New owner of ‘inefficient’ student scheme plans more bedrooms

The new owners of a planned student accommodation scheme in Nottingham city centre have submitted plans to increase the number of bed spaces in the scheme from 356 to 426.

Crown Student Living, which bought the site of the former Gala Bingo hall in May last year, also wants to change the front elevation of the proposed scheme, the courtyard to the north of the building and “minor points of facade detailing”.

The company says the plans to increase the number of tenants housed in the schem won’t come at the expense of amenity space.

A statement from Westworks, which was appointed by Crown Student Living to appraise the approved plans for the development, said: “During this review, it became apparent that the approved scheme was inefficient and not in line with what the current student market is looking for. Furthermore, we have established that the approved building, if constructed in its approved mass has buildability issues in terms of its proximity to the adjoining boundaries.

“We have therefore, improved the scheme in terms of its student offering, which has been driven by market demand and also reduced parts of the building mass along the southern and northern boundary. These changes are required to build the building and overcome the aforementioned issues.”

The former owner of the site, BSP Holdings, was only given the go-ahead for the scheme after a lengthy debate by Nottingham City Council’s planning committee last January.

BSP Holdings had revised down the original plans for the site, which included 396 bedrooms. The design had also been altered so not to block a sightline to a nearby mosque.

Crown Student Living is currently building Crown Place in Leicester, a 650-bed student scheme.