By Joe Locker, Local Democracy Reporter
A second student accommodation block on Nottingham’s Island Quarter site has been given the green light.
The scheme will feature 394 bed spaces spread across four blocks, ranging in height from seven to 11 storeys when including the ground floor.
Developer Axis will build the scheme, on behalf of The Conygar Investment Company, at the junction of Manvers Street and City Link.
It was unanimously approved at a meeting of Nottingham City Council’s planning committee on Wednesday, December 18, following discussion over whether more student accommodation was needed.
Cllr Samina Riaz (Lab), a member of the committee, said: “Do we need more student accommodation? There is a crisis of social housing in Nottingham, so is there any way we could influence or do something?”
Planning officer Rob Percival said: “There is a need for social housing, but there is also a need for student accommodation.
“It is a misconception that we are building more student accommodation and it is attracting more students, when we are actually trying to tackle the students that are already here.”
Paul Seddon, director of planning, said the council was supporting purpose-built blocks to help relieve ‘inextricable’ pressure on traditional family homes, which not only puts homes back on the market but also allows the council to gain tax from the properties again.
“Student accommodation is part of the city’s housing supply,” he added.
“It is intricately part of it. We are finally getting ahead of that.
“When properties are exempt from council tax that clearly has quite a significant cumulative effect on the council’s finances.
“What Nottingham hasn’t seen is the crisis in many of the other university cities where there simply isn’t accommodation and people are queuing overnight to try and secure a place.”
To reduce the impact of the scheme, the developer has also agreed to provide a financial contribution of £856,186 towards affordable housing, as well as £517,842 towards the provision or enhancement public open space and £124, 514 towards local employment and training opportunities.
Cllr Sam Lux (Lab), executive member for carbon reduction, leisure and culture, said the financial contributions were “fantastic” and praised the benefits to the biodiversity of the overall site.
Planning documents say 174 neighbouring properties were notified by letter, and two responded to object to the plans to say the scheme “would result in
overbearing impact, loss of privacy and impact upon views for occupiers of properties on Newark Crescent.”
Mr Percival added: “The 11 storeys we don’t think is inappropriate, we don’t think there could be a case made.
“There are no strategic views. We are comfortable with the scale of the massing, and on a planning basis I don’t think there would be any grounds to reject it.”
The block will sit near to the existing Winfield Court student accommodation building.
Winfield Court, which features 693 bed spaces, was approved back in 2021 and opened in September this year.
The new scheme forms the second phase of student accommodation development on the Island Quarter site.
