Sir - Oxford Brookes are applying to build yet more student accommodation on the site of the former Government buildings in Marston Road, and have invited the public to inspect their scheme.
Their plans show a four-storey fortress half as high again as the neighbouring flats, and twice the height of residential housing in the surrounding area. It would have a 90-metre frontage to Marston Road and a 73-metre face towards John Garne Way - that's 295 feet by 240 in old measures, or the area of a full-sized football pitch. The scheme is, to put it mildly, out of scale with the domestic housing around it.
It is also out of proportion with the housing density of Oxford. Government guidance suggests 30-40 dwellings per hectare. For comparison, Brighton now has a density of 67 dph, Cambridge 54 and Oxford 56. The proposed Brookes scheme is for 338 student spaces, which equates to 378 per hectare.
The Local Plan 2001-2011 sets Brookes expansion at 0.5-1.0 per cent a year. Brookes are now talking of one to two per cent expansion a year. Where will it end, if this scheme proves to be just the thin end of the wedge? Can Oxford bear a 25 per cent increase in the size of Brookes over the next dozen years?
Gordon Snow, Oxford
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article