Oxford City Conservatives

Cowley Marsh Ward

Cowley Marsh Ward lies on the upper Cowley Road area. A large part of its north-east area is covered by Southfield Gold Course. Boundary Brook comes close to its northern edge, Hollow Way separates it from Lye Valley ward, and the Cowley Road from Cowley ward on the other side of this main traffic route. It contains 2 SOAs, (areas of high deprivation),a high crime rate, and some of the poorest housing in the area. It is in the top third of neglected areas in England.

Housing is clustered round the Cowley Road, but with an admixture of warehousing, light industry, the John Allen Business Park. Temple Cowley, an older and more prosperous neighbourhood lifts the ward statistics above it two neighbours. Temple Cowley's public pool is however sadly deteriorating. It was the first covered swimming pool to be opened in England, in 1939.

As in other wards on the east side of Oxford, the population is ethnically diverse. This reflected in the popularity of the Oxford Mela festival, to be held in June 2008 in Cowley Marsh Park.

Outline plans for the closure or reduction of Southfield Golf Course, to make way for 380 dwellings on the East side, and 1,260 on the west. The site is jointly owned by the OCC, with Magdalen and Christ Church Colleges. The old BMW site is also earmarked for development, possibly to include business expansion and hotels (see 2007 OCC report 72403 re Oxford's hotel plans).


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