Student flats plan doubles in size

A new student development with more than double the number of rooms as a previous plan could be built on Old Dover Road.

The site, opposite The Phoenix pub, already has planning permission for a four-storey hall of residence containing 26 studios and flats, which was approved by the city council in 2016.

Previously, it was earmarked for six residential apartments, which was nodded through by the authority in 2014.

But new proposals have now been submitted by Goddard Planning on behalf of developers Cityscape Ltd for 53 studio apartments, set out over five storeys in some parts on the site.

If approved, the existing building, formerly a children’s nursery and now a shared house, will be demolished to make way for the development.

In a design and access statement, the team at Canterbury-based On Architecture, which drew up the document, says the proposal will result in a significant change in the character and appearance of the site.

“The detailed design has been sensitively conceived to complement the local context, drawing from the mix of architectural styles and producing a building of its time,” it says.

“The scheme has been designed to protect all the existing trees, which will help to filter views of the new building in the street context.”

The architect says the site is ideally situated for student accommodation and will not have a harmful effect on the road’s character, which is a conservation area.

But Tim Carlyle, vice chair and planning representative for the Oaten Hill and South Canterbury Association, says the proposal is a massive over-development of the site.

“The planning statement blandly states ‘ the scheme broadly follows the footprint and massing of the approved scheme’,” he said.

“This is a considerable stretch of the imagination - the new design is for 207% of the original proposal and for a five storey building rather than a four storey building.”

He describes the designed elevations as “confused and dated”.

n See the plans at publicaccess. canterbury.gov.uk.