By Andrew Topping, Local Democracy Reporter
A city-centre building used as a place of worship could become student accommodation after developers put forward plans for 26 studio apartments.
The plans, at 11-13 Thurland Street, near Hockley and the Victoria Centre, would see the first and second floors of the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (UCKG) building converted into student properties.
The changes would be accompanied by a bin store and cycle storage, with the flats targeting students at both Nottingham Trent University and the University of Nottingham who plan to live in the heart of the city.
The applicant, Crowndale Properties Limited, states in documents it has conducted a housing needs assessment for student accommodation in Nottingham.
In the documents, submitted to Nottingham City Council last week, the company says the city has seen a 23 per cent rise in its full-time student population since 2015.
It adds the city has a higher-than-average number of students living in shared accommodation compared with neighbouring Midlands cities and the UK as a whole.
The plans it has submitted, it states, will help to “reduce the occupation of family housing” in parts of the city where houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) contain a large proportion of students.
A separate report states the development will not make external changes to the Thurland Street building, with internal changes “not only feasible but straightforward without radical change”.
If the plans were approved by Nottingham City Council, the building would have 26 studio apartments built across the two upper floors, with shared amenity space for students created within.
The bike shed would be built at the rear of the building, with the homes to be accessed via Thurland Street.
And the developer says its plans will give new use to the “dead” space seen in many upper parts of city-centre buildings.
The report says: “Like most cities, the upper parts of commercial streets such as around this site suffer from ‘dead’ uppers.
“Frequently these are ‘back of house’ functions above commercial uses. On a wide street such as Thurland Street, this effect is more pronounced.
“Residential use is usually seen as the best way to re-animate these elevations.
“The site is well located for access to local services: supermarkets, cafes, restaurants etc are all within short walking distances.
“Nottingham Trent University’s campus centre is not more than a 10-minute walk and access to extensive public transport, local and national, [is] also close.”
The application adds the cycle storage will include spaces for 12 bicycles.
The plans are due to be considered by the city council later this year.
