City & Country Group Buys MOD Caversfield

CITY & COUNTRY GROUP BUYS MOD CAVERSFIELD

Award winning, restoration and conservation expert City & Country Group has bought the former MOD site in Caversfield, Bicester. The 23 acre site lies within a conservation area and includes a total of 17 Grade II listed buildings.

The MOD Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S) site at Caversfield, on the northern edge of the town of Bicester, was the domestic (barracks) side of the former RAF Bicester airfield, which played an important part in training bomber crews in the Second World War. 

Helen Moore, Managing Director for City & Country Residential said: “We’re delighted to have bought this site, our first purchase from Defence Estates. The site has real historic value and played a very important part in our history. We look forward to working with the local community, heritage groups and Cherwell District Council in preparing a planning application which will provide a long term future for these buildings.”

 Built in 1920’s, the southern part of the site is dominated by the former parade ground and is framed by the original key domestic buildings.  The site was significantly extended in the 1930’s to provide additional pilot and ancilliary accommodation including dining rooms and now comprises a total of 22 buildings.

City & Country Group has an outstanding reputation as ‘best in class’ for sensitive restoration and regeneration. The company undertakes detailed conservation and restoration of heritage buildings. Previous projects are as diverse as Old Saint Michaels in Braintree – a Grade II listed workhouse – now transformed into 1, 2 & 3 bedroom apartments – incorporating many of the original features.

At The Galleries in Brentwood, an early Victorian Hospital,  the original plans were painstakingly researched by the development team, including detailed drawings showing formal gardens and ‘airing courtyards’ designed for patients of the hospital. The gardens have now been reinstated for the benefit of residents as part of the extensive award winning landscape masterplan.

At Caversfield, one building is being retained by the MOD for use by Air Cadets.  The site currently comprises offices, storage, laboratories and a restaurant. This purchase is not related to nearby Bicester Airfield  which is also surplus to MOD requirements but not yet on the market.