Council plans for the future at its Speedwell House site in Oxford
Oxfordshire County Council has decided to proceed with redeveloping Speedwell House as its city centre hub based on its current footprint rather than extending the building as originally planned.
The aim will be to create a high-quality flexible space for colleagues and councillors to work and meet in, and for residents to come for meetings, events and to use facilities. It will also play an important role in the regeneration of the southern end of the city centre.
The revised proposal for Speedwell will include many of the elements in the original plan, including office and collaboration space, meeting rooms, a council chamber / conference facilities, and a coroner’s court, as well as offering welcoming indoor and outdoor spaces for public use.
The original plan was for a larger building with more office space. However the discovery of archaeological finds at the site meant this had to be revisited.
From 2028 onwards the council will therefore now look to use Speedwell as a city centre hub alongside its other properties across the county. Plans will also be informed by the government’s decision on local government reorganisation, which is expected in late spring/early summer 2026.
The redeveloped Speedwell House is due to open in April 2028. As the move out of County Hall is currently scheduled for the end of 2026, the council is actively exploring how it can use existing buildings to provide temporary accommodation for officers and councillors to work in as well as suitable spaces for a council chamber and a coroner’s court. By using its own buildings between late 2026 and April 2028 costs will be minimal.
Cllr Dan Levy, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Finance, Property and Transformation, said: “Having thoroughly assessed the situation after the archaeological finds at the site we believe that relocating our city centre hub to a transformed Speedwell House is the right decision and we look forward to progressing this and providing further detail to everyone as soon as we can. It is important to note that our revised plans will create minimal cost as our focus will be on fully utilising our existing buildings.”
Sign up to hear from us and receive the latest news and updates in our fortnightly newsletter, Your Oxfordshire.