FRESH calls have been made to knock down the Castle Mill flats in the next 25 years as a consultation on changes to the buildings comes to an end.

Oxford University has proposed changes to reduce the visual harm of the student accommodation in North Oxford, which includes tree planting, a 'mid-tone' colour change and timber cladding.

Campaigners had fought for the top storey to be taken off the flats but its four-year fight finished last year when the university chose a £6m screening option instead.

Now Oxford Preservation Trust has written to Oxford University urging it to commit to taking down the student accommodation within the next few decades and ensure the 'lost views' are regained.

Director Debbie Dance said: "We have written to the University to ask them to commit to take down the buildings after 25 years of occupation, by the end of 2040.

"We also asked them to agree that any subsequent redevelopment on this site be well-designed and high quality, enhancing the setting of Port Meadow and restoring the lost view from the meadows to the spires of Oxford."

She added that the changes were an improvement on the present situation and will be 'less starkly defined' in the city's skyline.

A Save Port Meadow group was formed in 2012 after the flats were built and a study carried out by consultants on behalf of the university in 2014 found the flats harmed views across the city and of St Barnabas Church from Port Meadow.

The group demanded they be reduced in height, but this idea was rejected by the university’s ‘parliament’ – the Congregation – in a landmark vote in 2015.

A £6m screening option was chosen instead and plans submitted earlier this year revealed timber slats, a colour change and climbing vegetation would be used to mitigate the impact on views.

A consultation on the mitigation ended yesterday with residents calling for more drastic changes to be made.

Dr Elizabeth Baigent, who lives near the development, said: "These mitigation proposals represent a good attempt within an inadequate budget to improve the situation and I support them, while regretting the need for them and the fact that they

do not go further.

"But mitigation measures cannot make a silk purse out of a pig's ear."

Andrew McGill, who lives on the Wolvercote side of Port Meadow, said: "This is not enough not quick enough.

"The plans are reflection of the University of Oxford's disregard for the people of Oxford.

"This has been a sorry episode with profound, long-lasting effects on the city and the meadow."

The plans will be decided on by Oxford City Council by the end of May.

Oxford University were asked for comment but had not responded by the time of going to print.