The Yard, which opened to a warm reception in Jeune Street in East Oxford in June this year, has “temporarily” shut down again.
It comes as Oxford City Council refused a retrospective planning application for the food park, which is based at a former car garage and MOT bay, because it judged sufficient safety assessments had not been carried out.
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This includes a contamination risk assessment, a noise assessment and a scheme of noise mitigation measures, if appropriate.
The Yard food court occupies the site of a former garage and MOT bay(Image: Contributed)
The application submitted by the council by owners of The Yard described “a material change of use that has already delivered clear, measurable benefits to the local community and environment.”
They argued that the use of the garage as an open-air hospitality venue “transforms a noisy industrial site into a safe, sociable public space”, reuses previously developed land in a sustainable urban location, and enables a quieter, more visually appealing use of the site.
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The applicant added: “The Yard Oxford exemplifies what modern, community-serving urban reuse can look like.”
In it’s response, planning officers at the city council said: “It has not been demonstrated that the site is free from potentially significant contamination risks to site users and the surrounding environment.”
They added: “The council cannot be satisfied that the development would not result in unacceptable risk to users and the surrounding environment by virtue of land quality and land contamination above and below ground.”
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The same reasoning was applied to the lack of a noise assessment and mitigation measures, with officers adding they cannot be satisfied The Yard wouldn’t result in “unacceptable noise and disturbance levels” to residential neighbours.
The food court launched at 49 Jeune Street on June 21, described as a “foodies heaven” outdoor venue with seven on-site food vendor huts, indoor and outdoor seating, games and hang-out spaces.
Among its global food offering was a relaunched version of Glut, a popular burger joint which shut down its restaurant in George Street in March this year.
Founders of The Yard positioned the new eatery as “more than a food court”, but as a community space.
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They said it is family-friendly, dog-friendly and ready to welcome patrons to “stop by for five minutes or stay for the whole evening”.
A statement on The Yard’s website on its current closure said: “We are temporarily closed!
“We are currently fixing some maintenance issues and will be back with you all shortly. Apologies.”
It is not clear when The Yard will reopen. Organisers have been contacted for comment.