Protesters have failed to stop councillors agreeing to the dismantling of the historic LMS building beside Oxford railway station.

City councillors are not prepared to let the Grade II* listed building stand in the way of Oxford University's £40m business school and a road-widening scheme.

The planning committee yesterday voted unanimously to grant outline permission for the business school opposite the station.

The former tyre depot and car hire centre will be pulled down and re-built at a railway museum in Quainton, Buckinghamshire, once the Government gives the go-ahead.

Campaigners who have occupied the Victorian building since May held a noisy demonstration before the committee's meeting. Inside, William Filmer Sankey, of the London Victorian Society, warned councillors that dismantling the LMS building would be like "moving Martyrs' Memorial to the Buckinghamshire countryside".

He said: "This application is for the total demolition of one of Oxford's most important buildings. It is a symbol of the best of 19th century achievements and will be destroyed for ever."

Robert Sykes, one of the campaigners to have gathered an 8,500-name petition, told the committee: "The application is riddled with contradictions and proposes over 20 breaches of national and local planning guidelines.

"It would be an extraordinary neglect of duty on the planning authority's part to grant permission."

Green councillor Mike Woodin added: "If a Grade II* building like the observatory at Green College had been on this site it would never have entered people's heads to remove it. "This sets a very damaging precedent of removing Oxford's historical buildings for the creation of roads in Oxford city centre."

Dismantling the London Midland and Scottish station is essential to a road-widening scheme in Park End Street as part of the Oxford Transport Strategy to cut traffic.

Councillors voted 10-1 in favour of dismantling the LMS building and unanimously in favour of granting outline permission for the Said Business School.

Committee chairman Maureen Christian said the need to implement the transport strategy outweighed the benefits of saving the LMS building.

She said: "I believe that to have this building restored to its former splendour, despite the loss of its urban location, is the right way to deal with it. We have got to reconcile our transport strategy with the loss of this historic building. The OTS and the business school are both things that will benefit this city tremendously."

Oxford University, which bought the LMS site from Railtrack in March, will pay to relocate the building and will submit plans for the business school later this summer. The development is being funded by a £20m gift from Arab businessman Wafic Said.

Peter Moores, director of the business school, said: "We are very pleased by this decision. It allows us to look forward to creating one of the best centres for business education in the world."

As part of their decision, planners insisted several conditions laid down by English Heritage were complied with, including re-constructing the LMS building's underground structure and drainage system.

The proposals will now go for clearance from the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, John Prescott.

But protesters are refusing to give up the fight.

Kate Wilson, of the LMS Direct Action group, said: "We think it will become a bigger national issue yet.

"Now they have given permission to knock the building down, that is when we will really start. We will do whatever is necessary to prevent this."

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