PLANS to build homes for 35 graduate students in an Oxford conservation area have been kicked out by a planning inspector.

Oriel College wanted to build a three storey accommodation block for students on the site of a former nursery school in the Bartlemas conservation area in East Oxford.

The proposal had been recommended for approval by Oxford City Council planning officers but was turned down by the council’s east area parliament in November last year.

The rejection sparked an appeal by the college.

However, after a three day inquiry held at the Town Hall in June, inspector Richard Thomas dismissed the appeal on the grounds it would diminish the character of Bartlemas Farm, which has buildings dating back as far as the 14th century.

The development had attracted opposition from English Heritage, the Oxford Preservation Trust and the Oxford Civic Society, which argued that the environment around Bartlemas Farmhouse, a Grade II* listed building, should be protected.

In his report, Mr Thomas said the development would cause “significant harm to the setting of Bartlemas Farmhouse and to the character and appearance of the Bartlemas Conservation Area”.

The inspector gave the college permission to demolish the single-storey prefabricated nursery school, which was put up in the late 1940s. But although he said he acknowledged the need for student accommodation in Oxford, he rejected the college’s plans for the site.

Iffley Fields councillor Elise Benjamin said: “This is fantastic news and it’s testament to the hard work put in by residents in partnership with councillor Nuala Young who did the bulk of the submissions at the inquiry.”

She added: “It shows what can be done if residents fully arm themselves with the facts around planning law and commit themselves to protecting this valuable area.”