A YOGA studio planned for a riverside street has had Osney Island residents up in arms.

The studio will sit on East Street, west of the Thames as it runs through Oxford, replacing a one-story workshop building with a garage entrance.

But residents of the area, which is a historic conservation zone, told an Oxford City Council committee they felt they had not had time to look through recent changes to the plan.

One of them described the way in which details about changes to the studio plans had been shared had ‘violated the integrity of the public consultation process’.

But the committee approved an amended version of the plan, at its meeting on Tuesday, February 9.

ALSO READ: American fast-food chain Wendy's is coming to Oxford

The two-story yoga studio will be built around halfway along the terrace of Victorian homes on East Street.

Council planning staff said the current building provided an ‘important break’ in the street scene.

They added that the plans for the studio, which were first approved in 2019, now contained ‘minor changes’ to windows which were deemed acceptable.

When built, the studio will include a ground floor with a staff room, toilets, changing rooms and cycle storage, and a second floor to be used for yoga practice with a large window looking out onto the river.

According to design images, it appears the building would be of a modern design, covered in copper cladding.

But during the planning meeting, residents of Osney Island objected to the plans for the building, with one of them saying documents about the plans had been submitted after a public consultation had closed.

Vernon Orr said: “I believe the way in which this application has been dealt with has violated the integrity of the public consultation process and therefore request councillors reject this application as it stands.”

ALSO READ: Oxford areas where drivers will need a permit to park outside their homes

He added: “The dice were loaded against local residents. They have been discriminated against. You will surely agree that this violates both the spirit and the practice of a fair and just consultation process.

“How important to you is the integrity of our process?”

Adrian James, an architect who designed the new building, spoke in favour of the application.

He said the documents Mr Orr referred to were given to council staff after they had been requestion.

Mr James added: “I think the issue is that the changes are so minor you do need to look quite hard to see what they are.”

See more at planning reference: 20/02768/VAR