UK: Developer Watkin Jones has secured planning consent for a student housing scheme in London and a residential project in Belfast.
The London scheme, in Stratford, will include 397 student rooms and 22,000 square feet of workspace for local businesses. Known as Grove Crescent, it will be built to BREEAM ‘excellent’ standard.
Watkin Jones bought the one-acre brownfield site from builders’ merchant Jewson, in October last year. In 2019 it completed another PBSA scheme in Stratford, the 511-room Eleanor Rosa House, which it delivered for the University of London
Alex Pease, chief investment officer at Watkin Jones, said: “Student numbers are increasing across the UK and today’s very focused undergraduates want the best-quality accommodation to make the most of their time at university.”
Watkin Jones also secured consent for for a 778-room residential scheme in Belfast. Work will begin on the Loft Lines development on Queen’s Island this summer.
It will contain a mixture of BTR and affordable homes, and will completed by August 2025.
Watkin Jones is expected to appoint a local contractor for the Belfast development. London-based Todd Architects designed the scheme.
Pease said: “Transforming this brownfield site into a thriving place will act as a catalyst for wider regeneration, and we’re very pleased to continue investing to support the people of Belfast’s ambitions.”
