Student accommodation plans move a step closer to being built
Plans for a privately developed student accommodation block off Westwood Heath Road in Coventry have moved forward
A new student accommodation development with space for up to 400 people has moved a step closer to being built in Coventry.
Redford Developments has submitted plans to demolish buildings at the County Scaffolding builder’s yard on private land off Westwood Heath Road, next to the main campus of Warwick University, and put up purpose-built student accommodation plus car and cycle parking.
Outline planning permission was granted for the development in Westwood ward in April and is subject to a number of conditions and a legal agreement.
The legal agreement between the council, the developer, the freeholder and the leaseholder has now been completed and a planning notice rubberstamping approval was issued by the city council this month.
City planners confirmed the decision notice was issued in accordance with the earlier resolution to grant outline permission on April 2.
The application was given the green light despite a petition of 105 names opposing it on the grounds of “an oversupply of student accommodation” in Coventry.
City planners agreed with councillors that Coventry was “saturated” with student dormitories and said it related to city centre blocks to house those attending Coventry University.
The outlying area around Warwick University campus was considered separate and did not have enough accommodation to meet demand, they said.
The oversupply in central Coventry has triggered requests to allow other tenants to move into vacant living space.
One hall of residence struggling to attract enough students has gone into receivership and asked if it could let 50 of its apartments to city workers.
Conditions attached to the application include requiring the council to approve the exact appearance, layout, scale and landscaping of the student block when more detailed proposals are submitted later.
Other conditions include measures to ensure protected species, including great crested newts, toads, bats, badgers and hedgehogs, are not harmed by the scheme.
Trees must also be protected if they are of “significant amenity value” and provide an “enhanced standard of appearance to the development.”
There’s also a rule that the student accommodation will be occupied by no more than 400 permanent residents at any time. This is “to ensure that the development is not used in an over-intensive manner, prejudicial to or likely to cause nuisance to occupiers of nearby properties.”
In addition, car and cycle parking facilities must be completed before any students move in.
The accommodation will have 20 parking spaces aimed mainly at Blue Badge holders and for the occasional dropping off and picking up of students at the start and end of terms. It is envisaged as a “car-free development” where people would instead rely on local bus, cycle and pedestrian routes.
Warwick University stressed it was not an application by the university itself and the land in question was privately owned, with the proposal brought forward by a separate private enterprise.