Iffley Road plans approved

University 05 Nov 10 The University's plans to redevelop the Iffley Road sports complex have received approval from Oxford City Council. Under the plans, the existing sports centre will be redeveloped to provide new state of the art facilities catering for the University's 84 sports clubs. The existing grandstand will be demolished and a new lower grandstand building will be constructed to meet the growing needs of cricket and projectile sports. Jon Roycroft, Oxford University's Director of Sport, said: 'We are delighted that the City Council have approved our plans to improve and expand Oxford University's sports complex. These much needed facilities will be used by University and college sports teams, the wider university and importantly the local community. 'At the moment our athletes are jostling for space, so this will enable them to train more regularly in and around their academic studies, as well as expanding access to a wide range of indoor sports.' Seventy five percent of the 20,000 students at Oxford are estimated to take part in sports and there is growing community interest in the facilities on the Iffley Road site. The complex has been designed by Faulkner Brown Architects, whose recent work includes the Surrey Sports Park in Guildford and the new Dubai Aquatics Centre.