A BLOCK of 48 flats could come to Bicester as plans to demolish the former Bicester Magistrates’ Court to build apartments have been submitted.

Residents had feared the court at Waverly House on Queens Avenue would be turned into homes, especially when a consultation was held in June to gather views.

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Now, a planning application has been sent to Cherwell District Council outlining the proposals by GG Oxford Investments Limited.

The company wants to knock down Waverly House and build a three-storey block of 48 apartments with balconies, comprising 13 one-bedrooms and 35 two-bedrooms.

But the site would have no car parking spaces for residents, instead it will be a ‘low-car’ development with just eight parking spaces for visitors. Two will contain electric vehicle chargers and two are disabled parking spaces.

The majority of people who responded to the consultation (68 per cent) supported a low/no car development while 82 per cent preferred the building to be three-storey, rather than four-storey.

It would also have two cycle storage areas and enough room for each flat to have a bike.

But out of the 23 people who responded to the consultation, 52 per cent did not support the appearance and design of the proposal.

When asked in the consultation what residents thought about the design, one person responded: "The present building is a decent quality interwar construction. Your project needs to meet a comparable quality threshold.

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"This is a reasonably attractive part of the town and any new development needs to blend in."

Waverly House has been empty since its closure in 2016, with Homes England taking ownership of the property.

It was up for sale and calls had been made from residents and Bicester councillor Les Sibley for it to be converted into a multi-use community venue.

Bicester resident Alan Bickley said: "If Waverley House needs to be demolished, then so be it, but why oh why does it have to make way for yet more housing when Bicester has a complete lack of civic amenities?"

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Some respondents noted this in the consultation, to which CCG said: “The site is located within walking distance of a significant number of services and facilities. The site could also contribute to the viability of existing services.

“Whilst we are aware that some have suggested that the site should be converted to a community use, such as a museum, the site was on sale for a significant amount of time without being taken over for this use.”

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