A PLAN to replace a garage with modern flats in Kidlington is set to be thrown out over worries it looks too different to other buildings nearby.

The former Kings Two Wheel Centre in Oxford Road has been vacant since summer 2017 – and developers want to knock down buildings and put up 10 flats in their place.

Cherwell District Council officers said 10 flats would be too many at a meeting earlier this year, but the plan remains unchanged.

The officers have now urged councillors to reject the plan, slamming the new buildings’ design as ‘rather uninspiring’.

They also warned the buildings could create a possible ‘tunnelling effect’ on the pavement of Oxford Road. Some residents said they fear it might make people walking along it feel unsafe.

In Cherwell council papers, it is stated: “Officers advised that they could not support the application due to the impact it would have on the character and the appearance of the area.

“It was stated that the development did not engage with Oxford Road in terms of its siting, form and appearance and that it appeared as a standalone development that does not reinforce local distinctiveness.

“There were other concerns raised with the proposal including, but not limited to, the building being rather uninspiring.”

Two residents’ comments received regarding the potential new development have been negative. They said it would have been of ‘inappropriate scale’ for the size and location of the site. Others said it could ‘encourage vandalism and [cause] safety issues’ if it was built.

Four other people’s letters have been received and ‘request clarification on certain matters’.

Another negative comment included the concern that the new building would have an ‘overbearing’ impact on nearby Kidlington Garage, in Bicester Road.

The new buildings would be built from grey fibre cement cladding, buff brick, ashlar Cotswold stone and ‘self-coloured’ render.

The Kings Two Wheel Centre left its former building in summer 2017 for another building in Langford Lane, also in Kidlington.

One of the new buildings, a northern group of apartments, will accommodate six two-bedroom flats served by a single entrance and staircase.

A southern part of the building would accommodate two two-bedroom flats and two one-bedroom flats, served again by another single entrance and a staircase.

Kidlington Parish Council submitted no comments about the development. Other key groups that the district council must ask about the project have said they have no concerns.

Oxfordshire County Council’s highways department have no objections, but have said that it would want a £3,600 contribution to pay for double yellow lines and bus stop clearways near the site.

But Cherwell council’s waste and recycling departments said developers needed to show there is room for recycling and rubbish.

A decision on the plan will be made at a meeting tomorrow.