Another day, another block of student flats...
GO-AHEAD GIVEN FOR 10-STOREY CITY CENTRE HIGH RISE
A NEW 10-storey student accommodation tower is to be built in Newcastle city centre after the scheme was given the green light by planners.
The Nixon Homes proposal, for a 246-bed block on St James’ Boulevard, was approved by a city council planning committee on Friday.
Last year the firm was refused permission to build a development in the area, with planners blocking the project on the grounds that its size and scale would “fail to take the opportunities available to improve the character and quality of the area”.
However, the team then went back to the drawing board and revised their plans, removing 23 bedrooms from the original project and making other changes to the design.
A fresh 112-page design statement was submitted by London architects TP Bennett, showing how plans for a ‘sky gym’ within the L-shaped build- ing had been swapped for a gym on the first floor, which will also incorporate a laundry, cinema and study room as well as other amenities.
The revised plans, which include a mix of studios and cluster apartments, include four areas of open space including a roof terrace, a hard and soft landscaped public realm located along the St James’ Boulevard frontage and a terrace area on the first floor overlooking the open space to the rear.
The new blueprint was backed by council officers, who recommended it for approval.
The developers will now be asked to make financial contributions towards highway improvements on St James’ Boulevard, public realm and open space improvements, as well as paying towards maintenance of highway trees and landscaping.
The site is in an area which has several other student accommodation new builds including Liberty Plaza, Downing Plaza, The View and Central St James.
The plans include a gym, a cinema, a study room and a laundry in the 10-storey building.