A new hospital at the Manor Ground in Headington, Oxford, would be overbearing and monolithic, a planning inquiry was told yesterday.

The Acland Hospital, part of the independent Nuffield Hospital Group, wants to build a state-of-the-art hospital at the former home of Oxford United.

Property developer Bellway Homes plans to build 90 flats as part of the joint scheme.

Oxford City Council rejected the application amid concerns from residents that it could create traffic congestion in Headington.

In a written summary, the city council's planning consultant Steven Sensecall told Government inspector Susan Hesketh that the council did not object in principle to the redevelopment of the Manor ground.

However, he said: "The height, mass and design of the proposed hospital building will appear overbearing and monolithic when viewed from the flats that are proposed to be located between it and the existing properties in Horwood Close."

He said the public open space provided in the plans for existing flats at Manor Court and proposed flats at the northern end of the site was inadequate.

Mr Sensecall said the developer intended to cram too much in to the site, and had failed to disperse social housing across the site, as required under council guidelines.

He said: "The social housing has the appearance of being shoe-horned into the site."

The Manor Ground site is allocated in the city council's Local Plan as a mixed-use site for employment and housing.

Developer Bellway Homes said social housing could be further dispersed throughout the site, and disputed any overbearing impact of the plans.

The inquiry continues.