A ROW between Oxford colleges is looming over a scheme to build 349 student rooms next to a historic cemetery.

The proposal for three blocks on the site south of Manor Place, close to Holywell Cemetery, has been put forward by Merton College and McClaren Property. But it faces criticism from St Catherine’s College, Magdalen College, Oxford Preservation Trust and Oxford Civic Society, with more than 40 objections also made by the public.

The land falls within the protected Central Conservation Area.

And there are concerns about the proposed four-storey blocks over their scale, proximity to several listed buildings, potential flood risk and impact on the cemetery, which houses the remains of dons and author Kenneth Grahame.

Documents lodged with the city council said the scheme would “deliver a significant number of homes to meet the need for student accommodation” in the city, with only “minor adverse effects” on surrounding heritage assets. They include the Grade II-listed Bodleian Law Library to the north, Grade I-listed St Catherine’s College to the east, Magdalen College’s Grade II-listed boundary wall and Deer Park to the south, as well as the Grade I-listed St Cross Church and Grade II-listed former St Cross School buildings to the west.

But James Bennett, home bursar of St Catherine’s College, said: “We have grave concerns as to the impact on the setting of our buildings and registered garden.”

He said key concerns were the height, scale and massing of the proposed buildings, their possible effects on the flood plain and issues such as noise and light pollution that could be created.

Magdalen College home bursar Mark Blandford-Baker said: “The sheer size and scale of the buildings is too big.”

Both colleges stressed they did not object to the principle of student accommodation.

Oxford Preservation Trust director Debbie Dance said: “There are few sites in Oxford that are in such a sensitive position.

“This site needs something of a much smaller and careful design scale and of the quality of surrounding buildings.”

Oxford Civic Society chairman Peter Thompson said the group will meet the developer and Merton College early in August before formally submitting comments.

But in an assessment made of the scheme last year, the society warned the blocks would be “most overbearing and destructive of the character of the Holywell cemetery”.

The planning application submitted to the city council said there was extensive consultation with the local authority, as well as the Oxford Design Review Panel.

The design panel was formed after student accommodation blocks given the go-ahead at Castle Mill became the subject of a long campaign over their impact on views of the city from Port Meadow.

A spokesman for developer McLaren Property added: “We have been in dialogue with the Environment Agency regarding flooding and they are satisfied with our modelling.

“We also understand there are concerns about the scale of the development, but there is a need to balance this with the need for student accommodation, particularly in highly accessible sites.”