A CAMPUS which specialises in creative media courses has announced it will close next year.

SAE Oxford, the Littlemore-based college which specialises in arts, music and technology, will not extend its lease which expires next September.

Two new two-storey buildings have been given the green light at Littlemore Park, where SAE Oxford is situated.

Those buildings will provide 3,500sqm of ‘flexible commercial floorspace’.

The new employment hub will be named Oxford Innovation Park, with the office and laboratory space to be targeted towards life science and technology companies.

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Established in 1976, the SAE Institute provides courses to 10,000 students at more than 40 campuses across the globe.

Rumours that SAE Oxford is closing due to a lack of students were denied by an SAE Institute spokesperson.

The spokesperson said: “The lease discussions have now concluded and SAE Institute has made the difficult decision not to extend the lease, which expires in September 2022.

“This decision has not been taken lightly and is not due to a lack of students.

“The landlord has ambitious plans to redevelop the Littlemore House site into the Oxford Innovation Park.

“The redevelopment plans have directly resulted in a significant increase in rental price that, when coupled with the investment required to refresh our facilities and equipment, has made lease renewal financially unviable.

“While we are disappointed to have to make this decision regarding our Oxford campus, we are fully committed to the UK market and are focused on how we can improve our student offering at our other UK campuses in London, Liverpool and Glasgow.”

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In July 2019, plans to close SAE Oxford were scrapped.

The previous summer, dwindling demand from students had led to the decision to close the site.

In December 2007, SAE bought Littlemore House – the home of the former Littlemore Hospital – for a reported £8.9 million.

A further £12 million is believed to have been spent on building the campus.

When the Oxford campus opened, it was unveiled as the world’s largest technology college.

SAE Institute offers a range of creative media courses in the form of two-year undergraduate degrees.

Courses include game art and animation, film production and music business.