National property consultancy Carter Jonas has secured planning consent on behalf of St John’s College, Oxford to replace and extend the provision of student accommodation in St John Street in the centre of the city.
Grade II College-owned buildings on St John Street will be refurbished to provide improved student accommodation and a new, contemporary single storey common room added to the rear of the terraced properties. External spaces to the rear of St John Street will be relandscaped to create improved external spaces and communal amenities for the students.
In common with other Oxford University colleges, St John’s is increasingly under pressure to find suitable accommodation for its growing number of graduate students. This planning consent forms part of a wider review by the College to optimise the use of its existing sites, especially those close to the city centre.
In doing so, it will accommodate considerably more students than previously within its own property estate and contribute positively to Oxford City Council’s aim to see as many of Oxford’s student population as possible housed within College-provided accommodation.
Work has already begun on site. Award-winning contractor Beard is upgrading the external fabric to significantly reduce heat loss and is installing high performance woodfibre insulation to the internal face of the building. This will greatly increase energy performance at the same time as allowing traditional stonework to breathe. The works also include replacing gas boiler systems with air source heat pumps to provide heating and hot water.
To improve air tightness and soundproofing, Beard is upgrading the windows with sensitively designed, secondary internal glazing. The design team has carefully pursued this approach to minimise the impact on the external appearance of the listed buildings. Other special historic features, including existing floors and stonework, will also be protected.
Huw Mellor, Partner at Carter Jonas in Oxford commented, ‘We are extremely pleased that once again we have worked with an Oxford University college to increase the provision of high-quality student accommodation and make considerable improvements to a key city centre site which retain its unique historic character while also making the building more sustainable.’
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