Plans for Oxford Brookes University student accommodation on Marston Road, which were refused earlier this month, have been given the go-ahead -- with strict conditions.

The three-storey blocks will be allowed if Brookes can prove they will not increase pressure on Marston's overflowing sewage network.

Maureen Christian, chairman of Oxford City Council's north east area committee, said: "We need Brookes to prove that the sewage network has more than sufficient capacity to withstand this development, otherwise it should not go ahead. Hopefully we can get Brookes to use its influence to get some improvement work carried out by Thames Water."

If the halls are built, they will create an extra 52 student rooms on the Marston Road site, where Brookes already has planning permission for blocks containing 560 bedrooms. A university spokesman welcomed the planning approval.

A Thames Water spokesman said: "We have a policy to take into account any proposed developments in an area, and to see if that will require any increase in capacity."