Year: 2012

Over a hundred members of the local community attended the University of Kent’s recent public exhibition outlining the revised proposals for the development of student accommodation and a conference centre at its Canterbury campus.

The University is currently considering all feedback received on the new proposals but, following comments received, has taken the decision to move forward with the new student accommodation, known as Keynes III.

It will now work towards the submission of a planning application in October for the 780-bed student residence adjacent to Keynes II. This will address the immediate shortfall of student accommodation and meet demand for good quality student accommodation in Canterbury …

View original article

A former post office faces demolition to make way for an eight-storey high block of student flats.

Bournemouth Central Post Office was opened in 1896 but staff moved to WH Smith in 2008. The building stretches from Albert Road to Post Office Road in the town centre. The front section above the new Pizza Express on Post Office Road would be safe from the wrecking ball.

But a developer wants to replace most of the building with commercial units and 109 student flats, which are aimed at mature language students …

View original article

Work has been cleared to start on a new 32-storey student residence block in Vauxhall, south London.

The building, being developed by Downing at 30-60 South Lambeth Road, has been given planning permission by the London Borough of Lambeth.

As well 553 student accommodation units, the tower will also include a 25m swimming pool and leisure facility, open to the public.

Extensive internal and external amenity space will also be provided, including roof and podium terraces …

View original article

A stalled development in Liverpool’s Hope Street has been redesigned in a bid to join the student accommodation gold rush.

Three years ago, Maghull Developments announced plans to redevelop the corner of Hope Street and Myrtle Street with a mixed-use scheme, which included 263 basement car parking spaces.

The plans sparked controversy because the project involved knocking down the historic Josephine Butler House …

View original article

Students have offered to play a part in keeping noise and litter levels down if plans for new accommodation blocks on the site of a former York garage get the go-ahead.

Black Lion Ltd has applied for permission to build 250 student flats on the Lawrence Street site which once housed the Reg Vardy car dealership and Bubbles car wash, but which has more recently been targeted by vandals and occupied by squatters.

The University of York Students’ Union has written to City of York Council planners supporting the proposals but acknowledging concerns about late-night noise and increased litter if the flats are built. It said it would help implement a “night marshals” scheme to keep noise levels down …

View original article

Redevelopment plans could transform a key Cambridge landmark and junction site.

Landowner Pan Albion Group wants to put shops and student accommodation on Mitcham’s Corner, following the demolition of the existing Staples office supplies shop and Lloyds TSB bank.

Neighbours have been invited to consultation events next weekend about the proposals, which emerge a decade after a bid to build a supermarket in the middle of the gyratory collapsed …

View original article

Controversial plans to build student housing above St Clement’s car park have won approval after a planning process spanning years.

Developers Watkin Jones changed its plans for a four-block 140-room student housing development to include a “phased approach” to building work, so the car park would stay open during the project. Some free parking would also be provided during construction.

The latest attempt to get the application past the council’s planning review committee finally succeeded at Oxford Town Hall last night …

View original article

Memories will live on long after a former Nottingham cinema is demolished, according to former film-goers.

The Odeon Cinema, in Angel Row, is being knocked down to make way for student flats and shop units.
​
News of its demise has led people to contact the Post with their memories of the iconic building …

View original article

Worthington Properties unveils plans for two student accommodation schemes in Liverpool that will help transform two areas of Liverpool’s city centre.

Philharmonic Court, situated off Catherine Street, will see Worthington Properties demolish five outdated student blocks. The construction company will then build a contemporary four to six storey accommodation complex, composed of two separate but linked buildings, comprising of 354 student rooms in clusters of four to six bedrooms, with a private courtyard for students.

This project is particularly significant as it will see the retention and refurbishment 21 Georgian terraces that circle Philharmonic Court, bringing them back into use and made available for private ownership. A new pedestrian route linking Caledonia Street to Falkner Street will also be created, reinstating the historic street pattern of the area, and creating a green edge around the buildings …

View original article

Barclays Infrastructure Funds Management (BIFM) has entered exclusive talks with a Chinese investment firm, regarding the sale of its remaining stake in student housing company UPP.

Citing sources close to the deal, Bloomberg reported yesterday that the bank was in talks to sell its 40% stake in the group to Gingko Tree Investment.

The move would complete Barclay’s long-planned sale of the firm. Barclays Capital, which owns BIFM, first considered selling UPP after a strategic review in the spring of 2010 …

View original article