STUDENTS stuck in university accommodation during lockdown were forced to put up with three months of ‘unplanned’ building work.

Oxford and Oxford Brookes university students at the Slade Park student accommodation in Headington, Oxford, complained of ‘non-stop’ drilling and hammering directly outside their rooms and of noisy meetings between management and builders.

According to Oxford University student Michael Migliaccio, work lasted from the beginning of April until the end of June.

Mr Migliaccio said that at the beginning of the government-imposed lockdown, Slade Park residents were given the option to leave should they wish.

He was one of a quarter of those who chose to stay.

But he said: “What we were not told, was that Slade Park would take the opportunity, while many were out, to start huge building work.

“It started from a few contractors being on site for some maintenance, which we were told was essential.

“But the work became more and more extensive.

“As you can imagine, student accommodation is not isolated, so we could hear all the work that was happening all the time.”

The noise was so disruptive that Mr Migliaccio, who was completing his dissertation, was forced to file for three consecutive extensions to his deadline. He said others had to do the same.

The student also revealed that contractors would often have‘gatherings’ outside the four-storey block and once they were even joined by the building’s manager who stayed with them until at least 10pm.

An official complaint by him and other students, who wished to remain anonymous, was sent to the block's management.

The letter read: “Although a number of us students are undergoing lockdown, we still have work and exams to get through, and are dealing with online presentations and meetings.

“The disruption of these gatherings has now become increasingly rude and inconsiderate, even after security has been alerted to it and requested for them to keep it down.

“We are aware that only a small number of us are around, however, we are still paying our rent, and deserve to get the same respect of privacy and security as would be expected during normal circumstances.”

Mr Migliaccio, who is from Sheffield, pays more than £700 a month for his room, which he pointed out could get him a ‘much better deal’ somewhere else in Oxford.

He said it took many emails and phone calls from students to get Slade Park management to even acknowledge their complaints.

ALSO READ: Man arrested after driver dies in fatal early morning crash

A spokesman for CRM Students Limited – the company that owns the student accommodation in Headington – said: “Students were communicated with before the works started, and we have continued to communicate with all affected students while the work was undertaken.

ALSO READ: Rape investigation launched in Oxford after late night incident

Oxford Mail:

“CRM works with our approved contractor who has project managers on site throughout to ensure that the hours of work, and noise levels are all well within local council guidelines.”

They added that all affected residents were also offered alternative rooms to switch to within the building, should they wish.