COUNCIL and university officials have defended an all-expenses-paid trip to Switzerland for city planners assessing the controversial Blavatnik School of Government scheme.

It comes after a freedom of information request confirmed Oxford City Council officers Murray Hancock and Nick Worlledge flew to Basel to visit architects Herzog and De Meuron on January 9.

The fact-finding day trip was arranged and paid for by Oxford University while Mr Hancock and Mr Worlledge were assessing plans for the new Blavatnik School of Government in Walton Street.

The officers, and English Heritage officer David Brock, subsequently recommended councillors at the city’s west area planning committee approve the scheme, which they did on May 8.

The only other trip of this kind in the past three years was one made by councillors and officers to the Netherlands to visit urban extensions similar to the Barton West development, paid for by Grosvenor Estates.

The trip was raised at the May 8 meeting by planning consultant Peter Trevelyan, representing campaigners against the scheme, but chairman Oscar Van-Nooijen would not allow any statements about the officers during the public speaking time.

The council and university subsequently confirmed details of the trip.

University spokesman Matt Pickles said it was “entirely above board and in line with all laws and regulations” and included no entertaining. He said: “Officers saw a detailed model of the double skin facade proposed for the building, observed the construction process for this type of facade to learn its effects on heating and ventilation, and visited other Herzog de Meuron-designed buildings in Basel which use this facade.

“This was the most cost-effective way to ensure that planning officers had everything they needed to make an informed decision, which was the right and responsible thing to do.

“We consider any suggestion that it was improper to be extremely serious, false and unsubstantiated.”

City council spokesman Louisa Dean said: “Understanding the nature of the detailed design of the building was a critical part of the assessment of the application. The trip cost less than it would have done to bring the full size mock-ups of the outer skin to Oxford.

“It is quite usual to visit the applicants’ or architects’ earlier schemes outside Oxford from time to time.

“We did make the visit public at the committee meeting, when officers showed copies of photographs taken in Basel of the materials proposed.”

Walton Manor resident Adrian Arbib, 50, said: “I have spoken to other architects and they have said it is unusual for a group of people at that level to visit an architect abroad.”

Mr Trevelyan, speaking on behalf of cafe owner David Freud and the Jericho Community Association, said he was surprised about the trip and thought it should have been paid for by the council rather than the university.