Over 1,000 fresh student bedrooms across four tower blocks are planned following the demolition of a 'hard to lease' office development.
Most units at Mercia Business Village, located in Torwood Close near Warwick University, currently stand empty or operate on temporary rental agreements. Property owners have backed the residential proposal, which the developer claims will generate 450 jobs in construction and supply chains.
Developer Simon Murray-Twinn from Skybridge Properties told the meeting of Coventry City Council's planning committee that refurbishing the 1980s-built offices proved financially unviable, with landlords citing poor energy performance. He emphasised that the proposals followed two years of discussions with planning officials.
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He said: "This application focuses solely on meeting the under-supply at Warwick University, who say they intend to grow the campus to 34,000 students. Student numbers today are 25,588 – that is an increase of 8,412 over the next five years beyond the current under-supply."
He further noted that this would increase the strain on Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMOs) in the vicinity, and elaborated that the city council would receive an annual ground rent of £300,000 over a 16-year span, while the project would generate 450 jobs, including several apprenticeships.
Tim Brown, vice-chairman of Coventry Society, voiced his opposition to the plans on two counts – the loss of employment land and an excess of purpose-built student accommodation in the area.
Addressing the meeting, he said: "The council's draft update of the local plan acknowledges that there is insufficient employment land in the city and it believes that this gap could be filled with sites being allocated by joint councils in their local plans, but there is no indication that this is happening.
"We acknowledge the applicant's report which states that there is a high vacancy rate, but we believe that the site could be redeveloped for office and business use that meets current requirements."
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He also mentioned that a council report from 2023/24 indicated a surplus of student spaces throughout the city, and that managers of those accommodation blocks were offering incentives such as free travel passes to and from Warwick University.
Cllr John McNicholas also highlighted concerns about the loss of employment land, stating: "Let's go back to 1988 when it was approved to develop this land. I believe that the small business units were argued for on the basis that they were starter units in association with the university. In my mind it is a serious loss and we should take that into account."
The proposals for the 1,006 student bedrooms in blocks reaching up to eight storeys in height received unanimous approval.
The developer will also provide up to £981,000 through a section 106 agreement, with £361,000 allocated towards improving parks and open spaces within the Westwood and Wainbody wards.