Disclaimer
These are just my notes from the meeting. They don’t claim to be a verbatim account of all that was discussed, but should help to provide some clarity on subjects that residents have an interest in. Some notes from the last meeting may have been left in to help provide some more context to aid understanding.
Pumping stations
The pumping stations that are on Kingsgrove apparently don’t have any automated notification system should there be a problem. This will change when they are eventually handed over to Thames Water. The serious blockages that have been dealt with seemed to be the result of nappies being flushed.
Bus gate
The bus gate will be soon entering the transition period before formally being adopted by Oxfordshire County Council in early 2027.
Central Park
Crabhill Lane
Crabhill Lane is the name of the path leading from the end of Charlton Village Road, by the scrapyard, through Kingsgrove before heading down the hill towards the old canal and Grove.
Until recently it was designated as a BOAT (byway open to all traffic). However, the portion through Kingsgrove has now been reclassified as a bridleway, meaning that motorised vehicles are not allowed to use it.
There are S106 funds being made available to improve the portion between Charlton and Kingsgrove. It will be £50000 in total, with the first payment due when the new Vistry area of the development has reached 50 occupations. The remaining £25000 will be paid later.
Football pitches
Wantage Town Football Club have now taken over the management of the 3 football pitches, as well as the new Pavilion and multi-use games area (MUGA).
I raised the concern about the need for the players, supporters and staff of the Football club and their opposition to park with consideration, given how few parking spaces there are. It was noted that they have the exact same challenge at Alfredian Park and so will issue very similar guidance when events are taking place at Kingsgrove.
It was unlikely that there were going to be any discounts etc for Kingsgrove residents.
Play park and skate park
Talks about the fine detail of the implementation of the plans is still underway but it is hoped the construction will start in Summer 2026.
Kingsgrove Community Hub
At the time of the meeting, the construction had yet to start but has now been underway for about 2 months now. The additional funding from the S106 fund to make up the shortfall went through all the necessary procedures and was made available to the hub.
The developer has committed to ensure any damage to the public square and associated car park will be repaired at the end of the construction phase.
Kerry Lemon is progressing with her designs for the architectural glass that will be above the main entrance to the community hub.
Development updates
Phase 8b
There are 3 bidders for this phase of Kingsgrove.
Phase 9
This will be the last phase of the construction in Kingsgrove and will include the last piece of infrastructure, namely the west play park.
Retail units
There is still no news on the 3 retail units between the Co-op and the nursery.
Vistry Homes
There will not be a separate management company for the shared areas of public open space in the areas being developed by Vistry. Instead, as for the St. Modwen, Bellway, and Taylor Wimpey areas, these areas will be handed to the Kingsgrove Estate Management Company.
Video and aerial photography
The latest views for the aerial photography of Kingsgrove can be found at https://kingsgrove-residents.co.uk/go/drone.
Kingsgrove Community Newsletter
The number of subscribers to the Kingsgrove Community Newsletter continues to grow. It provides an update on news from around the development.
To sign-up visit https://kingsgrove-residents.co.uk/go/newsletter-signup
Wantage Town Council’s interest in adopting land at Kingsgrove
At the meeting, Wantage Town Council reiterated their desire to take over the management of the Woodland Walk, in exchange for a commuted sum from the S106 Open Spaces Fund.
They were keen to point out that the amount able to be claimed back by the Kingsgrove Estate Management Company would still be calculated as 5% of the full S106 Open Spaces Fund, rather than at the ‘actual’ level of the Fund after the commuted sum would be withdrawn.
The Town Council hoped the process would be complete by April 2026 but accepted that might be slightly optimistic. They had already put the contract to maintain the area out to a tender process.
The council reported that the last meeting with the master developer at Kingsgrove was before Christmas 2025.
Road surfacing and adoption
The resurfacing of Cherry Croft and the southern part of Elder Way is due to begin in Summer 2026.
Fullers Field
Although the decision to grant planning permission on Fullers Field was taken some time prior to the Forum, the legalities of the process were still being worked through with no other updates being forthcoming.
‘Lot 3’ (aka the empty plot opposite the Co-op)
There has still been no interest in this land.