For Stanhope
Oxford North
A 480,000 sq m innovation district in north Oxford. We act as Local Employment Coordinator, aligning the developer's ESG framework, the contractors' delivery programmes and the council's Schedule 7 obligations into a single coordinated approach.
The brief
Move beyond compliance.
Oxford North is one of the largest innovation district developments in the UK. The Schedule 7 employment, training and procurement obligations were ambitious, including a 15% local labour target across multiple contractors, multi-year apprenticeship and training delivery, and quarterly monitoring evidenced to Oxford City Council.
The challenge wasn't the targets themselves. It was making sure they translated into real outcomes for Oxfordshire residents, and that the developer's ESG ambitions, the contractors' workforce realities, the council's economic priorities and the community's lived experience all moved in the same direction.
That alignment is what most large-scale S106 programmes lack. Oxford North needed someone to hold it.
Our approach
Strategy in 2021. Operationalised through every Community Employment Plan since.
Storey was appointed as Local Employment Coordinator in 2021 and led the development of the project's Training, Employment and Business Strategy (TEBS), the formal mechanism for discharging all pre-implementation S106 obligations and approved by Oxford City Council.
Once construction began, we worked with each main contractor, Hill Group, Careys, Mace, Laing O'Rourke, Maylim and others, to translate the strategy into Community Employment Plans tailored to each phase. The CEPPs cascade contractual S106 commitments into the supply chain, embed quarterly monitoring, and include targeted outreach to NEET young people, those furthest from the labour market, and partners including OxLEP, DWP, Aspire and SOFEA.
The whole programme is governed through a Steering Group bringing together Oxford City Council, OxLEP, DWP, contractors and community partners, and a Social Value Delivery Group that meets weekly to manage performance live, not retrospectively. Workforce planning tools, labour histograms and a custom S106 dashboard give every party a shared view of what's been committed and what's been delivered.
Outcomes
Every Schedule 7 obligation met or exceeded.
Cumulative figures from the latest monitoring period. The full S106 dashboard is reviewed quarterly with Oxford City Council and reported via the Steering Group.
2,123
jobs created
Across all phases of construction to date.
28%
local labour
Against a 15% Schedule 7 target.
61
apprenticeships
Across construction trades, engineering, surveying and project management.
46
work experience placements
Against a 44 target.
1,204
volunteering hours
Against an 820-hour target. Includes the Wolvercote Primary School sensory garden build.
19%
local procurement spend
Against a 15% target. Supported by Meet the Buyer events with local SMEs.
44
education engagements
School visits, careers events and site tours, against a 37 target.
32
site tours delivered
Against a 22 target.
100%
compliance
Every Schedule 7 obligation met or exceeded across the reporting period.
Voices
The people the programme is for.
"Oxford North has gone beyond the targets we set for them. It shows that it is perfectly possible to bring these jobs to local residents and that there are no limits."
"Working at Oxford North is a great experience. Being based locally makes it even more meaningful, it's not often you get to work on a project that's right on your doorstep."
"It's exciting to see how the development is already shaping the area's future."
"The support from Oxford North and its partners has helped us see how we can grow into a true community hub, a place where generations meet, learn and support each other."
Delivered with
What's next
Phase build-out continues to 2030.
Oxford North's delivery extends across the next several years, with the Canalside Quarter homes (Hill Group), continued laboratory and office buildings (Mace, Laing O'Rourke), and major public realm and infrastructure phases all in active delivery.
We continue as Local Employment Coordinator across all phases, extending the Careys Construction Campus model, expanding apprenticeship pathways into commercial and digital roles aligned to identified skills gaps, and contributing to the Oxfordshire Inclusive Economy Partnership so the model can be replicated across the county.
See more of our work→