Applicant Marick Real Estate can proceed with the plan to replace the Odeon cinema in George Street. 

The aparthotel will feature around 145 rooms, and these will be built on the upper five storeys of the building, with a reception on the ground floor, including a bar and café.

Aparthotel rooms are different from those at a normal hotel as they offer furnished apartments, with an en-suite kitchen featuring a cooker and fridge.

Oxford City Council’s planning committee approved the scheme on Tuesday, October 15, saying the benefits outweighed the harms. 

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CGI of aparthotel plans (Image: Oxford City Council) According to the meeting’s papers, 97 people submitted objections. One of the sticking points is the preservation of the Newbury Abbot Trent relief. 

Despite this, no members of the public spoke at the meeting in objection. 

Planning officer Jennifer Coppack said: “The existing building doesn’t respond appropriately to the site’s location. The new building will improve the public realm.

“The heritage harm is justified by the increase in tourism by the addition of an aparthotel, which would be the first for the city.”

Andrew Heselton, development manager at Marick Real Estate, said: “This scheme will be the first aparthotel in Oxford. It combines the comfort of home with the services of a hotel.

“We look forward to proceeding with the next stage of this.”

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Alex Hollingsworth, the site’s ward councillor, was confident the benefits would outweigh the harm.

He said: “The visual impact is significant and we need to take that seriously. There are however significant benefits. 

“It is the only public square in Oxford so it’s really important. The benefits outweigh the harms.”

Jemima Hunt, St Clement’s ward councillor, had concerns.

She said: “My concern is that we shouldn’t be demolishing buildings. This is a 1930s building. Most buildings built before the 1970s can be retrofitted. 

“It seems again and again we are demolishing buildings that can be retrofitted.”

David Henwood, of the Independent Oxford Alliance, added: “I just don’t think this application ticks all the boxes in the way it sits in the conservation area. I won’t be supporting this.”

Planning officers recommended it for permission.

In their report, they said: “Officers consider that the proposed development would respond appropriately to the site context and Local Plan policies. The proposal would provide enhanced activation, tourist accommodation and community space in the heart of the city.

“The scheme would result in less than substantial harm to the setting of the Central Conservation Area, the setting of the Raleigh Park view cone and a number of listed buildings due to its scale and height.”

The application was permitted with eight votes for, one against and two abstentions.