A HOSTEL set to be bulldozed if the multi-million-pound revamp of Oxford Rail Station goes ahead says it is still no closer to finding an alternative site.

The YHA said it had not been consulted on the latest plans for the scheme, despite the Oxford City Council, Oxfordshire County Council and Network Rail holding a competition for architects.

It saw firms put forward their ideas for how the redeveloped site could look, with the public asked to choose their favourite and three also chosen by a panel of judges.

The hostel next to the Botley Road railway bridge has been removed in all of the designs to make way for a third platform, despite hostel bosses saying their situation was still unclear.

A YHA spokesman told the Oxford Mail yesterday: “We are in discussions with Network Rail and Oxford City Council about maintaining a youth hostel in Oxford, and this remains our priority.

“We have not seen any plans and are disappointed and surprised, as key stakeholders in this process, that this is the case.

“We are joining them for a meeting on March 17 where, we understand, we’ll be presented with the plans for the first time. As yet, no formal compulsory purchase has started, so it remains difficult for YHA to plan ahead.”

City council executive board member for transport and planning Alex Hollingsworth said: “The station masterplan has been drawn up based on Network Rail’s desire to expand the station.

“That is a conversation the hostel will need to keep having with Network Rail, but we are keen to work with them to find another site.

“It is important we retain a youth hostel in Oxford.”

It came as the city council unveiled the winners of the architectural competition, with more than 70 per cent of the public voting for a striking design by AHR Architects.

It is the firm originally hired to create the station masterplan and it is hoped work would start in the early 2020s. Other major buildings it has designed include the Museum of Modern Art in Warsaw, Poland, the Greater Manchester Police Force headquarters and the revamped Euston Station in London.

A panel of judges also selected the firm’s entry, describing it as “original and impressive”, along with two others from Wilkinson Eyre and Allies & Morrison.

Fiona Piercy, chairwoman of the panel said: “We now need to work closely with the government, Network Rail and the private sector to secure the mix of funding to deliver the next stage of the project.”

Simon Maple of Network Rail added: “We will continue to work with the city council on their aspirations for the station and its surrounding area.”