Oxford Brookes University Needs to Build More Accommodation

After a surge in demand for places at Oxford Brookes University, officials have pledged to review their student accommodation portfolio to make sure they stay within Oxford City Council Guidelines.

Under council rulings the university can have a maximum of 3,000 of its students living in the wider Oxford community, meaning the university has a responsibility to house the rest. In recent years though student numbers have soared, leading to almost 4,000 students currently living in private housing in the city.

Bob Price, a leader in the council said the following, "Oxford City Council’s Local Plan has a limit of 3,000 students living out in the community, as opposed to student accommodation, and if that cap is breached, the city council can choose not to grant planning permission for new teaching accommodation. Brookes are at about 3,800, but this doesn’t affect (the cap) at all. A new engineering department would be affected, but they have lots of plans for expanding student accommodation. By 2019 they will have another 1,300 student units."

Oxford Brookes University spokesman Natalie Gidley has reassured the council that the university 'remains committed' to sticking within its guidelines and doing its bit for student accommodation in the city.