Cinema replacement design 'ugly' - councillor

Mr Haywood said the new deigns would not fit with Oxford’s architectural heritage

Plans for a new city centre aparthotel, which would replace a cinema, are “ugly”, a councillor has said.

Oxford City Council approved a £37m scheme in July 2023 which would turn the top floors of the building of the former Odeon in Oxford's George Street into hotel apartments and a cultural space managed by Makespace Oxford.

The proposed design has been submitted to the council after applicant Marick Real Estate Limited said it had undergone "extensive" consultations.

County councillor Damian Haywood said planners had chosen "the bland, unexciting, nondescript option" instead of "keeping with Oxford’s architectural heritage".

Five floors of the George Street building in Oxford would contain hotel apartments under the plans

The plans would see an aparthotel featuring about 145 rooms and a reception on the ground floor, including a bar and a café.

“Redeveloping the Odeon site presents a valuable opportunity to create an inviting gateway into Gloucester Green from George Street, extending to the bus station and Gloucester Street beyond," Marick Real Estate Limited said in the planning paper.

The document also said the community space would be available "at affordable rates" and the activities hosted there would promote inclusivity.

But Mr Haywood, who represents the Iffley Fields & St Mary’s division, said the design was "very disappointing".

“That’s pretty ugly,” he commented on a public social media post.

Councillor Susanna Pressel, who represents the Jericho & Osney division, said she knew residents were "delighted" at the prospect of getting a public space.

“They feel very hard done by because this is the only part of the city with no community centre," she said.

She added that if the city council approved the plans it was "essential" that residents were involved with running the new space and that she had helped set up Central Oxford Residents’ Association.

A planning paper said redeveloping the site "presents a valuable opportunity to create an inviting gateway into Gloucester Green from George Street"