford, Warneford Park will create an outstanding environment for healthcare, innovation and education, supporting the UK’s internationally-significant contribution to the field of medical research.”

“When Warneford Hospital was built in 1826, its spatial planning was positively guided by the therapeutic importance of landscape. Over the years much of the significance of this landscape has been lost, with an accumulation of building that has undermined  the quality of the grounds and significance of the listed buildings.

“Eric Parry Architects’ response to the future vision for Warneford Park has been driven by our belief that, through renewing the relationship between architecture and landscape, we can reclaim and enhance the value and therapeutic function of the grounds, bring new life to the restored buildings and create  a sustainable new landscape led masterplan framed by an ordered and  sensitive composition of new buildings.”

 The new hospital will offer:

• en-suite bedrooms with views to gardens and Warneford Meadow

• therapeutic spaces to support wellness and recovery connected to the landscape

• improved staff facilities to support staff wellbeing and high-quality care delivery

• a holistic approach to an environment that supports physical accessibility, dementia, sensory and neurodiverse needs
• high sustainability standards, targeting Passivhaus (a third-party verified standard for delivering net-zero-carbon buildings with exceptional energy efficiency, comfort, and air quality, aligning with NHS and University of Oxford sustainability goals) and working to the NHS Net Zero Carbon Standard

The new research building will offer:

• exemplary flexible workspace with good levels of natural daylight suitable for laboratory and office use with a highly sustainable energy strategy targeting Passivhaus

• co-location with the hospital and clinical spaces to ensure synergy between users
• an efficient façade that provides solar shading and prevents overheating – responding to the sun angle at different times of the day.
• a stepped building form which responds to the scale of the listed buildings and provides green external terraces for staff

The new graduate college will:

• focus on the medical sciences, bio-engineering and related disciplines,
• offer onsite accommodation for approximately 250 first year students, with additional accommodation for college members and their families

• consist of buildings that are appropriately scaled to the existing Warneford Hospital listed buildings and the surrounding residential neighbourhoods

offer resources to the wider Headington community including amenities which will host lectures, performances and community events