Our Location
The village of Kirtlington lies ten miles north of Oxford, between Bicester and Woodstock. It sits on a rise above the Cherwell Valley, set in gently rolling farmland. This was an important farming area and today several of the surrounding farms have diversified: one is now a golf course and another a stud farm, while former agricultural land close to the centre of the village is home to small housing developments.
To the east of the village the bulk of the land belonged to the eighteenth-century Grade I listed Palladian hose, Kirtlington Park, and is now run separately as a private estate. Parishioners are fortunate in having access to much of this land, with its wealth of ancient trees and the lake created as a focal point for the house by the landscape designer Capability Brown.
This map shows how the shop and café are centrally located within the village, next to the Village Hall, on the edge of the playing field and near the children’s play park.
The site for the new building is on land owned by Kirtlington Park Estate and leased, for a peppercorn rent, for 99 years in 1985 to Kirtlington Parish Council. It has been offered rent free by the Estate managers for the erection of a shop and café.
The existence of a shop and small café beside the Oxfordshire Way, in the idyllic setting of the Village Hall, looking out over the listed parkland on one side and towards the church on the other, past majestic ancient trees, would provide an exceptionally attractive stopping place for walkers and cyclists in addition to offering a peaceful venue for village residents.
Indeed many of the successful community shops we have researched have been located in idyllic settings, off the main roads, and near to other community spaces.
front view from the village hall car park
The shop and café will provide an exceptionally attractive stopping place for walkers and cyclists as well as a tranquil place for villagers to sit and enjoy the views.
The shop will be large enough to offer a good range of products and for the café to provide snacks and simple lunches, in addition to good quality coffee and homemade cakes
Cafe seating will overlook the playing field
The precise layout of the shop and café interior has still to be determined. However, a schematic representation is shown below for information.
