Nottingham City Council has granted planning permission for a 702-bed scheme to be built on the city's new The Island Quarter, the £1 billion 36-acre redevelopment in Nottingham.
Plans for the huge scheme – drawn up by DAY Architectural for The Conygar Investment Company – were approved on Wednesday, September 22.
Work looks set to start on site shortly and the scheme should be available for students to occupy at the start of the 2023/24 academic year.
The overall development is being seen as a vital part of the regeneration of Nottingham’s Southside area and is being overseen by developer Conygar working closely with Nottingham City Council.
Conygar director Christopher Ware said: “We’re delighted that the planning committee has approved the plans for the proposed student accommodation on The Island Quarter.
“Nottingham is home to world-renowned universities and further educational institutions, and its student population is growing rapidly.
“The demand from second and third-year students to remain in purpose-built accommodation is also increasing and there is a clear need for additional, quality student beds in the city.”
The student block will include level sky lounges offering views across the city as well as a pavilion that offers a view of a private courtyard.
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The approved plans also feature multi-media lounges and co-working spaces, as well as gaming zones and quiet areas for study and relaxation.
It is hoped that the Purpose Built Student Accommodation (PBSA) on The Island Quarter will free up family homes currently used by students and help return them to their intended use.
David Jones, director at planning consultant AXIS, said: “This phase will be a real step forward for the development as a whole. The location of this phase – right next to BioCity and close to Sneinton – means that it will act as a beacon, bringing life to the eastern edge of the site and providing a space that will draw people into The Island Quarter.”
The Island Quarter masterplan, which received outline planning approval in April 2019, has been designed to include hotels and hospitality, office space and community living.
Recent changes to the plan were made in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, adding 100,000 sq ft more green space and rethinking the street plan to create what has been called an “urban river”.
Richard Watson, of Conygar, said: “The PBSA on The Island Quarter site forms an integral part of what we are trying to achieve with the development.
"In the wake of Covid-19, it has never been more important to encourage healthy, sustainable and resilient living, and this element of the scheme will help in creating a true community around the site.
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“The reimagined masterplan creates active, liveable and safe spaces that will connect the various elements of the scheme with each other and, more importantly, with the area’s existing vibrant communities.”
The first phase of redevelopment, The Canal Turn, at the opposite end of the site, will bring a new three-storey restaurant, bar and meeting and banqueting space to the city’s waterfront.
It is expected to open to the public in the early summer of 2022.
Mr Watson said: “The Island Quarter is a massive opportunity for our Nottingham community – the city has an ambitious regeneration strategy and our site will bring 4,500 jobs to support that, as well as millions of pounds of inward investment into the city.”
To help accelerate the development’s progress, The Island Quarter has been included in the city council’s Levelling Up Fund bid, which is designed to support ‘shovel-ready’ infrastructure projects that will boost local economies.