Revamp plans for historic Oxford building set for nod

Plans to breathe new life into a grade II-listed Oxford building used by scholars, as well as being hired out for events and weddings, look set to get the green light.Rhodes House, on Park Road and South Parks Road, was built in the 1920s.It is occupied by The Rhodes Trust, an educational charity that administers scholarships to support students, mainly postgraduates, at the University of Oxford. While students do not reside there, it is used as a central hub for studying, support and events, as well as external events such as weddings and seasonal venue hire.There are currently nine bedrooms for visitors.Under the plans, Rhodes House would be revamped and remodelled to provide 40 en-suite bedrooms, improved office accommodation, small and medium sized meeting spaces and a new basement area with the capacity for 300 people.The lodge buildings, garden works buildings and hard landscaping would be demolished.Replacement lodges would be erected, along with a single-storey garden room. Underground accommodation and a sunken courtyard would also be created within the grounds, as well as a single-storey glazed pavilion to house teaching areas and office space for up to 70 staff.The application has been recommended for approval ahead of an Oxford City Council planning meeting on 11 August 2020.Officers said the scheme would “provide for an identified need for Rhodes Trust enabling optimum viable use of the listed building into the future”.