UK: Unite Students’ plans for a 511-bed purpose built student accommodation (PBSA) scheme in Elephant & Castle, south London, have been approved by Lambeth council.
The 19,000 square metre scheme, designed by AHMM, will replace a Jewsons builders’ merchant at 6-12 Kennington Lane with a main 16-storey building and adjacent lower rise blocks.
It will also contain a double-height industrial warehouse space and community space on its ground and first floors.
All buildings on the site, including the Jewsons warehouse and a vacant four-storey building formerly used as a college will be demolished.
Planning officers praised the “high quality” design of the scheme and said the principle of a mixed-use development on the brownfield site is “accepted and regeneration is welcomed”.
Unite Students had initially proposed that 35 per cent of the student rooms would be affordable.
However, it is now proposing a payment in lieu of £2.71 million to fund affordable housing in the borough due to “concerns in Lambeth and across London that the influx of similar PBSA applications in recent years may prevent other forms of housing, particularly conventional C3 housing, coming forward,” according to council planning officers.
The project team for the scheme includes landscape architect LDA Design, planning consultant ROK, project manager Underwood Carpenter, structural and civil engineer Meinhardt, transport consultant Arup, refuse consultant WSP and daylight consultant GIA, with Kanda on communications.
Highlights:
• Unite Students’ plans for a 511-bed purpose built student accommodation (PBSA) scheme in Elephant & Castle, south London, have been approved by Lambeth council
• Unite Students had initially proposed that 35 per cent of the student rooms would be affordable. However, it is now proposing a payment in lieu of £2.71 million to fund affordable housing in the borough
• The 19,000 square metre scheme, designed by AHMM, will replace a Jewsons builders’ merchant at 6-12 Kennington Lane with a main 16-storey building and adjacent lower rise blocks
