To hear questions from the public in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 11.9 to the Leader or other Board Members of the City Executive Board for which the required notice (1.00pm on Thursday 6^th October 2011) and the full wording of the question has been given to the Head of Law and Governance and to hear responses from those Members.

Two questions were asked by members of the public.

(1)       Question to the Board Member, City Development (Councillor Colin Cook) from James Rowland

Student units

Oxford City Council's planning department continues to approve planning applications for purpose built student housing. Can you explain why this is the case as the Annual Monitoring report 2010  figures state that both Universities have achieved or, are about to achieve, the required CS 25 target that there should be no more than 3000 students  living in private accommodation in order to get permission for academic expansion.. Furthermore, Oxford University (OU) has stated that further purpose built accommodation is in the pipeline bringing the figure down to just 2650, whilst OU intends to stabilise its student intake. Oxford Brookes University (OBU) has announced a cut of 1000 on campus student places from 2012. OBU has recently sold a 100 bedded student hall (Cotuit Hall) to a private language school stating that this was now surplus to requirements.

Both universities therefore don't seem to have a need for further student accommodation. Moreover the Core Strategy Inspector  decided  that 3000 students in private accommodation was the appropriate target  and rejected .lower targets such as 2000 students in private housing  as additional land for student housing would need to be identified and  this would put too much pressure on land needed to meet housing targets. Why therefore does the City Council not recommend refusal for further speculative student developments on land which is not owned by the universities?

Response: The City Council’s policy is to ensure that the Universities have no more than 3,000 students each living in private accommodation. However the policy does not say “ and no less than” . This means that if either University or one of the Colleges wish to provide further purpose built accommodation they are able to do so and that would not be contrary to this planning policy.  

Nevertheless the Council's longstanding policy approach has been altered by the adoption of the Core Strategy.  The Inspector ruled that the occupancy restrictions that encouraged the two Universities to build more purpose-built accommodation should also be applicable to certain speculative student accommodation.  The City Council has responded to this by developing draft policy options on the location of student accommodation in its emerging Sites and Housing Development Plan Document.  If the preferred option in the recent consultation document is taken forward as policy, it will set out clear guidance to prospective developers about the locations in which future schemes may or may not be acceptable. 

This would achieve the Council's policy aims without imposing an unreasonable moratorium on all future schemes yet it will see further planning applications coming forward for purpose built student housing for occupation by a wider range of students than just those attending the two Universities.

(2)       Question to the Board Member, Finance and Efficiency  (Councillor Ed Turner) from Sietske Boeles 

Council Tax Exemptions

Oxford Brookes University (OBU) accommodates students on short courses in its student accommodation (classified as halls of residence for council tax purposes). These students don't seem to qualify for student council tax exemption as they do not meet the defintion of full time student as defined for council tax exemption purposes. Does OBU pay council tax for the units occupied by students on short courses?.

Response: the legal position is as follows.

The Council Tax (Exempt Dwellings) Order 1992 defines a hall of residence – as a dwelling comprising a hall of residence provided predominantly for the accommodation of students which is either-

(a)       owned or managed by an institution within the meaning of paragraph 5 of Schedule 1 to the Act; or

(b)       the subject of an agreement allowing such an institution to nominate persons to occupy all the accommodation so provided;

Any premises which are:

Provided mainly for the accommodation of students and

owned or managed by a prescribed educational establishment (including a charitable body) orwhere an educational establishment can nominate students to occupy all of the accommodation.