College’s designs sent in to council

2:00pm Monday 21st May 2012 in Oxford

Cotuit Hall Cotuit Hall

DETAILS of a controversial 400-student international academy in Headington have been revealed.

Swiss education firm EF is hoping to redevelop Cotuit Hall, in Pullens Lane, so it can be used for accommodation and teaching.

The plans have now been submitted to Oxford City Council.

EF bought the 19th century building last year from Oxford Brookes University, which had used it as a hall of residence.

Many nearby residents are concerned about the size of the proposed college.

Swee Roddie, who lives in Rolfe Place, said: “I am objecting, not to the principle of the development, but to its scale.

“Putting 408 pupils on to a site which originally held 120 leads to unacceptable congestion.

“The inevitable rise in noise levels would undoubtedly shatter an area known for its peace and quiet.”

Although Cotuit Hall, which was built in 1892, is not listed, it is in the Headington Hill Conservation Area.

While the original building will be retained, EF wants to put up three new three storey buildings in the grounds.

The buildings would be placed around a central pedestrian “street” running from one end of the site to the other. None of the new buildings will be higher than the existing ones.

The buildings will house 300 pupils and 13 live-in staff, as well as teaching space.

Another 100 pupils will live off the site in private rented accommodation in Oxford.

While at the academy they will be studying for A-Levels and the International Baccalaureate.

Project manager Anna Ireland said: “We fully appreciate the location of our school in Pullens Lane.

“As Pullens Lane is a private road, we fully recognise that an important part of our students’ education happens outside the classroom.

“We encourage our student body to keep their community clean with regular litter-picking, not only in the lane but also in the wider Headington area.”

Ms Ireland added: “We are not a speculative developer and we take the utmost care and interest in the design of our schools.”

A date has yet to be set for city councillors to decide whether or not to approve the project.

Comments(11)

Darkforbid says...
4:05pm Mon 21 May 12

"Another 100 pupils will live off the
site in private rented
accommodation in Oxford."

Plan rejected: Oxford's housing shortage

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LORD PETER MACVEY 0X2 6EG says...
5:15pm Mon 21 May 12

Darkforbid wrote:
"Another 100 pupils will live off the site in private rented accommodation in Oxford." Plan rejected: Oxford's housing shortage
Exactly. No more students taking local peoples housing, and pushing up rents.

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Anna Ireland says...
6:56pm Mon 21 May 12

EF International Academy students have the option to live on-campus or to live with local host families, and not in private rented accommodation, and therefore do not impact on the local housing shortage. Local families can boost their income by welcoming a student into their home.

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LORD PETER MACVEY 0X2 6EG says...
7:41pm Mon 21 May 12

Anna Ireland wrote:
EF International Academy students have the option to live on-campus or to live with local host families, and not in private rented accommodation, and therefore do not impact on the local housing shortage. Local families can boost their income by welcoming a student into their home.
Perhaps you should tell the OM that, because the story tells us that they will be taking over desperately needed local peoples homes. P.S. The host families do increase their income until the Tax Man finds out, because only a tiny% of them declare it.

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Andrew:Oxford says...
9:29pm Mon 21 May 12

Anna Ireland wrote:
EF International Academy students have the option to live on-campus or to live with local host families, and not in private rented accommodation, and therefore do not impact on the local housing shortage. Local families can boost their income by welcoming a student into their home.
So there will possibly be 100 eighteen year old students registered at addresses throughout East Oxford...

Won't be long after it opens when Siestke* or Betty will be demanding that the council do something about the increase in students living off-site.



*Just as a reminder, in case anyone had forgotten, 97% of people in the relevant East Oxford ward chose not to vote for Dr B at the May local elections.

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Myron Blatz says...
9:06am Tue 22 May 12

Let's cut al the c***p - students and 'eductation' are being ever-increasingly based here in Oxford for only two reasons - one, to make industrial-scale profits from 'factory farming' students (of all ages) and the other? The other is branding their 'products' with the world-famous name of Oxford ....not only as in 'Oxford University' but also 'Inspector Morose' fame. At the end of every lond day, it is ALL about making money - and as with many other businesses in Oxford, most of the profits don't stay circulating wealth-generation in Oxford, but head straight back to where the schools and businesses are based - in this particular case, Switzerland. So, giving part-time teaching jobs to people in Oxford, whilst giving all the profits back to France, Switzerland, etc - and in the case of Cowley's MINI plant, Germany. Oddly, none of these foreign companies seem attracted to places in the UK which desperately need the influx of new industries such as education, and where there are often whole estates and town areas with thousands of empty (and VERY cheap) homes just begging to become student accommodation, and in places where nobody would complain about 'r***y students' and the way they can destroy established communities. Maybe the only fair and reasonable way to enable students (and their money-grabbing colleges and language schools) to become more included within communities, would be to move student accommodation to Albania ......

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Myron Blatz says...
9:06am Tue 22 May 12

Let's cut al the c***p - students and 'eductation' are being ever-increasingly based here in Oxford for only two reasons - one, to make industrial-scale profits from 'factory farming' students (of all ages) and the other? The other is branding their 'products' with the world-famous name of Oxford ....not only as in 'Oxford University' but also 'Inspector Morose' fame. At the end of every lond day, it is ALL about making money - and as with many other businesses in Oxford, most of the profits don't stay circulating wealth-generation in Oxford, but head straight back to where the schools and businesses are based - in this particular case, Switzerland. So, giving part-time teaching jobs to people in Oxford, whilst giving all the profits back to France, Switzerland, etc - and in the case of Cowley's MINI plant, Germany. Oddly, none of these foreign companies seem attracted to places in the UK which desperately need the influx of new industries such as education, and where there are often whole estates and town areas with thousands of empty (and VERY cheap) homes just begging to become student accommodation, and in places where nobody would complain about 'r***y students' and the way they can destroy established communities. Maybe the only fair and reasonable way to enable students (and their money-grabbing colleges and language schools) to become more included within communities, would be to move student accommodation to Albania ......

Report this post »

Myron Blatz says...
9:06am Tue 22 May 12

Let's cut al the c***p - students and 'eductation' are being ever-increasingly based here in Oxford for only two reasons - one, to make industrial-scale profits from 'factory farming' students (of all ages) and the other? The other is branding their 'products' with the world-famous name of Oxford ....not only as in 'Oxford University' but also 'Inspector Morose' fame. At the end of every lond day, it is ALL about making money - and as with many other businesses in Oxford, most of the profits don't stay circulating wealth-generation in Oxford, but head straight back to where the schools and businesses are based - in this particular case, Switzerland. So, giving part-time teaching jobs to people in Oxford, whilst giving all the profits back to France, Switzerland, etc - and in the case of Cowley's MINI plant, Germany. Oddly, none of these foreign companies seem attracted to places in the UK which desperately need the influx of new industries such as education, and where there are often whole estates and town areas with thousands of empty (and VERY cheap) homes just begging to become student accommodation, and in places where nobody would complain about 'r***y students' and the way they can destroy established communities. Maybe the only fair and reasonable way to enable students (and their money-grabbing colleges and language schools) to become more included within communities, would be to move student accommodation to Albania ......

Report this post »

bill parry says...
11:49am Tue 22 May 12

Cotuit Hall is indeed in the Headington Hill Conservation Area. EF's planning application calls for major construction activity spread over a five year period. Further, it states that the tree screening will take up to ten years effectively to screen the buildings from adjacent properties. This makes a mockery of the phrase "Conservation Area".

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Andrew:Oxford says...
6:16pm Tue 22 May 12

bill parry wrote:
Cotuit Hall is indeed in the Headington Hill Conservation Area. EF's planning application calls for major construction activity spread over a five year period. Further, it states that the tree screening will take up to ten years effectively to screen the buildings from adjacent properties. This makes a mockery of the phrase "Conservation Area".
Not really. "Conservation Area" isn't about preserving as-is forever more.

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Royalewithcheese says...
2:55pm Fri 25 May 12

Bit ironic considering the Headington Hill Residents Association was complaining so much about Oxford Brookes being in there. Hope they are happy with having four times as many students as their new neighbours. Also I'm sure that educational establishments do bring a lot of business into Oxford that would disappear if they weren't there. Not only that but a lot of local people are employed by them so don't really see the logic of getting rid of major employers in Oxford during a recession. The housing shortage has also been addressed by the council requiring student halls of residence to be built to get people out of private accommodation (like this one).

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