Universities face ban after breaching student housing limits

Universities in Oxford have breached a cap on students living in private rented homes that may stop them moving to new multimillion campus developments. Oxford and Oxford Brookes universities agreed to limit student numbers living outside halls of residence to 3,000 each for the current academic year. However, the latest survey by Oxford City Council found Oxford has 3,251 students living off campus and Oxford Brookes has 3,611. Under a planning agreement, the council can stop the universities opening new campus teaching and administration blocks unless the number of students living in private homes is brought below 3,000 each. Oxford University plans to move on to the new Radcliffe Observatory campus in September, while Oxford Brookes is opening a campus at Headington next year. City council deputy leader Ed Turner said: “The universities have been clear about the policies and acknowledged the reasons for them all along, so they have got to find a way of ensuring that they meet the requirements.” Asked whether the council would stop the universities moving into their new developments, Mr Turner said: “There is not a lot of point in us having said that if we don’t mean that. “The council means it, otherwise it would be a waste of time. “But I don’t think it will come to that because the universities will recognise the importance of meeting the requirements.” Oxford University reckons their student accommodation problem will shortly be resolved as new halls are due to open this year. Oxford Brookes anticipates meeting the limit by September 2013. The student head count was prompted by local residents groups protesting against the building of more student accommodation in the city. The group carried out a private survey and pressured the council to check their figures with the universities, who the claim had massaged the numbers.

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Siobhan Smith

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