Developer is looking to build homes for students on a former garage site
FOUR-STOREY BLOCK WOULD PROVIDE 14 BEDROOMS
A BLOCK of student flats could be built on the site of a demolished petrol station in Sandyford.
Plans have been revealed for a fourstorey development on the site of the former Sandyford Service Station, which has been empty since the filling station was torn down in 2015.
Applicant Euro Garages had lodged proposals with Newcastle City Council for the Sandyford Road site which include a ground-floor shop and 14 en-suite student bedrooms on the upper floors.
Previous plans to redevelop the land in 2016 into 12 apartments were withdrawn amid council concerns that the four-storey building proposed was too large.
But Euro Garages says that its design is smaller because it is made up of en-suite bedrooms and shared kitchen space, as opposed to individual one or two-bed flats.
Its planning application states that the redevelopment would turn an “abandoned and unsightly” patch of land between Osborne Terrace and Portland Terrace, into a “modern and attractive building”.
It adds: “A previous application in 2016 for 12 one- and two-bed apartments (in a building of three storeys with further accommodation in the roof) was withdrawn following comments about the overdevelopment of the site.
“The nature of that scheme with separate one- and two-bed apartments resulted in a larger building within the site.
“The current scheme proposes a small retail unit with 14 student beds on floors one and two together with the roof space. The smaller room sizes required for student accommodation and the shared kitchen facility enables the building to be smaller within the site.
“The proposed use and layout makes best use of the site, providing on-site parking/ pull-in space as well as delivering a high-quality building on this previously developed site. This is a previously developed site in a sustainable location close to both the city’s universities, Jesmond Metro Station, existing town centre uses along this stretch of Sandyford Road and on the edge of the urban core as set out in the Core Strategy. “In light of the above, it is considered any application for residential development on the site should be considered favourably.”
Each of the student rooms would
With the site currently abandoned and unsightly, the aim is to provide an attractive building Planning application
have a bed, desk, and en suite, with a shared kitchen space on each of the floors.
The planning application adds that there would be a retail unit on the ground floor, and adds: “With the site currently abandoned and unsightly, the client aims to provide a modern and attractive building on Sandyford Road that will provide much-needed student accommodation to the ever-growing student population of Newcastle.
“The development will also provide high-quality retail space for local businesses to expand and grow with potential employment figures of between five and 15 people.”