BOTH of the city’s universities have hit out at the proposed new city council charge that threatens the Westgate Shopping Centre development.

They say Oxford City Council’s community infrastructure levy (CIL) will put off developers from building student housing.

The proposals for CIL will mean all developments around Oxford will have to contribute towards the city’s infrastructure.

It means that houses, cafes and shops will have to pay £100 per square metre towards the community’s infrastructure but the same rate will also apply to student accommodation.

In a response to the city council, Oxford University said: “As the council requires the universities and colleges to provide additional accommodation for their students, this development should be encouraged by reducing the CIL charge.

“Apart from other considerations, student accommodation will not require the same level of local public expenditure on education, libraries, public open space or community facilities as a conventional housing development because those will substantially be provided by the relevant university or college.”

Oxford Brookes University has also objected, saying: “It is considered that there is insufficient evidence to indicate that the proposed CIL charges for student accommodation would be economically viable.”

The new levy will replace so-called section 106 payments in all but the largest developments, and the cash can be spent anywhere in the city on a wide range of projects such as new bridges and road improvements.

City councillor Colin Cook, the executive board member for city development, said: “We put CIL at the level we thought it would be appropriate at.”

He said the council wanted to make sure there was no “perverse incentive” to build student housing over residential housing.