AN OXFORD college wants to build new student accommodation in an off-street court and refurbish a listed building.

A planning application to demolish the music rooms at Frewin Quad, New Inn Street, and build 30 new student bedrooms was made by Brasenose College in October.

The 30 new student bedrooms would be built within the garden at Frewin Quad, with two music rooms, a stone wall and a garden outbuilding around the edge of the garden being knocked down to make way for the new block.

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The grade-II* listed Frewin Hall would be remodelled, with the ground floor being used as a communal area.

In the basement of Frewin Hall there would be a new cafe and kitchen area built.

This refurbishment would also mean that four student rooms would be removed, so the overall increase in student bedrooms at Frewin Quad would be 26.

Oxford Mail:

An overhead view of the plans. The new accommodation block is on the right coloured green. Picture: Oxford City Council.

A design and access statement by architects Lee/ Fitzgerald said: “The college feels that Frewin Hall as a building has suffered badly from insensitive alterations over an extended period of time and that the current ground floor usage is inappropriate for its historic interiors.

“The college wishes to convert the ground floor reception rooms and Norman Vault into a study and social facility for the whole site, restoring where possible the historic interiors.”

The new student block would be a U-shaped building according to the architects, with three storeys in some parts, and two in others.

It would centre around an existing green garden area.

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Lawn areas within the quad would be re-landscaped so they could be used more by students are outdoors study and recreation areas.

A rose garden to the north of Frewin Hall would also be relandscaped to act as a ‘spill-over’ area for students spending time outdoors.

The work would be carried out in a series of three phases according to the architects, with the new accommodation block set to be constructed first.

Oxford Mail:

A planning noticed outside Frewin Quad.

The refurbishment work at Frewin Hall would then take place, finally followed by work on the gardens and lawn areas.

The three existing car parking spaces at the quad would be kept, and more than 20 new cycling spaces would be added to accommodate for the new students.

Local authorities, utilities providers and residents are currently being asked to give their comments on the plans as part of a public consultation.

The planning application can be viewed at the Oxford City Council website’s planning page, by searching planning reference 19/02601/FUL.