Our Plan

We are seeking, where possible, to increase student accommodation across the site to better match our student numbers. Our long-term site master plan will address this over the next 10–20 years.

The immediate and most pressing priority is the Bevington Road houses. Due to their location in the North Oxford Conservation Area, the City Council Planning Department has been clear that the houses must be preserved. So, we need to dramatically increase the quality of provision through creative regeneration, which will also enable us to increase the number of rooms available from 70 to 82, of which 42 will be en-suite, with no more than 4 students sharing a bathroom in the other rooms.

Our architects have carefully looked at each house in turn and, following consultation with current students and staff, we are confident that their plans will sympathetically transform the accommodation, so that it provides a suitably 21st century environment and facilities. This extensive refurbishment of the buildings represents an economically and ecologically sensitive approach and the College has a clear responsibility to invest in these beautiful buildings, to ensure their longevity and give them a new lease of life.

Fit for the long-term

The refurbishment and regeneration will contribute to College’s overall goals of becoming more sustainable, leaving St Anne’s better than how we found it. Sustainable energy solutions in the houses will include:

  • All-new Energy Centre with an air source heat pump, servicing all ten houses and using low carbon heating technology.
  • Elimination of fossil fuels: no gas boilers.
  • All windows replaced with high performance double glazing.
  • Wall and roof insulation.
  • Efficient appliances, including induction hobs.

The houses will also incorporate bespoke landscaping, planting and biodiversity

  • Greatly improved front gardens with restored historical features and new planting.
  • Accessible route on the College side of the houses for those with disabilities and an improved Bevington Road Garden area, now fulfilling the function of an additional quad.
  • Biodiversity to help contribute to the ecological environment and to our sustainable goals.

Do we really need to do this?

Our Bevington Road houses are in desperate need of regeneration.

  • The interiors have become dated, and the kitchens and bathrooms are inadequate.
  • The buildings are currently entered through infills between the buildings, the relics of coal sheds and similar elements, which are in poor repair and poorly lit.
  • The front gardens present a landscape on Bevington Road that does not contribute to the experience of the street, the appearance of the North Oxford Victorian Suburb Conservation Area, or the image of the College.

In a world recovering from COVID-19, these buildings are not fit for purpose for current or future generations. Eight students sharing one main bathroom and shower is not conducive to modern living and is not the experience we want to offer St Anne’s students or promote to paying guests.

Creating a home away from home

getting to know and learn from each others’ differences is invaluable

We want to be able to offer world class facilities that will attract students from around the world by being able to demonstrate that the accommodation at St Anne’s offers a family and community feel.

The unique setup of the Bevington Road houses means we bring together ‘households’ of eight students, from every type of educational, national and socio-economic background and studying a diverse range of subjects, to live with each other. Getting to know and learn from each others’ differences is an invaluable part of the College experience and excellent preparation for post-University life and careers. The friendships formed often last for life.

In the future, the refurbishment will enable us to bring households of international students together in vacations, when they can’t return home for whatever reason, to create an international haven for our students from around the world. This will give them the support, community feel and sense of home that they need. Providing world class accommodation on site and nurturing our community in one place with equal access to all the College’s amenities will help us attract the brightest minds and talents from all backgrounds.

History

Originally built as homes for families, the Bevington Road houses have been homes for St Anne’s students for nearly 70 years.

In their regeneration we must acknowledge that they are not only bricks and mortar of architectural importance but, most importantly, contain memories and histories of individuals, families, and a whole community. The Bevington Road experience is one of the things that makes St Anne’s an Oxford ‘home’ and enables students to settle and flourish, housemates often becoming friends for life.

The Bevington Road experience is one of the things that makes St Anne’s an Oxford ‘home’

Project timeline