University of Oxford Colleges have submitted plans to build new student accommodation for over 100 students in North Oxford.
One hundred and thirty students could be moving into new student halls in North Oxford if Hertford College, Kellogg College and Reuben College’s application for expansion is approved today, Tuesday, May 23.
In addition to single study bedrooms and six duplex flats, the Colleges want to build a pavilion, which will contain a common room, and a Southeast Asian Studies Centre.
Under the plans, land will be re-developed to the rear of Winchester Road and on Banbury Road and Bevington Road so 130 new graduate student rooms can be built across six new buildings.
READ MORE: Met Office predicts hot Oxfordshire May bank holiday weekend
However, Oxford University Professor Richard Katz, who lives on Winchester Road, has raised concerns about the plans; despite admitting that his job exists for them (students).
Professor Katz has suggested students may need reminding that they are not entitled to noisy parties, to littering and public drunkenness.
If students display such behaviour, the professor has warned the community will take coordinated action as appropriate.
Professor Katz has admitted he is “impressed” with the proposed designs for the buildings and has listed his comment as not objecting but “netural”.
READ MORE: Oxfordshire parents left seething over school bus service
The professor’s wife, Lucy Cloover, also works at the University, and professor Katz has said they are both fond of Oxford’s students but the neighbourhood remaining quite was of “paramount importance” to his family.
Both professors strongly objected to Greene King’s application to extend the opening hours of the North parade pub The Gardeners Arms earlier this year.
READ MORE: LTNs: Oxfordshire misses out on England active travel funds
Some of the buildings, such as 43-45 Banbury Road, are already in academic use.
If given the green light by the planning committee, the Oxford School of Global and Area Studies will be able to share a department with the Southeast Asian Studies Centre.
The Southeast Asian Studies Centre will be on Winchester Road and student accommodation will be within the gardens of the villas along Winchester Road and Banbury Road.
On Bevington Road, the plans include a new student café, alongside the conversion of existing buildings to student accommodation and a porters lodge.
READ MORE: Banbury outdoor swimming pool given summer upgrades
There is a Grade II listed and Victorian gothic building within the development site and the area where the buildings will be built is within the North Oxford Victorian Suburb Conservation Area.
The Victorian Group of the Oxfordshire Architectural and Historical Society has objected to the application and described the housing plans as an “even more destructive desecration of the North Oxford Conservation Area than the University College scheme”.
The council has said it must now "weigh up the heritage harm against the public benefits of the proposals and be content that they outweigh the considerable weight that must be afforded to the conservation of heritage assets".
The application will be come before the city council's planning committe at 6pm this evening.
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 hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel