Oxford City Council has upheld its decision to sell a city-centre property to St Peter’s College after councillors raised concerns about consultation with businesses occupying the building.
The council’s special Scrutiny Committee considered the disposal of 11 New Road on Wednesday, 30 September, following a call-in by Green councillors.
The committee ultimately supported the Cabinet’s decision to sell the property to the college, which plans to expand student accommodation at the site from six to 24 bedrooms, subject to planning permission.
The building, close to the Westgate shopping centre, currently includes ground-floor premises occupied by Castle News and Classy Barbers. A nail salon occupies the first floor, while St Peter’s College already leases accommodation on the upper floor.
Under the college’s proposals, the first floor would be converted to student accommodation and the building extended, creating 24 student rooms across the property. The planning application, reference 26/01994/FUL, remains under consideration by the council, with no decision yet issued.
Concerns over consultation
Sushila Dhall, the Green councillor who led the call-in and represents the area, said she was concerned that the businesses had learned about the proposed sale through the media rather than directly from their landlord.
“I thought that was poor, poor behaviour, unkind, unfair and frightening,” she told the committee.
She said business owners had had “no chance to make any representations” about what the sale could mean for them.
Councillor Dhall also raised concerns about the loss of independent businesses in the Carfax and Jericho area and called for secure tenancies for Castle News and Classy Barbers.
The council’s head of corporate assets, Emma Gubbins, said she had sympathy for the tenants but explained that the authority had not contacted them earlier because the disposal had not yet been confirmed by Cabinet.
She also said some information circulating about the implications of the sale was inaccurate.
Ms Gubbins told councillors that the ground-floor tenants would have security under their leases. She said a five-year lease had also been offered to a business currently occupying the property under a tenancy-at-will arrangement.
Council defends property disposal
The council’s finance chief, Ed Turner, told the committee that much of the financial information relating to the proposed sale remained confidential.
He said the council had a significant commercial property portfolio generating about £13 million a year and that reducing its commercial holdings could have consequences for services.
The portfolio was “under review”, he said, adding that there were circumstances in which disposal could make sense, including where a property required significant investment or an offer was received.
The sale of 11 New Road was approved by the council’s Cabinet on 16 September. The property currently generates rental income for the council, while the financial terms of the proposed transaction remain confidential.
Councillor Simon Ottino, the Labour vice-chair of the Scrutiny Committee, said the committee’s decision was based on the confidential report, the potential benefits of the sale to the council and assurances that the ground-floor tenants had “absolute security”.
Councillor Max Morris, a Green member of the committee, noted that University of Oxford colleges already own substantial amounts of property in the city centre and argued that this should be relevant when considering consultation.
The committee nevertheless voted to support the Cabinet decision.
It recommended that council officers contact the affected businesses “as quickly as possible” to explain the outcome and its implications.
Planning decision still to come
The scrutiny decision does not give St Peter’s College permission to redevelop the building.
The college’s planning application proposes changing the first floor from a nail salon to eight student bedrooms, creating further accommodation through a new roof and a three-storey extension, and enlarging the basement.
The college says it intends to retain Castle News and Classy Barbers on the ground floor while increasing student accommodation at the property from six to 24 rooms.
The planning application remains a separate matter from the property sale and is still awaiting a decision from Oxford City Council.
Reporting contribution by Isabella Harris, Local Democracy Reporter (LDR) for Oxfordshire, covering local politics, council meetings and planning decisions across six councils in the county.
