FOI release

Oxpens River Bridge funding enquiry

Case reference EIR2024/00486

Received 29 April 2024

Published 21 June 2024

Request

1. Could you please provide a breakdown of to whom the a) £8.8million Oxfordshire Housing and Growth Deal finance for the Oxpens River Bridge and b) the £1.5million Housing Infrastructure Fund finance for Osney Pathworks is going to be paid? Ie specifically, to which companies? Will it all go to Balfour Beatty, or will some go to ODS or OxWed? Or anyone else? 2. Are you able to please explain who will finance any spending on the bridge if a) it is not completed by the March 2025 deadline and b) if it goes above the allocated budget?

Response

1. Could you please provide a breakdown of to whom the a) £8.8million Oxfordshire Housing and Growth Deal finance for the Oxpens River Bridge and b) the £1.5million Housing Infrastructure Fund finance for Osney Pathworks is going to be paid? Ie specifically, to which companies? Will it all go to Balfour Beatty, or will some go to ODS or OxWed? Or anyone else?

The Council has not yet entered into a construction contract for the proposed Oxpens bridge and therefore does not hold information about who will be paid in the future.

The firms below have been employed in relation to both the bridge and pathworks with costs being prorated as appropriate.

Knight Architects £10,000

Oxford Design Review Panel £6,545

Balfour Beatty Civil Engineering £1,042,935.41

Ecology by Design £9,315

Endeavor Drilling £74,931.12

City Scape Digital £9,960

Perfect Circle £15,698.76

Property Search Group £336

Stantec UK Ltd £330,359.33

AKSWard £2,750

MK Surveys £12,720

Fields in Trust £800

Environment Agency £1000

Network Rail £2,517.25

Information about the companies that will be paid in the future is not held.

2. Are you able to please explain who will finance any spending on the bridge if a) it is not completed by the March 2025 deadline and b) if it goes above the allocated budget?

We hold the following information related to the above question.

To a question that was asked by Cllr Muddiman at the Council meeting on 18 March 2024, 'I understand the £8.6m grant funding from the growth deal for the new proposed new bridge is conditional on the project being completed by March 2025. Can you tell me what happens to the money if the project is not completed?

The following response was given:

'In the event of building work on the bridge having started and not finished by March 2025,discussions would be had with the County Council, to explore how the bridge work could continue.

Measures to be taken could include forward funding or continuation with funding from the Growth Deal already held by the City Council. However, it remains the intention to meet the time-frame given by central government.'

You can find the details here by clicking on the link and accessing the questions and answers by members in the minutes from the Council meeting at Item 111.

Documents

There are no documents for this release.

This is Oxford City Council's response to a freedom of information (FOI) or environmental information regulations (EIR) request.

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