City of Oxford College wins planning battle over car park

The college’s car park in Oxpens Road has been the subject of an ongoing dispute with Oxford City Council over whether the college could continue offering a cheap parking option for visitors to the city on weekends and outside of term time.

Since 2012, parking had been offered at the city centre college for just £6 per day – significantly cheaper than, for example, the council’s Oxpens car park opposite which costs £7 for up to three hours parking during the day.

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But the college was told to stop offering the 91 spaces to shoppers in 2024 when the council said the use of the site went against one of the planning conditions issued to the car park in 1999.

The council refused two certificate of lawful development applications from Activate Learning, which runs the City of Oxford College, the first of which was also dismissed at appeal by a planning inspector.

City of Oxford College car park (Image: Andy Ffrench)

This latest application constitutes another certificate of lawful development, which was proven to the council’s officers that the car park had been continuously used by drivers not associated with the school at weekends and outside term time for more than 10 years.

Including staff time sheets, parking income breakdowns, signage details and invoices, social media marketing, newspaper articles, declarations from car park users and other items, the evidence convinced the city’s planning officers that the use was established.

The council’s officers stated: “The substantial evidence submitted by the applicant since December 2011 in support of the application does not contradict the council’s own enforcement records.

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“As such it is considered that car parking, as shown within the red line plan, for the City of Oxford College, has been in use as a sui generis part-time paid for public car park on weekends and out of term-time for a period of at least 10 years prior to the submission of this application.

“In the absence of any conflicting evidence, and on the balance of probabilities, it is considered that the lawful use of the highlighted area as a sui generis part-time paid for public car park on weekends and out of term-time can be certified by the council.”

This means the college can continue offering its 91 spaces for parking to shoppers at the weekend, and the council cannot take any steps to prevent it because the time for enforcement action has expired.