19/01846/FUL

105 London Road Headington Oxford

27 August 2019

 Erection of 3 x 1 bed apartments at second floor level. Provision of bin and cycle stores. 

We support in principle the addition of residential units to existing retail and commercial properties. However, while the plans for the internal layout of the three flats are very acceptable, we have reservations about the elevations of this particular application. It could be argued that an extension of this type should be aggressively different from the building on which it sits.  We disagree.  The very tall windows of the new storey, mostly grouped in clusters of three, do not harmonise well with the existing windows and arguably tend to make the new structure seem overbearing.  This applies particularly to the Old High Street elevation. As this building occupies a very prominent position in the centre of Headington, Oxford Civic Society suggests that consideration should be given to addressing these points in a revised design.