Plans lodged for 361-bed student halls in former mill

PLANS for new student accommodation near East Marketgait have been submitted to Dundee City Council.

The application, which was submitted on Tuesday and validated on Thursday, includes plans to convert land on Brown Street into a set of new, state of the art student halls.

The site, within walking distance of both Dundee and Abertay universities, is currently home to a former mill building which the applicants, Gylemuir Limited, hope to replace with a 361-bed block.

The group also plans to use the ground floor of the building as a retail area, complete with places for eating and shopping.

The plan would provide the same commercial floorspace currently occupied by four existing tenants.

The seven-storey building has also been designed to retain the mill’s traditional single storey facade and features on-site storage for bicycles, as well as outside study areas on the first and fifth floors.

There will also be parking spaces for electric cars.

The building itself has been designed to provide students with a high quality lifestyle.

In a design statement submitted on behalf of Gylemuir, CAG Architects said: “Student life is not restricted to simply a room, post box and front office. The cascade of landscape, from the high skydeck overlooking the city, to the breakout garden outside the study spaces and the communal courtyard that mixes with the commercial tenants, make a series of engaging spaces for the student.

“The building is the student’s home with a variety of rooms to experience and many opportunities to interact with each other as well as with the wider community.

“The site is clearly a city centre site with close proximity to all the amenities that entails in particular short walking distance to the two city universities.

“There is easy access to public transport with a bus stop on its doorstep.”

A planning statement submitted alongside other documents added: “The proposed development provides an opportunity to regenerate this underutilised site with the retention of suitable commercial space and the delivery of a high-quality student housing development in the city where there is a clear and demonstrable need.

“The site is within a highly sustainable, edge of the city centre location, with a thoughtfully designed, appropriate development.”