Brookes exceed student living quota

Brookes is being forced to review the accommodation available for students as they’ve taken in too many of us.

It has been unveiled that Brookes have 800 more students than it should have living out in the community instead of in student accommodation.

The cap is at 3000, and we’ve exceeded it to 3,800 and we may not get new teaching facilities because of it.

Council leader, Bob Price, said: “Oxford City Council’s Local Plan has a limit of 3,000 students living out in the community, as opposed to student accommodation, and if that cap is breached, the city council can choose not to grant planning permission for new teaching accommodation.

“They have lots of plans for expanding student accommodation. By 2019 they will have another 1,300 student units.”

Ruth Wilkinson, Councillor for Headington described the news that Oxford Brookes was already above its cap “a disappointment”.

She said: “It’s disappointing that the numbers of Brookes students living out is so far over cap.

“Developers are competing to buy properties and land from residents along London Road so they can build more student accommodation blocks.”

Brookes students looking for houses after flying the nest from halls and Brookes taking on more students than they can accomodate seems to be the problem. Popular areas like Headington and Cowley packed with students houses means there seems to be just too many of us.

In response, Oxford Brookes University spokesperson Natalie Gidley said the university “remains committed” to closing the gap.

She said: “The University recognises it has exceeded the target and coupled with other factors relating to our student residential provision, this has led us to undertake a review of the University’s current portfolio of student accommodation and future needs.

“Since 2010, the number of students seeking accommodation in Oxford during their studies has risen from 64 per cent to 70 per cent.

“This shift is likely to be due to a decline in postgraduate students and students recruited from Oxfordshire, who often choose to live at home.”

We might all end up living in Wheatley, ey?