Demolition of public toilets. Redevelopment of St Clements car park to provide student accommodation (141 bedrooms) and ancillary facilities over 3 blocks. Replacement car park (74 spaces), public toilets and landscaping and ancillary works.

Officer recommendation: Approve with conditions

Refused

The Head of City Development submitted a report (previously circulated, now appended) detailing a planning application for the demolition of public toilets and the redevelopment of St Clement’s car park to provide student accommodation (141 bedrooms) and ancillary facilities over 3 blocks, Replacement car park (74 spaces), public toilets and landscaping and ancillary works.

The Planning Officer reported that there had been additional comments received from Oxford University, Queen’s College and a number of other local residents. These representations, he added, did not raise any further matters that were not covered in the report.

In accordance with the criteria for public speaking Nik Lyzba, Alan Berman, Linda Irving Bell, Clint Pugh, Laurence Schafer and Sarah Wild spoke in objection to the development. The objectors spoke about concerns regarding the capacity of the proposed new car park, the architectural significance of the nearby Florey building, anxiety felt by neighbouring shopkeepers due to lost business and general concerns regarding the overall suitability of the scheme for the St Clement’s area.

Iain Smith and Aiden Cosgrove, on behalf of the applicant, spoke in support of the development outlining reasons they believed the scheme was suitable for the site.

The Committee considered all submissions, both written and oral and it was:

Resolved to refuse planning permission for the following reasons:-

(1)   The development is unacceptable because it relates poorly to its general context and the setting of nearby listed buildings in respect of its height, scale, form and massing.  The proposed development would have an adverse impact on views into and out of this part of the St Clements and Iffley Road Conservation Area - to the detriment of the character and appearance of both the conservation area in question and the adjacent Central Conservation Area - as well as on the setting of the grade II listed Florey Building and 27 St Clements Street. This adverse impact would affect the conservation areas and the listed building settings to an unacceptable extent.  The application is contrary to policy CP1, CP8, CP10, HE3 and HE7 of the Oxford Local Plan 2001 - 2016 and policy CS18 of the Oxford Core Strategy 2026.

(2)   The development is unacceptable because it would have an overbearing impact on and result in a loss of privacy to neighbouring properties, to the detriment of residential amenity, in respect of its height, scale, bulk and proximity to the site boundaries.  This overbearing impact would impinge on residential amenity to an unacceptable extent.  The application is contrary to policy CP1, CP10 and HS19 of the Oxford Local Plan 2001 - 2016.

(3)   The development is unacceptable because it fails to provide satisfactory replacement car park facilities as required by policy DS82 and TR11 of the Oxford Local Plan 2001 - 2016.  The number of proposed car parking spaces on site, and the location of the proposed temporary replacement car park do not represent a satisfactory replacement for the current parking provision at the development site.  The application is contrary to policy DS82 and TR11 of the Oxford Local Plan 2001 - 2016.