WORK is now well under way to provide stylish student accommodation on the site of what was once one of Oxford’s cheapest car parks.

Until April last year residents were able to save money by paying only £8 to park all day at the Osney Lane car park.

Now Winvic Construction staff are working on a 515- bedroom development for student accommodation provider Student Castle.

This forms the first phase of the Oxpens scheme, with further residential and commercial development planned separately by Oxford City Council and Nuffield College.

A development partner for the £200m pound Oxpens scheme featuring new offices and homes has not yet been announced.

Mark Jones, Winvic’s director, said earlier: “Student Castle is another complex scheme that requires the skills we have in abundance, which can be added to Winvic’s ever growing list of multi-room projects.”

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The accommodation, close to the railway station, will feature student flats, one bed and two-bedroom studios and is expected to be completed by the summer of 2020.

Buildings in the three main blocks will range from five to six storeys and will also house a gym, games area, lounge, private meeting rooms, roof terraces and a store for 290 bikes.

Inspiration for the external design has been taken from Oxford’s rich medieval history and its famous college quadrangles, and will feature courtyards, gardens, cloisters and colonnades. Four storeys on the north side of block A will be cantilevered and the development’s façade will be created from glass reinforced concrete panels.

There are other student castle developments in Bristol, Cardiff and York.