Oxford Magdalen Street student accommodation plans approved

The Oxenford building on Magdalen Street previously hosted the Fever Nightclub but its ground floor has been vacant since March 2020 and will soon be converted into office blocks.

A total of 55 en-suite student accommodation rooms will also make their way to the buildings with alterations to the basement which will create plant area and bin storage.

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Carfax & Jericho Ward councillor Alex Hollingsworth said at the planning committee meeting on Tuesday: "I do have really strong concerns about the bin collection service.

Councillor Alex Hollingsworth. (Image: Oxford City Council.)

"You end up with a great sea of bins stuck outside in the open air perpetually contaminated and it is frankly a disgraceful mess which I hope will get resolved.

"One day before I die quite frankly."

Mr Hollingsworth emphasised there was "a whole load of stuff" he thought good about plans for the "attractive building" but that proper collection should be a "robust condition".

Concerns related to the storage of bins in the basement which was deemed necessary due to the "constraints of the site".

It was noted that there were "six bins for the entire thing".

Councillor Anna Railton, cabinet member for Zero Carbon Oxford and Climate Justice, said: "Where will the bins go when they're waiting to be picked up because there's an awful lot of doors everywhere."

Cabinet Member for Citizen Focused Services and Council Companies, Nigel Chapman, added: "The tightness of the situation means you get a whole lot of waste being produced."

Oxenford House. (Image: Google Maps.)

But councillors' concerns were soon subsided on hearing the response of officers.

It was noted that on-site management would wheel the bins down to Magdalen Street.

An officer noted: "This is not out of character to what is happening in the city centre.

"The idea that waste bins are going to be wheeled out onto Magdalen Street and left there is not something I can see myself."

"This would be managed in the same way."

Councillor Ajaz Rehman, of the Lye Valley Ward, chimed in: "I don't think it will pose a problem."

Proposed location and block plan. (Image: Oxford City Council.)

Upper floors of the Oxenford House building are currently vacant, with the exception of the Hindu Study Centre on the first floor which is "seeking a new premises within the city".

The centre had been utilising the first floor for education use since June 1998 which included an element of worship/prayer.

Officers say the proposal is indicative of "a well-designed development demonstrated through high quality layout and design" that is "sustainable".

A senior county council transport planner had previously raised, but later withdrew, an objection to the proposals, stating: "As this is to be a car free development, it is important that all alternative modes of travel to the site are promoted from the outset."