PLANS for a new four-storey office block at Oxford Science Park have been hailed as a vote of confidence in Littlemore.

The company which runs the park has applied to Oxford City Council for planning permission for the building, which would provide 60,000sqft of office space, approximately the size of a football pitch.

Bogle Architects have drawn up detailed plans for the vast structure, which would sit towards the western end of the science park near the lake and opposite Fletcher & Winchester House.

Littlemore parish councillor David Henwood said it showed Littlemore could attract businesses investment to deliver jobs and economic growth in the area.

He said: "It is in the right area for the type of development, that part of Littlemore is really developing.

"It has got a nice vibe to it now and it has very good road links.

"Building there is not taking anything away from the environment.

"This office block is the type of development we want to see.

"There is very little impact on residents and I can only see positives as it will bring jobs and research.

"There is a room for expansion in that area, we should not just be getting residential dwellings."

Mr Henwood added that future residential development in Littlemore would require plans for a new primary school to be submitted in the near future.

In the application Bogle Architects said a meeting had been held with a city council officer on May 2014 and it had been agreed that the plans were of a suitable scale and were coherent with the rest of the science park.

In the application the company said: "Architecturally the building responds to its context through massing, orientation and a sensible selection of high quality materials to reflect the client's brief.

"The opportunity exists to provide a robust and memorable landscape setting to the new campus buildings using a proven combination of specimen deciduous native trees and hornbeam hedging together with ornamental evergreen shrubs, lush ground cover planting and manicured lawns.

"The landscape proposals shall embrace the design language of the wider Oxford Science Park campus and enhance the biodiversity of the site."

The plans include enough parking spaces for 203 cars, included 10 disabled spaces.

There would be a further 80 spaces for bikes.

In a submission to the city council, consultants Campbell Reith said the site had good existing transport links.

Their transport statement said: "The development site is surrounded by a well-developed network of pedestrian footways.

"These footways connect with the footways on the wider network and provide access to the local facilities both within and outside of the science park and the local transport network."

A decision will be made on whether the building can go ahead by November 8.