Schwarzman Centre: Oxford concert hall given planning permission

Construction will begin in October, with it due to open in 2025

A planning application for a major concert hall has been approved.

Construction on Oxford University's £150m Stephen A Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities will begin in October, and it is due to open in 2025.

A wide range of music is expected to be showcased at the 500-seat venue, with performances open to the wider public.

Prof William Whyte described it as "one of the most exciting building projects the university has ever undertaken".

Speaking on behalf of the applicant to Oxford City Council's planning committee, he added: "I say that not lightly, as a historian of the university and university buildings."

Performances will be open to the wider public at the 500-seat concert hall, the university says

It has been called a "modern interpretation of a traditional Oxford building"

In addition to the main 500-seat concert space, the building will have a 250-seat performance venue, and a 100-seat area for experimental performances.

The university is home to several music venues, including the Sheldonian Theatre, the Jacqueline du Pre Music Building and the Holywell Music Room, but the new hall is expected to offer more modern facilities.

Prof Whyte told the meeting: "For the first time in its 800-year existence, this is a building built by the University of Oxford which is intended to be open to the public from the very first.

"Every other building in Oxford was built to exclude... That's why they have big gates to stop you coming into them," he said.

"This is a building that will only work if we can attract people to the performance venues."

He described it as a "modern interpretation of a traditional Oxford building set in an attractive landscape".

The committee approved the new centre unanimously,

Following public consultations the university has said local cultural organisations will be invited to play at the new venue.

It also announced a schools and public engagement centre for local children.

The committee approved the new centre unanimously. It will be built at the university's Radcliffe Observatory Quarter site.

It is being funded by Stephen A Schwarzman, the chairman and CEO of investment firm Blackstone.

The new centre will be built at the university's Radcliffe Observatory Quarter site