OXFORD Brookes University has lost out in its bid for the £4.85m Plater College site in the city but it remains unclear who has bought the campus.

Brookes was among several to submit a sealed bid in the auction earlier this month, but agent Savills is refusing to comment on who has bought the site in Pullens Lane, Headington.

The university, which needs to find an extra 1,000 student bed spaces in the city, will have to look for a site elsewhere to ease pressure for accommodation.

The 2.67-acre campus, which is in a residential area, went on the market in February, a year after governors agreed to close down the Catholic residential college amid falling rolls, funding difficulties and a damning inspection report.

Plans for continuing the Plater mission in Oxford depend on how much is raised from the sale.

Oxford Brookes spokesman, Rebecca Baxter, said: "We will be continuing our search for other sites that might be suitable locations for extra student accommodation."

Megan Turmezei, secretary of the Pullens Lane Residents' Association, was also disappointed that Brookes had lost out and said residents were concerned about who would take over the site.

Shelley Stephenson, of Savills, which had expected interest from the education and healthcare sectors, said: "We are under strict instructions not to comment."