Canterbury Works up for sale and redevelopment

White Commercial Surveyors have announced that Canterbury Works on Glanville Road in Oxford is up for sale with redevelopment opportunity for a new consented Student Housing Scheme.

Canterbury Works is a site with redevelopment opportunity comprising a two-storey building with an approximate floor area of 05 sqm (0.05ha) with a depth of approximately 14m and a street frontage of around 36m.

Planning consent has been granted for the redevelopment of the existing two-storey furniture showroom, providing a mixed-use commercial use on the ground floor and 12 x one-bed student accommodation on the first and second floors.

The premises currently used as a carpet and furniture showroom will be sold with full vacant possession. The site does not fall within a designated conversation area, nor does it contain any listed buildings or structures, nor is it located within an area of known flood risk.

The site and buildings are available on a freehold basis, and offers are to be invited in excess of £1,000,000 – subject to contract.

Canterbury Works is located off the Cowley Road in Oxford, adjoining existing quality Student Housing provided by A2 Dominion and Host developers. The site is only half a mile from the Cowley shopping area and 10 minutes from the centre of Oxford with easy access to the Oxford ring road and the London to Birmingham M40.

The Cambridge Centre’s for Housing & Planning research of student housing demand and supply for Oxford City Council confirms that a total of 13,467 student rooms would have to be built if the current and potential future ‘shortfalls’ in student accommodation are to be met.

This would accommodate all of the students who are not currently housed by their educational institution and living in existing family housing shared with other students, allowing for the return of all shared houses presently occupied by students to the open market.

If purpose-built student accommodation is not available to meet future growth, then by 2026, an extra 754 existing houses would have to be converted into shared student accommodation to meet demand, leading to a total number of shared houses of approximately 2,432.

Chris White of White Commercial Surveyors said, “This site is situated in an excellent location for this type of development close to Oxford City and already adjoining some quality student developments. We are expecting a good deal of interest in the site from both developers, investors and the colleges. The site also lends itself for self-contained accommodation and specific provision for lecturers and other university and college staff.”