HISTORIC buildings in Oxford could be transformed into a boutique hotel.

The listed buildings in St Michael’s Street, which have lain empty for more than a decade, could be transformed into a 22-bedroom hotel. The conversion would include the Grade II* listed Vanbrugh House, dating from the 17th century, and the Vicarage, a Grade II listed building.

And plans are also in place for another new hotel near the Mini car plant at Cowley. It would be created within Grehan House, a four-storey office building off the Eastern bypass built in the 1990s.

Applicant Sojourn Hotels say the buildings in Oxford’s historic St Michael’s Street could be converted “without the need for extensive remodelling or alterations”.

Vanbrugh House is a three-storey building with cellars and timber-framed walls.

With its twin giant pilasters on either side of the front door and curve-topped windows, it is named after Sir John Vanbrugh, the creator of Blenheim Palace, whose genius is said to have inspired the building.

A planning statement says: “Vanbrugh House, number 22 and the Vicarage are important heritage assets but have been left vacant for over a decade. Their structure and fabric is deteriorating and it is important that an appropriate use can be found.

“The scheme has evolved over the course of the last 18 months, during which time the client team has worked closely with the city council’s conservation officers and English Heritage to ensure that the proposals fully respect the heritage value of each building.”

The scheme would provide a major financial boost for the Town Hall, with Sojourn Hotels proposing to take a long lease on the council-owned building.

It would also provide much- needed hotel accommodation in the city’s historic centre, sited just across the road from the Oxford Union.

Sojourn Hotels runs six Holiday Inn and Hotel Indigo branches across the UK.

The Cowley hotel development has been put forward by the Millbeck Group. The proposed 32-bedroom hotel would be designated as a budget hotel, aimed at visitors, reps and people attending seminars and training sessions at BMW and surrounding business parks.

The planning statement says: “The existing architectural fabric of the building is to be retained, thus providing an architectural focal point of Grehan House as a proposed and recognised local landmark hotel.”

Jeremy Mogford, owner of Oxford’s Old Parsonage Hotel and the Old Bank Hotel, which this year won Best City Hotel Award by the Good Hotel Guide, said: “ Times are tough but Oxford still has a tremendous pull. People want to stay in Oxford.”

The city council will make a decision on both applications but no date has yet been set.