More than 17 months has passed since the vicar of the University church, the Revd Will Lamb, announced to the press his “ambitious” £750,000 plans for redevelopment of the Vaults & Garden cafe but no application for planning and listed building consent has been filed with Oxford city council to date.
In September, 2023, the vicar-led parish council stated that “a new social enterprise, repairs to stonework, replanting of the gardens and a major redevelopment of the University church’s cafe facilities at Radcliffe Square are set to ensure a much-loved space can welcome visitors to Oxford for years to come.”
The statement said that the Vaults & Garden would “close in the next few months” and that a new cafe would open in the spring of 2025. At the same time, eviction proceedings were issued against Will Pouget, who founded one of Oxford’s most popular venues twenty years ago, and the operating company, Fresh Connection Ltd.
The legal proceedings were transferred from the local county court to the High Court in London last September and a three-day court hearing has now been fixed for the beginning of April at which Will Pouget and Fresh Connection Ltd will vigorously contest the eviction notice on a number of grounds.
The announcement stated that “in the coming months there will be a series of presentations for the congregation and other stakeholders” to discover more about the plans. But a public presentation to be given by the vicar and the church’s architects, Caroe Architecture, was abruptly cancelled soon after without explanation and no other announcements have been made.
The latest accounts for the de Brome Trust charity which manages the church’s assets show that a sum of £750,000 is being held on deposit for the redevelopment pans but Oxford city council planning records do not disclose any application for planning permission or listed building consent despite the fact that many other applications have been made for the premises going back for many years.
Planning applications with associated listed building consents can take many months to complete in Oxford due to the wide consultation that is needed. According to council records, works proposed by the church in a 1989 application for the cafe were rejected three times before consent was finally given.
It would be good to know exactly what the plans of the Revd Lamb are to change what many of our supporters regard as a perfectly adequate and desirable venue and why such a large sum has been set aside for the vicar’s project in the light of other more pressing charitable needs within the local community.
And maybe the Revd Lamb can also explain why the cafe cannot continue to occupy the premises until planning consent is given and re-occupy after the works are completed, as happened in 20011 when much greater building works were carried out.
Once again we thank all of you who have supported our petition and especially to the many of you who have made a financial contribution to our campaign. Please forward this update to your friends and colleagues by email and on social media, including Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Twitter (X) and encourage them to sign too.
team@savethevaults.com