JERICHO WHARF NEWS ITEM

Save Jericho Wharf from Lazy Gentrification

Save Jericho Wharf Campaign Newletter No. 4.

It has been a year since we launched our campaign advocating for a Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) for the Jericho Wharf site. Our goal is to end 25 years of dereliction and finally provide Jericho with long-promised community facilities, including a working boatyard, and new housing.

Posted - Nov 28, 2025

CPO Campaign Progress

We initiated our campaign in December 2024. By February 2025, the movement had gained remarkable momentum, following an enthusiastic full house at the Phoenix cinema. Our petition now has over 2,000 signatures. If you haven’t signed yet, please add your support.

The City Council has acknowledged that a CPO is possible, though they have expressed concerns about potential cost and risk. In reality, CPOs—especially for housing—have a success rate of 80–90%. The Council can rapidly recover most of its costs by working alongside a responsible developer who can finance and manage the scheme. Risk can further be minimized by negotiating fairly with the current landowner.

Issues with the landowner

A major concern has been that Cheer Team, the Hong Kong-based landowner, might respond with a new scheme during a CPO process. Predictably, although it promised an imminent planning application, nothing materialized. In November 2025, Cheer Team finally conceded they had no new scheme.

Instead, they have tried (unsuccessfully) to sell the site to new investors in Asia, setting the price unrealistically high— trying to recoup what they’d overspent and advertising ambitious, speculative profits. These could only be achieved by disregarding Oxford’s planning policies and replacing community assets with high-density student flats.

We must ensure that the community is not sold out again. After 25 years, it is time to break this cycle. The Council should work with a principled developer to secure the site, delivering much-needed community spaces, a boatyard, and housing. It’s time for a CPO.

New Campaign Video

Together with Film Oxford and local resident Maggie Black, we have produced a compelling campaign video. In just a few minutes, it explains both our journey and the path ahead. Please watch and circulate the video widely to spread the word.

Why Heritage and Community Matter for Jericho and the Wharf

This year, the Jericho Living Heritage Trust (JLHT) has marked Jericho’s 200th anniversary. At a packed JLHT event on November 18, Sir Philip Pullman spoke eloquently about the canal’s historic importance – and has long warned against losing Jericho’s heritage to lazy, profit-driven gentrification.

Canal activity has declined over the decades, with significant losses such as the paving over in the 1950s of the historic Oxford Canal Basin – now Worcester Street car park. Today, Oxford offers little hospitality for canal users, and Jericho's canal heritage has been increasingly neglected. According to the Inland Waterways Association, Jericho Wharf is among the UK’s top-20 most at-risk canal heritage sites.

But there is hope. Jericho Wharf will connect the canal, the Grade 1-listed St Barnabas Church, and Jericho’s historic terraces. Revitalizing the boatyard and opening up community uses on the Wharf would create a vibrant waterfront scene. This isn’t nostalgia—successful cities around the world celebrate and revive their waterways.

In 2007, the developer SIAHAF, working with JWT and architects Haworth Tomkins, devised a viable redevelopment plan that celebrated Jericho’s heritage, integrating new homes, community spaces, canal uses, and a public square. Sadly, SIAHAF left the project unfulfilled, leaving the Wharf derelict.

Other organizations have shown greater vision: in 2014 the Heritage Lottery Fund supported the Oxford Canal Heritage Project which installed the Oxford Canal Heritage Trail, in 2023 it backed the Our Jericho movie and in 2025 has helped fund the wonderful restoration of the Kilsby theatre boat. Jericho Wharf will add to these and other local initiatives that honour our living canal heritage.

The landowner sees little value in heritage or community. After 25 years, the City Council must finally take the necessary steps to deliver these vital facilities. It is time for a CPO!