A PLAN to revamp Oxford’s first power station to create a new world-class business education centre run by Oxford University's Saïd Business School has been scaled back.

Developers said slight changes to the £60m project would bring the façade of the Osney Power Station back from a street.

But the planned number of bedrooms and previous space for teaching areas will stay the same.

The business school has said the new West Oxford project going ahead is critical for its future.

Designers said a planned façade would be moved back from Arthur Street by 1.2 metres.

City councillors said there was no justification made to support such a big building when the application was last heard at a council planning meeting in July.

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They deferred giving the project planning permission to allow the business school to make any changes and explain further why the project should be allowed.

The council plans to look at the project at its West Area planning committee meeting in September, the business school understands.

The revamped power station would be used as a replacement for its Egrove Park site in Kennington, which it said has disappointed some business leaders on its executive education courses.

The business school claims the Egrove Park site, which is two and a half miles from its main building in Park End Street, is too small and dated.

To meet expectations, the school said it spent £1.2m on hotel rooms in the city centre last year. The power station plan would mean that spend would be unnecessary, the school said.

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The power station was opened in 1892 and operated initially by the Oxford Electric Company.

About £17.5m has been donated to the business school to fund its renovation.

It said: "The school considered redevelopment of the Egrove site as an alternative to the Osney Power Station proposal; however, this would not address the key shortcomings arising from the site's location and Green Belt designation.

"Further, such a scheme would be far more difficult to finance as donors would not find the development of an existing, out of town facility as attractive as the power station."

The school says it typically compares itself to seven other successful rivals around the world. Some of them have multiple campuses in different countries.

They include INSEAD, which has bases in France, Singapore and Abu Dhabi.

It also considers its work against that of IMD, based in Lausanne, Switzerland, and the London Business School.

Cambridge Judge Business School, Cambridge University's equivalent, is another.

The business school said while it is proud of its work with business leaders, it hopes to 'contribute to society more broadly'.

That could include work on the Cabinet Office's programme management and helping more women get leadership roles.