PROPOSALS by a private school to add two storeys to its boarding house have been strongly opposed by residents but a planning application argues it would be 'almost immoral' not to develop the site.

Cherwell College, which teaches GCSE and A Level students, wants to extend its West Oxford accommodation upwards to provide an additional 26 en-suite student bedrooms and two one-bed warden flats.

There would also be an extension of the existing bin store and a new bike shelter built at the Osley Lane site.

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But residents who live on surrounding streets have opposed the plans, submitted to Oxford City Council, citing the fact the college's original three-storey application in 2011 was rejected at appeal for being too tall.

A design and access statement submitted with the application for Cherwell Hosue said the college 'desperately' needed more space and the current site was 'extremely well located' being minutes from Oxford station.

It added: “The college desperately need more rooms and since their pupils are of school age it is not viable to locate them in standard student accommodation.”

Residents, objecting on the city council's planning website, feel the extension is not justified and an effort to 'circumvent' the original application decision.

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Matthew Savage, of Barrett Street, wrote: “The original development was approved on the basis that it was no higher than adjacent properties on Mill Street and Osney Lane to ensure that privacy was maintained.

“This is a clear attempt to circumvent the basis on which original approval was granted."

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He added: “Not only are the additional floors clearly intrusive, they are out of keeping with the height of other adjacent buildings to the west of the railway line.”

Reverend Mike Magee, a Mill Street resident, commenting on the previous refusal wrote in his objection: “Nothing has changed since that adjudication, so I am surprised of the lack of consistency here.”

He also added it was a ‘disgrace’ that the applicant didn’t put anything through peoples’ letterboxes even during the coronavirus pandemic.

Tina Lees, another Mill Street resident, said the initial decision had been a 'great compromise' and this risked the 'alienation' of neighbours.

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But the design and access statement from Adrian James Architects argued that the planning inspector's decision was based on not just height but the design, which was ultimately changed in the final construction.

It added: "The result is unsatisfactory: the building is lower than its neighbours and looks as if it is missing a top. But perhaps more important than the aesthetic awkwardness is the fact that this is a low-density two storey development on a site immediately adjacent to the city railway station, within 10 minutes’ walk of the city centre; it is hard to imagine a more sustainable site and one better suited to a higher density development.

"It feels almost immoral that the site is so under-developed."

The plans are available to view via oxford.gov.uk searching application 20/01139/FUL with comments able to be submitted until June 23.

A decision is expected by July 8.